[Closed] Thomson stem are they really that good??

Unless you want to change the size or rise and there's no major weight benefit then why change?

They do look very nice and, aesthetically, it's nice to have a matching seatpost and stem.

Like mine X4 70mm - bolts dont rust, light, looks good but bought it for a bit of bling over function myself 🙂

I wouldn't pay full price for one, I got a second hand one from ebay. Light, stiff, looks nice.

I read somewhere that a Thompson stem will make you 13.6% faster on average.

X4/X2 yes, Elite no

Get a Sunline V1 instead, best stem I've ever had.

They are good used buys because they stay looking good, but full price? Nahh. Heavy, and the steerer clamp is a truimph of overengineering to solve a non existant problem.
You can get better at a fraction of the price if you don't care what it looks like.

[b]grumm[/b]: I read somewhere that a Thompson stem will make you 13.6% faster on average.

I thought it was 13.4% faster, no? 😆

And I heard 75.61% - guess that's stats for you 😉

Thomsons are nice but as far as the stems go, offer no functional benefit over a multitude of others available cheaper though they do look good (which is reason enough).

Incidentally though I really do rate their seatposts as being worth it because of the ovalised internal bore which makes then stronger and typically harder for me to bend (and I've bent a lot of seatposts).

Are they really that heavy as far as stems go? what would you use instead for a lighter while still aesthetically nice option?

Anodising a stem makes it 34.6% faster than painted

But its probably 10g heavier..... do me a favor guvner 😉 As you can see I'm not a weight weenie 🙂

They are extremely strong being made out of one piece as opposed to several forged bits. They will therefore bend under stress as opposed to snap and can withstand massive amounts of torque.

IMO If you are a gorilla and capable of exerting enough lateral torque to rip the trunk of a tree in half then you need one, otherwise nice bling but overkill .

KCNC do a ridiculously light XC race stem. Truvativ XC stems are very light for the price.

Are they really that heavy as far as stems go? what would you use instead for a lighter while still aesthetically nice option?

Me personally, if I was after bling, I'd go for Richey.

Yes Thompsons Elite stems are veritable boat anchors. My £12 On-One stem is waaaaaay lighter.

They are extremely strong being made out of one piece as opposed to several forged bits. They will therefore bend under stress as opposed to snap and can withstand massive amounts of torque.

And where does this information come from....?

The same place as the front plate snaps on all of them and they are really heavy 😉

For a mid-priced stem, they're fine, there are lighter ones, and there are probably stronger ones about, but they mostly won't be the thing that breaks on your bike, they look good for a looong time, and they have that "bling Thomson" thing going on.

my son has a 'Thompson Elite' and it looks great ! i want one too for that extra bling look for my orange bike... Thompson dont scratch at all...
wouldnt pay full price me sen tho.. are there any other models out there that dont 'scratch'.... theres plenty of good looking ones about but i want one thats scratch proof ! 'thomson' or 'ritchey' ?

Thomson stems are ugly but the seatposts are nice.

For the record I posed a similar thred to this a couple of years ago.

When I built my SS last year I decided to fit a silver Thomson stem and post almost totally for the looks. Which is fine. In use I would have said they both felt solid and chunky. I would have liked a bit more flex in the seat post, but it was an advantage on the stem. They look nice, they work well, but the stem clamp is pointless IMO. If you want a smooth steerer clamp, go look at an old Race Face System stem to see how it should be done. Oddly I also found the saddle clamp a bit fiddly, but that could have been me.

Best thing about them? I bought them used, and sold them for the same price I bought them for.
It's good kit, no doubt about it, but functionally not worth paying the premium price for. The OE stem on my Pitch is just as good......

I went through a phase of smashing my knee into my stem whenever my gears skipped under load. Doesn't happen so much anymore, but I've always looked for smooth backs since, so I went for elite (other reasons included bling and reported stregnth/stiffness/weight). It replaced a no-name alloy thing with a two bolt front plate, and the difference was noticeable in terms of stiffness when hauling on the bars and the bars not creaking anymore.

And it's still looking new 5 year later.

(And it's nice running your fingers up and down the machined rings while your waiting for a train) 😕

Ribbed for [s]her[/s] his pleasure!

[i]but functionally not worth paying the premium price for.[/i]

Depends on your POV of "premium" really. When one can buy stems that are probably functionally good enough for as little as a tenner (or there abouts) or full on carbon weight weenie nonsense for not much change from £130, then £60 for a nice looking, strong, long lasting bit of kit that will transfer from bike to bike more or less forever, doesn't seem like bad value to me...

my son has a 'Thompson Elite

I like Thomson stems [& seatposts] really because they do the job & are fitted without any fuss & they never give cause for concern

The only criticism I have is they sometimes uses screws with bolt heads a bit on the small side

Course they're worth it. Last forever, I've transferred mine to several bikes. If you have the cash, buy one 🙂

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PMSL @ Foxy. V.Good! 🙂

hmmm, just had alook on chain reaction,,the 'seatposts' are in the SALE ..for 49 quid but only if you have a size 25 or 29mm seatpost so no goos to me then..i need a 27.2 size.... 67 quid i think they are going for now.

lol Juan ! i can be your mom too if you want... im a real guru in the biking world ! lol at least i think i am ! hahahaa

the bars clamp is one thing, but the steerer clamp on the elite is genius - i've had so many cuts on the knees over the years from coming out of the spds/snapping a chain etc. that is avoided by the way the thomson clamps.

Practical Matt - Member

They are extremely strong being made out of one piece as opposed to several forged bits. They will therefore bend under stress as opposed to snap and can withstand massive amounts of torque.

😯

Are you sure about that? Seriously?

Most forged stems are made of one forged piece which is a arguably much 'better' way of making something like a stem than CNC machining.

elaine anne - i got a 27.2 seatpost posted off ebay for £35 - keep your eyes open and one will turn up.

lol Juan ! i can be your mom too if you want...

Thank PP 😉 Love you too 😉

Clubber- I'm not a qualified engineer so no I'm no more sure than anyone else with a modicum of experience.

My comments come from from advice/information shared with me by a tool maker/engineer friend and my LBS.

I'm happy to be proved wrong. 😳

I've had an 'elite' stem on various bikes for the last 6 years , I took a real bad fall coming down jacobs ladder and noticed a crack in the faceplate after when cleaning , I weigh 15 stone and aren't exactly a delicate rider so being able to just replace the faceplate(£7) instead of buying a new stem makes sense.

Oh and they look bling too 😀

I have had 2 women sleep with me just because all my bikes have thomson stems on them.

Just been and had a go on my mates 575 fitted with a thomson stem and Maz all mountain 1 forks and it really felt taut/tight almost like I imagine a bolt through fork to feel.Know I ride fox float rl with an on one stem and there is no way my bike feels as taut/tight at the front .
Makes me wonder if maybe my fox forks flex more or is it that there is less flex on the thomson stem over the on one? 😕 I'm confused!!

Never thought about it TBH. Its hardly lots and its subtle unlike real 'bling' I have a 50/70 and a 90 elite stem and only one bike!

A forged stem will ultimately be stronger as the material grain structure will flow more efficiently through the part (providing the die is well designed).
CNC'd parts just look better IMO.

The Thomson seat-posts are nice with the elliptical section to save weight.
X4 stems just look good, & the kit does look good for years.

I have one because, well you would, wouldn't you.