Vibration Damping Stems?

[Josh_W]

I'm building up a Cannondale Synapse for group rides that include a lot of rough country roads. I'm old and achy and have CTS. My other road bikes have Cannondale Headshok forks with about an inch of travel.

I'm considering the RedShift and Cane Creek suspension stems, but I'm doing a weight weenie build, and the Synapse is already pretty compliant. If I could find a carbon or titanium stem with just a bit of vertical compliance or extra dampening I'd be stoked.

Does anyone know of a non-custom product that would work? I'm looking for a 110mm, +6° or 0°, for 1-1/8" steerer, 31.8mm bar.

[fredd]

I doubt any non-suspension stems have any meaningful amount of flex. If you don't wanna go with a redshift, I'd look into vibration dampening handlebars like the Lauf Smoothie or Roval Terra.

[C40_guy]

I have the RedShift on a couple of gravel bikes. It's elegantly designed, built and it takes the edge off.

If I were building a bike for rough roads, I would be more concerned about all day comfort than shaving grams. 50 grams or so on a stem is a very reasonable cost for the greater upper body comfort.

[bshell]

'Damping'. As mentioned above, comfort is not going to come from a rigid stem.

[Hilltopperny]

The Redshift stem works very well. I have not gotten compliance out of any rigid stem that could ever really compare, but I do like the compliance of the Whisky Spano carbon bars. I have found that to be quite noticeable over rough terrain and they are lightweight.

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[Jdm]

I think the best options are to get a suspension stem like a RedShift and use 32mm tubeless tires on wide internal rims at low pressure.

[tellyho]

Vibration damping = more tire

[skiezo]

The redshift on my gravel bike works very well. I bit on the hefty side but I will take the couple grams of added weight.

[Tandem Rider]

I have a Redshift on my gravel bike, it made a huge difference on the washboard gravels here. The only other ways I know of to deal with handlebar vibration are double layer of tape (I use cork) and tires (both size and pressure).

I think the benefit of the tape might be more from the increased diameter than from shock absorbtion.

Tires have been discussed here almost every day by folks who know more about them than I do. You know what your bike will fit.

The Redshift stem was an AHA! moment for me. As soon as I got it installed I went out and rode some harsh washboard just to test it out. It seemed to help as much as going up a size in tires and dropping pressure. Just a sample size of one.

[LadyDog]

+1 for Redshift.

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by Tandem Rider

The Redshift stem was an AHA! moment for me. As soon as I got it installed I went out and rode some harsh washboard just to test it out. It seemed to help as much as going up a size in tires and dropping pressure. Just a sample size of one.

I had a similar experience in using the Redshift and eeSilk suspension seatposts -- both had an effect similar to going up one size in tires (with the accompanying decrease in pressure).

[Geeheeb]

Redshift has a scratch and dent section as well as the occasional sale:

https://redshiftsports.com/collections/scratch-dent

[David Kirk]

I've been using the Redshift on my personal allroad gravel bike and it's a wonderful thing.

No rigid stem has any effective damping...if you want vibration absorption from the stem you'd going to need something with a mechanical pivot.

dave

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by Tandem Rider

The Redshift stem was an AHA! moment for me.

I'm still playing with the elastomers. When I installed my first one, I dropped down a level in compression (more sproing, softer).

That seemed to work great...I'm very light on the handlebars, generally. I haven't gotten the other bikes out yet so no back to back comparisons...

[Josh_W]

Thanks for all the input - and for the scratch&dent link, @Geeheeb.

I was hoping there was a stem using carbon and pivots - like the Ergon/Canyon seatpost I have on my gravel bike - that I just hadn't found.

It looks like pretty much the only thing out there in the form I need that doesn't weight 5 lbs is the RedShift ShockStop Pro stem, since the other "lightweight" models, like the eeSilk, can't do a positive angle.

I think I'll just ride the Synapse for a bit with the alloy stem that came on it and my new carbon bars, and see if enough vibration gets through to warrant the weight penalty of a ShockStop.