Redshift Suspension Stem?

Anyone got one? Thoughts?

I do a lot of fairly chunky gravel and do feel the effects after longer rides. The bike mechanic guy on the Cade Media podcasts was raving about them the other day, and he seems pretty straight up on what’s hot and what’s not (refreshingly).

Ta very much.

Yep. Got a 80mm one on the gravel bike. I think it makes a real difference. Was on the roadbike yesterday (first time in ages) and came back thinking i might get one for that too given the state of the roads round here…

I’ve got one and it’s really good. Takes the edge off noticeably and no downsides I can see/feel. Obviously there’s limits to what it can do but for the long gravel events I’ve done (Frontier 300, dirty reiver, grand old dukes, etc.) I’ve been very glad of it. Also great for potholes on the road!

I’ve done reviews on the std and the pro version. Pro version is easier to swap elastomers on. They both really work at damping vibrations to take the buzz out of rough surfaces but “suspension” is a bit misleading as riders assume they work as well as a fork.

I have one, it’s either 80 or 90mm on my Fearless.

On anything other than straight up roads I think it works well, really well in fact at damping “trail buzz” but at above suspension is probably a little misleading.

On the road it’s less noticeable. That’s not to say it doesn’t work it just prefers gravel ☺️

Yup, had one for ages, no more numb hands

Use and approved here.

Wish they’d get on and make a shorter one.

unlike everyone else I was actually somewhat disappointed although I did try it on a rigid mtb and it’s not great with straight bars as they say . My issue was that, unless I used the hardest elastomers  , there was a lot of oscillation when climbing and pulling hard on the bars , which I didn’t enjoy and it felt I was wasting energy as a result . The softer elastomers obviously felt more comfy on the flat (but rough) ground, but, as to be expected “see sawed” even more on the steep stuff . Most folk seem to like them though but I have seen others who felt the same way as I did  and sold them on quickly . Best to buy used on ebay ..then ..if you don’t get on with them you can sell on at very little loss. I wish more of the various suspension stems available came with a lockout ..would make a big difference imo and surely not be difficult to execute . The  Cane Creek esilk has a partial lockout which seems a step in the right direction . Just my thoughts.

Down under and great on corrugated AKA washboard gravel roads…wouldn’t go back to not having

I started typing my thoughts and then had a feeling of deja vu! Some extra feedback from a while back

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/redshift-suspension-stem/#post-12855433

Love mine on my gravel bike. Would get another straight away.

Just for balance another negative experience here, great for what it was designed for e.g. rough gravel where you’re not shifting weight around a lot on the handlebars, but if and when it gets more MTB e.g. singletrack with lumps and hollows or weight shifting to hop up and over rocks etc. then the diving and bobbing was noticeable, felt very ‘disconnected’ from the front wheel.

Obviously putting harder elastomers in to control this just meant it wasn’t as good over the small stuff and I started wondering what the point was so sold it.

Awesome device, both the wife and I have one and I’ve persuaded quite a few fellow riders to invest in one.

Really rate it.

I was a sceptic, but after getting a good deal on a used one and giving it a go I think it makes a noticeable difference to comfort and reducing harshness felt at the bars without any real downside for me (other than getting over the price for “a stem”). I’ve got a eesilk with the lever to try out to see if it’s a worthwhile improvement (Elastomer swapping without removing the bars should allow for plenty of experimenting).

Gravel suspension forks do a better job IME, but the stem is a good stopgap, and far, far cheaper.

I took a suspension fork off my gravel bike before a 6-week bikepacking trip – did one practice ride with a rigid fork and normal stem and straight away got a redshift – the difference in comfort was very noticeable. Swapped back to the suspension fork when I got home, though haha

Definitely wouldn’t consider it on a MTB though – riding is way too dynamic.

That’s the thing, they’re designed for drop bar bikes iirc. Works great on a gravel bike in the truest sense of a gravel bike. Belting out miles on bumpy uk forest roads, double track and rough old lanes. If you’re pushing the envelope on your gravel bike then you’re prob pushing the envelope on your redshift stem.

Yeah, no good on an mtb.

For what it’s worth, on gravel bikes, I think they work where forks do not… and visa versa. One day I’ll try both together… but strongly suspect that might end up as 2+2=2.5 rather than 2+2+4.

Just had an email from redshift today. Worth knowing that they do a 90 day trial of any product. No questions asked returns if you just don’t like it and free post and returns. You have to buy from their website though. Worth it if you want to see if it’s for you.

You anywhere near Edinburgh? The lovely chaps at Projektride bring in the Vecnum stems which don’t arc, and work in the drops as well as the hoods thanks to the parallelogram design. If near, pop by to try etc?

Wish they’d get on and make a shorter one.

They told me 8 months ago that a 55mm is on the way, still no sign of it.

I’ve had one on the bike for about 4 years now, coming up to 4k miles. Has needed nothing doing to it in that time. Very likely would have sold the bike long ago if not for sticking a Redshift stem on there. It’s not to be mistaken for a mountain bike suspension fork but has exceeded my expectations. Pretty much does what it says on the tin. Probably one of my better purchasing decisions.

It would be interesting to try a proper air suspended gravel fork. The only gravel suspension fork I’ve ridden was a Lauf. There’s no way to tune leaf springs for different rider weights. So very likely it won’t be the optimal spring strength for that particular weight. Both the bottom out and rebound are super harsh as well. At my 72kg the Redshift stem is smoother and more controlled. Initially I was quite surprised that a stem could be more effective than a fork.

I bought a redshift stem about a month ago (£144 on amazon at the time), well impressed on the gravel bike. Was out on a ride at the weekend with a couple of mates, one on another gravel bike, one on a 29er hardtail with 100mm forks. At one point we all swapped bikes for only 200metres or so on a typical bit of trail with a lot of surface roughness. We all agreed that the redshift gave a noticeably smoother ride than both of the other bikes. The stem doesn’t have the stiction of suspension forks so moves very freely on small impacts. One other benefit I really noticed – my wrists never liked the harsh impact you get from, say, riding off a step, or pulling a little hop over a rock. Now not a problem! From my perspective, a great upgrade.

We all agreed that the redshift gave a noticeably smoother ride than both of the other bikes.

something odd there .. must have been a  very poor functioning  fork and/or badly maintained surely ?

No… similar experience here… the redshift stem removes smaller chatter and vibrations better than short travel forks (eg Ruby). They do different jobs in different ways.

The guys at projektride kindly offered to let me try a vecnum and return ( obviously undamaged ) for a refund if I didn’t get on with it . I really must take them up on that as it appears the best product available if you’re no weight weenie . Still feel a lockout would make all the difference for little cost and they’d sell more … to people like myself who love the comfort( when needed )but not the movement when tugging hard on the bars.

The redshift may be better for relatively light surface roughness ..I can understand that , but on anything more ,the fork ..if decent , will be much better imhe . Very little dive though .. that’s certainly a positive attribute.

And then there’s this…

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006276463729.html?src=google&src=google&albch=shopping&acnt=494-037-6276&slnk=&plac=&mtctp=&albbt=Google_7_shopping&albagn=888888&isSmbAutoCall=false&needSmbHouyi=false&albcp=17866112291&albag=&trgt=&crea=en1005006276463729&netw=x&device=c&albpg=&albpd=en1005006276463729&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9MzO_OuPhgMV7JpQBh3FdQbKEAQYBCABEgLhHPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&aff_fcid=02cdb08179b24b4cb6cb2d2d9a6de3c3-1715782527909-00782-UneMJZVf&aff_fsk=UneMJZVf&aff_platform=aaf&sk=UneMJZVf&aff_trace_key=02cdb08179b24b4cb6cb2d2d9a6de3c3-1715782527909-00782-UneMJZVf&terminal_id=cd5e5f49818c42ca9054cfe61a21f1a6&afSmartRedirect=y

but on anything more ,the fork ..if decent , will be much better imhe

That’s my experience as well. Even the very short travel Ruby handles rock gardens etc reasonably well, much better than the stem which is pretty useless at that kind of stuff. But for road and small off road chatter, the Redshift is far better.

Interesting video comparing single pivot to multi pivot.

Redshift Sports ShockStop PRO Stem review

This may help?

Cheers

Sanny