hi , thinking of putting a ti stem on my ti frame, is it worth it compared to say a thomson x2
does anyone have experience of a ti stem?

Not really a good material for a stem unless you are a complete Ti fetishist.

My opinion is twofold.
Titanium stems ( like carbon stems) offer no real world advantages over generally cheaper and lighter alloy counterparts.
Titanium stems can make the bike look a little too much like you want everything to be Ti for the sake of it.

Don’t really agree, I have a carbon stem (Pro Sprint) on my track bike which is way stiffer than the Thomson X4 which was on there before. Carbon is all about how you use the material. Ti (as it is generally used for stems – fairly thin walled, small diameter tubes) is never going to make for a particularly stiff stem. So, assuming you want stiffness, then Ti is not a good way to go. For the same reason you rarely see steel stems.

thanks, think you’ve confirmed what i was thinking, an x2 it is

Not really a good material for a stem unless you are a complete Ti fetishist.

been there done that and agree. Ti is flexible so needs large diameter tubes to provide stiffness, losing most of any theoretical weight advantage.

Many years ago I had a Litespeed in brushed Ti with matching Dean seatpost and Titec Ti bar and stem. The Titec Fathead was reasonably stiff by virtue of being ovalised, but not on a par with a decent alloy stem.

Not mine, and described as “vintage” on ebay 🙄 😳

and an honest appraisal here

Titec Fathead

That’s a longer version of the Ti stem that came with my Global Th1.5. The metal around the bar clamp area is too flexible and it expands outwards under sideways stresses on the bars, meaning that it creaks like hell and leaves an oval area of wear on the bars where they are in tight contact. I swopped it for an alloy stem I got for a few quid of Ebay and got instant blissful silence and a stiffer feel.

An earlier incarnation of the Global Ti stem had an internal stem clamp, which was a disastrous design as it wouldn’t hold tight and I kept tightening the bolt, until it snapped one day leaving me to ride home with my bars swivelling freely on the stem.

The redesigned stem is lying in my bits box if any titanium fetishist wants to make me an offer for it.

I used to have an ITM Ti quill stem on my first single speed, picked it up off ebay for a song, anyway in addition to being rather pimp it gave a pleasant degree of flex on what was otherwise a rather stiff cockpit (Kona steel bars and P2 forks).

I am a complete ti fetishist. Just bought a used Moots ti stem off eBay (they are £420 new, this one was £150 and looks new!!) for my El Mar ti. Now everything is ti 🙂

It feels the same as the Salsa promoto stem I had before, but these aren’t the stiffest anyway. I don’t really care as it looks gorgeous.

GB

Got some Morati cranks George? Ti King headset? I think there is even a Ti chain out there for those with truly more money than sense 😉

It’ll really Ti the bike together

If I was a ti fetishist, I probably wouldn’t stretch it as far as getting a ti stem. Something like this might tempt me, though

Funds allowing, obviously. Which, being a ti fetishist, they probably would.

I stopped my fetish at a frame and King Ti bottle cage, I seriously looked at the kingdom stem, thomson ti bars and ericksen ti post, then had a quiet work myself, more than happy with my bargain easton haven, kinesis struts and xfusion dropper.

I’ve got a Spin cycles Ti stem on my Gryphon.
Doesn’t seem to flex when I’m out the saddle, but I’m normally focusing on how much my legs hurt at that point so may not notice.

Do you have a 3 1/2, mike?

I’ll have to check when at home, but I’m sure it’s 3 1/2″ (90mm ish).

Ah, sorry, I thoguht from your username that you might have one of these little beauties:

http://www.bikeexif.com/moto-morini-motorcycles

I have a couple of ti fetish bikes and ran an ibis stem for a while. I can honestly say I didnt notice any difference between that and an alu stem other than it looking totally gorgeous. which, of course, made me ride much faster and much better 🙂

I love ti so much I had a some fitted in my wrist 😀

I wear a titanium Seiko watch.

Got a Spin Cycles ti on stem my fixie. It is much like any other stem really, but ti coloured. Cannot really say it is any different to any alloy stem I have ever used tbh.

Sam – sadly those cranks all broke, and the ti headset can’t go in a ti frame…

GB

nedrapier
Yep that’s how I got my name.
Owned a 31/2 Sport and a Strada.

Just feels like a stem

I have ridden ti stems for years.

They are no better and no worse than any other material, but can finish off a ti frame build nicely.

If anybody can notice flex in a 80-100mm piece of ti tubing they are doing pretty well. People talk about flex and twist, but whilst I can notice the different ride quality of ti in a longer tube format in a frame, I can’t in a stem.

You buy one for the craftsmanship, the appearance, the quality and the exclusivity.

It’s not the flex in the length of the tubing, it’s the handlebar clamp. Ti is not stiff enough to rely on only two bolts so when you have a long bar clamp made from thin tube and closed by only two bolts the whole handlebar moves within the clamp area and sets up a horrible creaking when you pull hard on the bars.

The Moots stem pictured above won’t have that problem because it’s machined from billet (must have cost a lot!)

You don’t ask the price with Moots