Stick with black or add some bling?

Need a new stem for the Fuel EXE. Reckon should just stick with a black stem keep all the small touches black too or add a bit of colour?

I have a Hope headset so can easily swap to a different colour Hope headset cover but not sure what would look good with the blue, or just keep it simple and go black. Bars are OneUp so plain black. Thoughts?

This is the colour. Should add I’m not a big fan of silver or Red so if I stuck with hope stem it would be black, blue, purple or bronze

I’d hit the bling button and add some orange accents.

I’d go either silver or black

Stay black IMO

Black, the frame has enough pop to carry it without ever being drab.

Purple Hope stem and seat clamp would be nice imo. This being STW though you’ll be disowned for anything other than black, grey or silver.

Came to say orange and blue always go well together.

On a coloured frame black everything, apart from chainring and cranks, which should be silver as any other colour will just come off

Brighten it up with some additional colour.

+1 for Hope orange*

*Not to be confused with Hope bronze

Black

I’d stick with black, maybe a couple of small bits of silver.

Black.
That’s a very particular blue and anything colour anodised will clash. Silver would be nice as well if you had other silver bits.

Coloured parts only work against black, silver of white frames.

Black unless you want to achieve a cheap garish kid’s bike look.

Black. Works very well with the current bike and more chance of working on the next bike.

if I stuck with hope stem it would be black, blue, purple or bronze

black – this is the way

blue – hope blue will not match that frame

purple – with blue? no

bronze – in theory quite nice. there was quite a lengthy thread on here about hope bronze not being the colour advertised and I’ve only seen the pictures, not the real life colour.

Theres also orange which is distinct from bronze which you havent mentioned.

If you want colour – Burgtec Kash Bronze

I’ve always though that stems are the wrong thing if you’re thinking of adding colour, not least for the reason that yo’ll have to look at it.

I’ve a predominately blue bike with black componentry, and the only thing I have of colour (apart from cable ends which are coloured coded so I know when to change them) is the BB shell which is bronze. I didn’t choose it for the colour specifically, it was cheap in the CRC give-away, but it does add a nice subtle bit off colour.

As the frame has enough colour it’s got to be black or silver and as you’re not a fan of silver….

Silver is growing on me. Think will go black or silver. But not too much if go silver. Maybe stem and saddle clamp.

I went silver on the Ragley, including the hubs – makes a nice change to everything being black, without being garish. That said, all the bits on my ebike are Hope Orange with a baby blue frame

20231111_113435~2 by davetheblade[/url], on Flickr

^^ silver is definitely looking good. Is that a hope stem?

IMHO ano stuff only looks good in moderation, on the right coloured frame and in balance.  For example, a set of hubs (mate has a Canyon with a light putty coloured frame and lilac decals, purple hubs really pop on it).  A large single coloured item like a stem on an otherwise all black component bike will just look out of place, it needs a seatpost collar to balance it (and even then most times a stem in any colour but black or silver looks daft).

So for me, to answer the OP, black, or if you go for a colour silver and a silver seatpost collar for balance.

Is that a hope stem?

All the finishing kit is Nukeproof Horizon

20240708_181618 by davetheblade[/url], on Flickr

If I went hope silver I see there is a gravity stem and a TR stem? Much difference between the two?

I have a nukeproof horizon copper/bronze 35/35mm if you’re interested.

Black or silver, but copper/bronze might just work as it’s a nice punchy frame colour.  Anything else and you are on the route from nice new bike to parts-bin mash-up. Nothing wrong with the part-bin mash-up look though imo…if it is indeed a parts-bin mash-up.

If I went hope silver I see there is a gravity stem and a TR stem? Much difference between the two?

Guess the Gravity is just a bit burlier, doubt you can feel much difference between the two.

I went Gravity as I’m not bothered about weight on the ebike

Going orange and silver could give a strong Irn Bru aesthetic

I’m quite found of grey, like the platinum deity copperhead stem, personally I have a few nukeproof grey bits to go nicely with blue.

Hope: Orange headset, purple stem, red seat clamp, silver hubs and blue pedals.

I reckon you need some colour especially on a blue Trek.

Otherwise one could think that you haven’t put any thought into the bike, the choice of bike, or indeed anything else in your life 😉