Short answer – of course an expensive stem is worth it if you want it – I’m looking for a new ‘bling’ stem myself – but realistically is a stem not the least important part of a bike performance wise ? Even a cheap stem is fine – I’m annoyed with myself that I can’t buy a cheap stem .

Given that it’ll be something you look at all the time just buy the fancy one!

I have a rental duo that I love the look of. I can’t say it’s any better than the cheap one I had on the bike when trying different stem lengths. It holds the bars and looks good.

There isn’t much difference in manufacturing costs on any stem really so I guess it’s just paying for the name.

Like a Hollister coat compared to primark!!!

Funnduro stems are good in my opinion, Cheap and come up lighter than more expensive stems.

I love you stem

Stems are an interesting one. Mid tang are often forged and high end machined. Gram for gram, forging would give a better stem, but machining looks cool.

If you buy a really cheap stem, you can often feel some flex in it and you definitely don’t want that. But that’s on OEM stuff on cheap bikes, whether that’s an issue with aftermarket stuff I’m not sure.

So whilst I wouldn’t spent hundreds on a stem, don’t completely disregard its importance.

It’s not just cheap stems that flex…

When i changed from a Truvativ stem to an Easton Haven 6 years ago, i noticed a massive difference in stiffness. Especially when riding up short sharp techy climbs and you’re pulling hard on the bars. It’s something i would never have thought would make much difference before changing,but it does, night and day.

My FS came with 780mm 35mm bars which I changed for 800mm.

I then got my HT that came with 760mm 31.8mm bars.

I want to put the 780’s on the HT so new stem time. Could buy a cheap one that would absolutely do the job but instead Santa is brining a Hope one. Why? Because blue and toys.

So how much flex can you feel in a 40mm stem?

Just had exactly this dilemma after cracking my renthal stem. £30 for a perfectly functional, light Funn stem or more than double that for some fancy laser etching. It’s a no brainer, Hope it is.

I hope not I’ve just ordered this:
https://www.extralite.com/Products/HyperStem.htm

Extralite is the stuff of my childhood dreams, and it helps that the website hasn’t changed since about 1997

I reckon flex may be a factor when it comes to roadie stems, and I’d probably spend more on one of those.

But I doubt you get much flex on a 25 quid 50 mm raceface stem..or any stem that length for that matter. That said I have a thompson, simply because I’m a tart.

So how much flex can you feel in a 40mm stem?

This ^.

40mm Brand X on my bike. Works just fine and cost about £15. There are many better places to spend a bit extra on, e.g. shifters/rear mech or decent compound tyres.

I’m a stem snob. Can’t help it…you see it so much, you may as well get a nice one.

I’m’ clearly not enough of a tart as I look at a Funn stem and think it’s quite fancy.

Funnduro 45mm are in the CRC sale just now for 25 quid or so.

Because blue and toys.

Red ones are the fastest, but… “Always bet on black” says the Snipester in Passenger 57, so what to do??

Surely looking at one’s stem is a recipe for discrashster??

Given that it’ll be something you look at all the time just buy the fancy one!

I don’t think I ever look at my stem when riding…

If you buy a really cheap stem, you can often feel some flex in it…

Sure you can… 😉

Red ones are the fastest, but… “Always bet on black” says the Snipester in Passenger 57, so what to do??

Red with a bright orange frame? 😯
No point in black as it wouldn’t match my hubs…. Or new brakes. 😳 😆

Extralite is the stuff of my childhood dreams

Not wishing to appear negative in this season of goodwill etc, but Extralite stems have been known to break spontaneously. Just too much material taken out.

Edit: just done a quick search and I think that was on an early design.

Running On One El Guapo Outaw that I picked up cheaply on sale but listing after new Pace stem. Wouldn’t do the job any better but it’s pretty.

I’ve got a Funn stem on my proper bike, it’s only 35mm and I very much doubt I would ever notice any difference if I bought anything posher.

I’ve just put one on my new hard tail too, with £25 Funn bars too. Seem to do the job well enough.

Looks alright to me (steerer needs a bit taken off though).

imghost

They have become a bit of a fashion statement. Prices reflect the fickle nature and perceived disposable income of the customer base.

Very rarely/never have I heard anyone complain about a stems performance other than when it’s not the right length/height to suit an individuals ergonomic requirements or it’s faulty. Soft bolt heads or the clamps being machined slightly out of spec seem the most common. Oh and people stripping the threads or rounding the bolt heads 🙂

If you want an expensive one (usually for aesthetic reasons) it’s your choice. The vast majority of cheap stems are perfectly adequate though.

Getting the right length is more important than stiffness imo.

😀

Hmm. I just spent £15 on a Brand X 40mm one…. I really can’t see the point in spending more than the minimum on stems.

I’ve never really noticed any functional difference between stems, from 40mm to 90mm, very cheap to quite expensive.

Matching Thomson stem and seat post was nice on my last bike though……

Just had exactly this dilemma after cracking my renthal stem.

Rental Apex on the fork steerer side by any chance?

Hold your bars in the correct position for less than a fiver, delivered…
Any colour you want

Hold your bars in the correct position for less than a fiver, delivered…
Any colour you want

That looks an awful lot like a Funnduro!

I’ve got a Funnduro and they’re a nice stem if you need a low stack height. The only issue with it I’ve found is that the steerer bolts need cranking pretty tight as I’ve had the bars spin whilst riding a couple of times when torqued ‘normally’. The clamping area is pretty small due to the low stack height design.

So how much flex can you feel in a 40mm stem?

Just how much force would you need to apply to the bars in order to flex a 40mm stem?

There must be some awsum dudes out there 😉

Get one that looks nice, matches the finishing kit on your bike.

No need to spend more than about £35 or £40, plenty of decent options from Funn, Ragley or secondhand.

Can’t tell the difference in stiffness between Funn and Hope when I’ve swapped 45mm to 35mm length on the same bike.

coolhandluke-bloke:

Getting the right length is more important than stiffness imo.

That’s what I think as well. On my mountain bikes I like to “tune in” with the stems (length) until I’am really happy with the bike.
Means: fairly low cost stems. Recently RITCHEY.

Problems I had with bad designed stems: if the clamping to the fork-tube isn’t good the headset bearings loosen up. Adjusted the bearing play, torqued the stem to spec and after 2 weeks the bearings were loose again. This stem was too cheap…

Short stems and “flex”: doubt that somebody is able to feel the difference…

yes, they are a waste of money but so are a lot of products we buy because of their colour or name. I got my spank stem for £25 in a CRC sale.

Thomson bars
Thomson seatclamp (fitted when I changed frame and the Thomson was the only one I could sort out quickly)
Nukeproof stem……..had to go 😐

but so are a lot of products we buy because of their colour or name

Speak for yourself.

Some of us don’t pay more for things in a certain colour and definitely not to have a specific brand name on our bike.

I have a 50mm sunline v1 stem on my Stiffee, bought it in the CRC sale many moons ago.

I tend to decide on colour, look at which ones i like then get one that’s on sale.

Of course ahead stems don’t flex enough to be able to feel it. Any flex would be in the bars and the wider bars get the more this would be noticed.

Let’s pretend they do flex by say 1-2mm, how could anyone ever feel that?

All of last year I was using a 90’s track bike with a quill stem. Now that did flex, you could actually see it. Didn’t make any difference to riding though.