Podcast: British Cycling WTF? Flex Stem Returns And Trashmob Academy

Vecnum do a better suspension stem option for gravel bikes as it uses a parallelogram to ensure the bar and hoods move vertically rather than through an arc.

RE British Cycling & Shell – given this is the same organisation that told people to not ride their bikes during the queen’s funeral, and that got in a mess recently around trans athletes, I don’t think they can “read the room” very well

I should add that it would be great to try the Vecnum stem and the Cane Creek model to see how they compare. I am definitely sold on the concept which is not what I was expecting.

The redshift stem has been around a few years now iirc and been reviewed to death already but I guess that doesn’t matter ! Despite the obvious comfort benefits I sold mine almost immediately (a couple of years back ) due to the fact that if you like to stand up when climbing very steep inclines , tugging hard on the bar translated into a horrible “seesawing” motion of the bars ,up and down repeatedly . Even the stiffest elastomers were no answer . Many seem to like it though ..perhaps they are seated twiddlers or they like that experience …not me though . I am a moaning grumpy old cynical git though who being short of cash tends to be easily dissatisfied . Glad however the tester ( Sanny?) is enjoying it …I may have liked it more if my pockets were deeper or it was given as a gift but that oscillating …needs dampening and/or a lockout in future imho.

After listening to the discussion on Shell and BC I feel I need to point out Shell are rebranding themselves (and have been for a while) as an energy company and have been pushing themselves as such for a while. I was surprised none of you picked up on that.

And while I’m here it’s six degrees of separation/Bacon not 7. I know the podcast is relaxed and chatty but you are also journalists and both of these things can be checked with a quick Google.

Edit: that reads snarkier than it was meant to sorry, I do enjoy the podcast.