Something I've been curious about for a while. I want to try a 10 or 20mm reach stem but I can't find one.
Something like the old Mondraker/OnOff Stoic would be perfect.
The only one I can find currently in production is the Rulezman and I'm not paying £300 for a stem. Especially when it might end up in the parts bin.
I've tried looking for cheap, off-brand, knock off stuff on eBay and Amazon but I'm not finding anything.
I know there's a few retro options but they're all for 25.4 bars.
Ergotec. Look a bit BSOish but could be what you want
e.g.
Intend do a 25mm one (Grace DD), not cheap but half the price of a rulezman.
Worth noting that all the people that make them, recommend using the with longer reach & CS frames. Just bolting them to a frame that you were happily using previously will feel shit. Reece Wilson’s YouTube vid with the BMB stem explains it pretty well.
Wow, Ergotec make some impressively ugly stuff! This one is the right shape but it still says 55mm reach.
https://www.ergotec.de/en/products/vorbauten/sub/ahead-vorbau/produkt/high-bass-31-8.html
I do have a frame with a long reach and correspondingly large chainstays which is why I'm curious to try it. All the old Azonic Hammers etc just made tiny bikes even smaller.
Can't find the Intend stem. Just the Grace FR at 35mm.
says 55mm reach
I think they are saying it's 55mm long but that 55mm is at a 45 degree angle and looking at the 360 in the link I edited in it looks like the bars almost overlap the steerer
says 55mm reach
I think they are saying it's 55mm long but that 55mm is at a 45 degree angle and looking at the 360 in the link I edited in it looks like the bars almost overlap the steerer
Yeah I think you're right about that. I wish they'd state the horizontal reach though just for clarity. Available for just over 50 quid it might be worth a punt.
The Itend one is lovely. Exactly what I was imagining. Maybe a pay day treat.
Still rulezman ish money but at least the price is inc VAT, and it’s made here.
https://creaturecycles.co.uk/product/creature-de-reacher-super-short-mtb-stem/
Reece Wilson’s YouTube vid with the BMB stem explains it pretty well.
His bike check with MBUK was interesting too, reversed direct mount stem on that one following the BMB experience
I've watched all the Reece Wilson videos. I admit it's made me more curious and certainly not put me off.
I just realised that the Intend stem with it's split clamp wouldn't accept my current bars which are 30 or 40mm rise.
Creature is on the list. Worth the money just for the name.
The Itend one is lovely. Exactly what I was imagining. Maybe a pay day treat.
If you do go for it be aware you have to thread the handlebars through the clamp and that restricts what bars you can use. They say max 20mm rise on the bars for this reason
Edit: you've noticed that 😀
I just realised that the Intend stem with it's split clamp wouldn't accept my current bars which are 30 or 40mm rise.
Keep in mind the stem has a fair bit of rise, over a regular one.
Keep in mind the stem has a fair bit of rise, over a regular one.
And unless the steerer is already cut for a fairly slammed stem some hard choices may have to be made about cutting the steerer down for one of these stems 😬
20mm
but requires a special bar (with hideous graphics)
https://bikerumor.com/pacenti-p-dent-handbar-system-shrinks-new-20mm-stem/
You could also look at bars with more backsweep - it’s where your hands are vs the steerer that matters, not the stem length.
As the guru chief says, I'd go for 12° backsweep bars (DMR Sweeper, SQ Labs). Puts your grips about 15mm ish further back. (and the extra sweep feels great IME)
I’m surprised there aren’t loads of people who bought Mondrakers with the On/Off ones in their parts bin from switching to a regular stem, they felt bloody awful whenever I tried them
I’m surprised there aren’t loads of people who bought Mondrakers with the On/Off ones in their parts bin from switching to a regular stem, they felt bloody awful whenever I tried them
Find me one and I'll buy it.
I like the SQ Labs bars with the backsweep but I've got half a dozen different bars here to try first.
Just remembered I've got a 20mm Joystick bar which would fit the Intend stem but none of my others would. I've got Spank DJ bars and all sorts.
After watching the Reece Wilson video I got curious myself. In terms of 'reasonably' priced stems the best I could find was this (around £100 including postage):
https://www.aerozinebike.com/product/stem-control/xnc-10-stem-bundle/
I couldn't find any local sellers so it looks like the only option is buy direct.
I didn't go for this and instead went for a 30mm Renthal stem and an Ergotec 100mm rise bar with 12 degrees sweep. My thinking is that the 100mm rise will give me plenty options to roll the bars back and forward for fine tuning of where the grips end up.
Of course, my solution only works if you are also planning on trying very high rise bars (unless you want to mount the stem backwards and then roll the bars forward a fair bit).
I found that Aerozine one in my search but didn't like how small the clamping area is. It looks like a really narrow band where it clamps the steerer.
It might work fine but I wonder if it can hold tight enough for aggro riding.
That Aerozine website is quite the read!
The Aerozine is interesting. The clamping area is bigger than it looks from the side, and I reckon you don't need as much with the bars on the top of steerer.
There's not so much turning moment it needs to resist, hard landings are the biggest issue and the forces are almost in line with the steerer, rather than 4, 5, 6 cms out on front.
you can use ergon grips to reduce the sweep feel as well if you dont like the 12 degree backsweep.
There's not so much turning moment it needs to resist, hard landings are the biggest issue and the forces are almost in line with the steerer, rather than 4, 5, 6 cms out on front.
I’m buckled up and ready to be educated by the mathematicians etc but I don’t think the stem length is of much consequence (to the clamping force required) when you have 350mm or more of handlebar poking out at right angles to it
I’m buckled up and ready to be educated by the mathematicians etc but I don’t think the stem length is of much consequence (to the clamping force required) when you have 350mm or more of handlebar poking out at right angles to it
That's true.
However, in the idealised friction model the equation is f = μN where the friction force is simply the normal force multiplied by the coefficient of friction so in theory the clamping area shouldn't make any difference.
Obviously in the real world the idealised friction model doesn't always apply but with the two surfaces being presumably high grade aluminium then the reality shouldn't be too far away from the idealised model.
I guess clamps are the size they are because you have to attach the horizontal part of the stem to the clamp so it makes sense for them to be as big as the horizontal part. My engineering brain is telling me the clamp area can be smaller. My primate brain is telling me that a bigger clamp area = more clamping force.
So yeah, in theory the Aerozine stem should be absolutely fine.
Just for comparison, the actual metal to metal contact area on the Aerozine is probably not that different to the Funnduro stem I'm currently running. See also the Renthal Apex stem:
The Aerozine doesn't look confidence inspiring but I can't see any reason it shouldn't clamp as well as the Renthal and the Funn stems.
Put a normal stem on backwards and get some -ve numbers.
says 55mm reach
I think they are saying it's 55mm long but that 55mm is at a 45 degree angle and looking at the 360 in the link I edited in it looks like the bars almost overlap the steerer
Yeah I think you're right about that. I wish they'd state the horizontal reach though just for clarity. Available for just over 50 quid it might be worth a punt.
The Itend one is lovely. Exactly what I was imagining. Maybe a pay day treat.
A quick google throws up this:
- Handlebar Clamp Diameter: 31.8 mm
- Steerer Tube Diameter: 1 1/8" (28.6 mm)
- Angle/Rise: 45°
- Extension/Length: 55 mm
- Clamping Height (Stack Height): 40 mm
- Effective Length (Rise/Reach): Approx. 40mm
And a quick sketch would indicate that from centre of steerer to centre of bars would be around 40mm.
Pi and Clandestine.cc will make you any stem you want. He makes a remarkably large amount of niche stems for people.
You could go full Reece and just put one on backwards
The ergo tech stem will have just under a 39 mm horizontal extension
i have a 35mm stem with 780 wide, 16° sweep sq labs bars, rolled to where I like them. This puts the centre of the grips in line with the centre of the steerer tube. It feels very natural to me. Preferable to a 50 mm stem
DMR Defy is available in 35mm and has a relatively tall rise, so not a million miles away from the Intend one, but at a more impulse buy friendly price
I had one of the mondraker stems, the clamp snapped (maybe over tightened). I got a replacement on warranty. Unfortunately it's not for sale.
It is bizarre looking at the headtube badge. I opted to go up to 30mm to pull me forward on a medium foxy.
Maybe if I had a large frame I could get away with a shorter stem again.
At the time 2015/2016 most folk commented on how odd it looked.
So this just arrived. The new guitar will have to wait another month.
I might actually have to ride my bike now and see if it works.
Luckily I think I have the perfect bike for it.
Nice!
*whispers quietly about being excited to try the Rulezman I’ve got, waiting for the frame to put it on, the direct mount one on the Gasser has been ace though!
I actually rode my bike today. I headed for the hard pack, sandy trails of the eastern Peak and found bogs everywhere. I ended up doing a couple of Lady Cannings laps.
To be honest I forgot about the stem instantly.
It's the most comfortable seated pedalling position I've ever had. It reminds me of when I went from and old school 26" hardtail to the Geometron in 2017. It's that much of an improvement.
Handling is fine really, not much to report. It's one of those things that looks weird but you get used to instantly. I suspect the biggest shock will be when I jump back one of my other bikes.
I was apprehensive about cutting the steerer right down but I think I'll remove the last 10mm and run it slammed. It can easily go down a bit and still be comfortable.
I need to ride some steeper, challenging trails to see how it is on the fun stuff. I was expecting it to understeer or wash out on the flatter, gravelly bits of LC but it was planted.
Nice. Looks weird but not bad and if it works without any strange side effects then that's a bonus!
I'm interested to try it on the Airdrop. Same 500mm reach but mullet with 30mm shorter chainstays.
Should turn it into a wheelie machine.
Nice. Where do the grips end up in relation to the steerer tube?
I'm interested in trying something like this. Bars with bigger rise & sweep won't be quite the same.
I am not sure why people worry about front end grip, your weight mainly goes through the legs and it's easier to apply.force closer to your centre if mass anyway.
Nice. Where do the grips end up in relation to the steerer tube?
It's hard to take a picture of it but the tips of the bars are a few mm behind the steerer and my hands/thumbs are almost bang on the line.
I might go full Reece Wilson and run it backwards.
