Steel frame threadless stem aesthetics

[samkl]

Figure this is sufficiently esoteric for this discerning crowd. I have a custom lugged Hampsten which I'm enjoying very much. It's got a threadless 1" fork.

I'm having trouble finding a stem that looks good, simply because visually it's way heftier than the frame tubes. I had a Ritchey Classic before--beautiful stem, but just way too bulky. I know Nitto makes things, but they're heavy and usually take weeks to ship from Japan, and then it's impossible to return if it doesn't work, etc etc.

Anyone know of slender aluminum threadless stems that don't look bad on a steel frame? Looking for 100 x -6d or 100 x 0d. Black or silver would work.

Even better if it has a 1" steerer (I know, impossible).

[ColonelJLloyd]

The older Ritchey WCS stems with the silver face plate "posts" were very sleek and there are plenty out there. They are still some of the lightest stems around. I use one on a bike with a 1" steerer.

The more recent S-Works SL aluminum stem is similarly sleek.

[pgrizzwald]

Thomson elite X2 with a 31.8 steerer shim

[ltwtsculler91]

Deda Superleggera is really slim and looks great on nearly any round tubed bike. The Zero100 is marginally bigger and also works nicely on 1” steel, it’s what I’ve got on my lugged Kirk and it works well.

[deluz]

Needed a shorter stem and got a Ritchey C220 in silver.
Really light and looks great on my steel bike

[ERK55]

Agree that the Superleggero and S-Works SL look pretty sleek, both having a diameter of only 32mm. The OP wanted a -6d or a 0 degree stem which may rule out the Superleggero which is -8d.

[tuscanyswe]

Silver the nitto caroline looks rather sleek imo. Cant remember angle on this, think its more than 6 as i dont particularly like 6 but it may be available in this as well.




But my favorite as also light n black if one is going for that more modern look the extralite, comes in 6 degrees but i preer 10 as pictured or hmm was that 12.. unsure.

[Turkle]

Don't know if this would work for you, but I have a BNIB "OnebyESU" 100mm silver stem. It's a 26mm handlebar clamp, for 1" steerer. Never been mounted.

If you have 26mm handlebars, this would look amazing on any steel bike.

https://alexscycle.com/products/oneb...nch-ahead-stem





PM if interested and I'll give you an extremely fair price. Cheers!

(I'm almost positive I have some great 26mm handlebars, totally new, I could include as well!)

[Peter P.]

If you can't find anything off the rack that meets your aesthetics, find a builder like Paul Sadoff at Rock Lobster and ask them to build one for you. Any weight penalty is over-ruled by looks, and you can have it finished almost any way you want. The key is to have the extension the same diameter as the top tube.

I had Paul build a 1 1/8" steel threadless stem for me and it is spiffy.

[lafish]

You’ve asked Steve, right? He has a good eye for this kind of thing.

[Tall]

Does it have to be aluminum? If not: https://global.bluelug.com/fairweath...em-silver.html

If it has to be aluminum, you could see if you find an old Control Tech. But they're tricky to chase down (as are most 1" threadless options).

[72gmc]

Originally Posted by tuscanyswe

Silver the nitto caroline looks rather sleek imo. Cant remember angle on this, think its more than 6 as i dont particularly like 6 but it may be available in this as well.

I'm a big fan of Nitto and Sim-Works' versions of Nitto. They tend to be in the 6-10 degree range in the versions I need, but I make peace with it.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by tuscanyswe

Every time you post this magnificently beautiful bike I feel things that I can't comprehend, much less explain.

Is that a 1.125" stem on a 1" steerer tube? I did something similar with a bike I have using a VO shim.

[herb5998]

If you can find one, the Specialized S Works SL stem works great from a proportion perspective. graphics are nearly stealth, and some different angles are available. Only challenge is that I don't think Specialized is making them anymore, or if they are, inventories are much smaller than before the SL7/SL8 Tarmac models came out with a specific stem.

[NormansCay]

Originally Posted by herb5998

If you can find one, the Specialized S Works SL stem works great from a proportion perspective. graphics are nearly stealth, and some different angles are available. Only challenge is that I don't think Specialized is making them anymore, or if they are, inventories are much smaller than before the SL7/SL8 Tarmac models came out with a specific stem.

Agreed. Specialized S-Works SL looks good from a 1" steerer perspective, but they are currently very hard to find depending on configuration. I recently went through a lot of effort to obtain one in 110 -12 degree configuration. Also recommend the Extralite Hyperstem in -12 as shown above on Tuscanyswe's chromovelato Officina Battaglin (which looks amazing by the way).