Anyone bought or ridden a Vecnum Freeqence suspension stem ?

I tried a redshift a few years back and at the time was a little unimpressed due to feeling little benefit on a mtb bar ( yes I know) unless running soft elastomers which then meant a horrible oscillating when pulling a loaded bike up long steep climbs whilst standing . I since fitted wider rims and tyres which was much better but would still like just a little more cush as I’m getting old and rough riding at any speed can shake you about a fair bit ! I’m trying not to go down the sus fork route and noticed the Vecnum stem being advertised . It’s not cheap at 300 euros but the company are respected it seems / use quality materials with tight tolerances and the few reviews online are pretty much very positive except regarding the weight ( which I’m personally not bothered about ) comfort is a priority over weight for me . As mentioned it does seem odd that there are so few reviews when googling . I contacted the company to ask why and they didn’t really offer any answer . Perhaps it’s the price ..possibly ..but folk spend huge amounts on their bikes ..especially on products that work well , and the reviews generally indicate it’s the best stem available performance wise. I do find it slightly frustrating that no dealers offer a demo model ..perhaps you could hire… and get that refunded if bought ? I also find the fact that only one manufacturer offers a sus stem with lockout which  I would very much see as a fairly important option ..particularly when climbing ..but they don’t appear to think it would get more sales I presume ..as it surely wouldn’t be difficult or expensive to add on .

So ..back to the initial question …There are bound to be haters but for non sport/older wimps like myself they might be a useful and simple addition .  Has anyone ridden or owned one and if yes …just how good/bad are they ? Thanks , Bill

https://www.vecnum.com/en/products/freeqence

The Cane Creek eesilk stem has lockout.

Yes that’s the only exception afaik .

Is there a reason you’re not considering it then?

IIRC it has less travel and is like the redshift with lockout . The movement is less refined too as vecnum use parallelogram like kinekt ( the budget vecnum ?)

I must admit the esilk does look like a possible alternative …the lockout is the feature that attracts ..despite the movement arc being less friendly perhaps than the vecnum/kinekt .. rather like the redshift ) I just saw the other recent thread and noticed someone saying the lockout on the esilk only reduced movement by 50% which is slightly disappointing. I actually quite like the look also as I have no need or desire to hide any gadget . Once you reach 60 ( 59.5 tbh!) you realize looks are not so important ! (although I do appreciate a nice looking machine which again is very much subjective anyhow). The other thing to consider ,unless you have deep pockets , is the availability of spares and the rebuildability as well as the quality of materials used . This is less important on the more budget options but pivots do wear and although bearings/bushes can be replaced , you sometimes find that once a pivot fastener , if integral , wears , you cannot remove the play/slop even with new bushes/bearings etc . This is the case with the older LT thudbusters for example ( and perhaps the new ones ) . I have several and because of the pivots themselves being irreplaceable (and gradually wearing also ) …even new bushings leave a bit of play which accelerates the wear . Sorry ..gone off topic a bit ..but food for thought perhaps.

Yeah, for me it’s just over-complicating a simple part, though still less complex than a suspension fork 😉

I’m 65 this year and simply select bike, wheel/tyre size and tyre pressures to suit the ride. If a substantial part of it is likely to be too rough for rigid then suspension it is.

If it’s like the kinetic stem, steer well clear, they are not good

Kinekt Suspension Stem

noticed someone saying the lockout on the esilk only reduced movement by 50% which is slightly disappointing

Depends if you are running soft, medium or hard elastomer. Ive got the hard one in and there’s perhaps 20% movement at most on a big but when locked out. General riding and climbing it’s hardly noticeable

Not quite relevant but i got a vecnum dropper last year. Seems a good bit of kit and they were kind enough to not charge me VAT delivered to germany ….

Been a while since I started this thread and I still haven’t seen much in the way of reviews re the vecnum . However ..after contacting the UK importers up in Edinburgh ..Projektride they have offered me a new unit I can try out and return if dissatisfied (as long as it still looks new ). I really must take them up on this sometime so may well report back in the near future … if anyone is interested .

I don’t know if RocketDog will see this but if you do ..I noticed your comment above saying “if it’s anything like the kinekt stem stay well clear as it’s not good ” ..just wondered why you said that (unless tongue in cheek) because your review that you linked to seems to indicate you were quite impressed ? If you get a moment could you please clarify . Also ..as you do reviews perhaps you too might consider asking Projektride for a test unit ? I would be interested to hear your thoughts having tried others . You also mention you have / had an esilk stem ..how does /did it compare to the others …would you recommend ? As mentioned ..I had a redshift several years ago but used it on a Rigid MTB and disliked the oscillation ..experienced when standing on steep climbs and pulling hard  on the bars  .That was with the hardest elastomer fitted btw.  If only they all came with a full lockout it would be so much better imho.

cheers, Bill

EE-silk stem review

Cane Creek EE Silk Stem Review

The kinekt was just to undamped, works fine but found it impossible to slow down. Redshift and EE-silk much more controllable

There’s a reason that suspension forks are commonplace, and suspension stems aren’t.

An unsprung mass of ~10-15kg is going to throw you around a lot.

Thanks RD ..didn’t see the review beforehand .

I watched this a couple of weeks ago, typical douchey YT content but he makes some good points about the vecnum Vs redshift:

Unfortunately for what it is the pricing is a bit on the steep side (IMO).

Bump in case more folk have any real life usage feedback now ? I really must test one myself soon .

If I was considering 300 quid on that stem I’d probably look at going the whole hog and buying a suspension fork if one will fit your bike. I just picked up a fox tc for 500 quid and it is brilliant, no unwanted bobbing, really smooths out the front end. bit heavy though and doesn’t look as good as a normal fork

i had a redshift before hand, it was brilliant, so much so that I decided to give the fox a go to see if it was even better. It is..

stealth ad, I have a mint condition 90mm redshift for sale if anyone wants it.

Hi, bit late to this thread, but hopefully my feedback will help. I live in South Africa. Races are typically in dry conditions with long stretches of farm roads. A ride is typically 100km to 130km, 70% gravel. Corrugation is maddening as there are a lot of trucks on the roads. We have all moved away from 40mm tyres and ride 45mm to 53mm, and doubled up on bar tape. No use…it is so rough that your eyeballs start bouncing in your head and you simply HAVE to ride slower to lesson the hits. I bought a 90mm vecnum and after 200km (with one 80km ride on the roughest corrugation possible)  I can truly say it is worth every penny. The 20mm is ample and the 10mm upward travel helps you to push the bike through rough stuff. You cannot hear or feel it bottoming out, the bar does not dip forward like with redshift, and you get the full travel irrespective of where your hands are on the bar. It is not a fork, but I would say the feeling is closer to that of a mtb rear suspension. You know it is there but you cannot feel the bike moving up or down. This is extremely pricey for one living in a third world country, but I ride 3 times more now and it costs half the price of Fork.

I’ve only just seen the reply above from werner K  and despite the passing of time wanted to say thanks for the feedback ..it was much appreciated . I still haven’t bought or ridden the vecnum but am sorely tempted to try one out having just returned from riding my rigid fatbike most days over the last 2 weeks . I sometimes like a slightly harder tyre when riding mixed routes but pay for it on the rough stuff so the stem would help but I’m still concerned I’ll hate the bobbing when climbing steep stuff and tugging on the bars . Only one way to find out I guess so once I go ahead I will come back with my thoughts and a summary of the experience . I might even attempt my first video review if feeling creative ! Cheers, Bill