Opinions: best looking stem

[happycampyer]

Originally Posted by David Kirk

My favorite is the Deda Elementi SL. The strut tube is a bit smaller than most and it looks especially good when used on steel bikes....even better when painted to match.

dave

Folks have already provided a wide selection of options, so my advice is about aesthetics, which is purely personal. It obviously depends on the overall look you are going for and the choice of other components, but as a general rule I prefer that the diameter of the stem is not greater than the diameter of the toptube. The bigger stems suggested here look better on bikes with bigger tubes (with ti, that means 44mm headtubes, beefy downtubes, 30.9mm or wider seat tubes, etc.). For older school ti (i.e., with 1.125" steerers, 27.2mm seat tubes, etc.) the skinnier stems look better imo.

[Jef58]

The Pro PLT is also a great option. The cheaper, plain version of the Pro Vibe looks good with traditional tubing and comes in 10 degree.

[Web1111a]

Thanks



In the notes they say recommended only for Deda Carbon bars

Is there something special about there bars

Originally Posted by Dino Suegiù

Deda Elementi "SL" = "Superleggero", still very current, available in both standard ("Superleggero") and light-weight ("Superleggero RS").
They are beautiful stems, especially with some black titanium bolts from Toronto Cycles.

[Veloo]

Just came across this funky looking one. Too bad the longest is a 110.
Reminds me a bit of the Cinelli Alter.

https://www.controltechbikes.com/products/item/208.html

[bfd]

It might have already been mentioned, but for a silver stem it is hard to beat the Nitto UI-85EX:



Of course, if you’re still running a quill stem and need to get the bar up, there’s always the 225mm Nitto Technomic quill stem:



Lol

Good Luck!

[ColonelJLloyd]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

best stem is kalloy uno. Debadged with black ti bolts. Looks nice, its light (100g for a 110g), looks great, great bolt system, probably my favorite.

worst looking... enve stem. Heavy, bolbous, expensive.

Agree all around.

If, however, a little bit of silver complements a frame then I really like the older Ritchey WCS with the logos removed.

Originally Posted by David Kirk

My favorite is the Deda Elementi SL. The strut tube is a bit smaller than most and it looks especially good when used on steel bikes....even better when painted to match.

dave

This is one of my main reasons for using those older WCS stems. The tube is smaller than most and it has smooth transitions.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by Veloo

The old Pro Vibe 7S stem is a bit different .

I have a white one. Looks good, and best thing... if you like hands on tops hugging the stem the puzzle clamp has zero bumps or pressure point for your hands.


That and the Uno are VG, and the Uno is a deal, and comes in every possible rise/fall it seems like.

Only bad thing with the Uno is the hole to edges on the steer tube mating ID is a lot smaller than a lot of carbon steerer tubes should use.

3T ARX Team in Stealth gets a strong vote from me as well.

[mastaliu]

I like this Nitto via Sim-Works
https://sim.works/collections/stems-...nt=16532769859

plus a little safety info on stems from Luescher Teknik:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWn3JzTp4T4&t=347s

[Gpmrntz]

This is a silly question for three reasons.

1 - While small, a stem is a key piece of machinery connecting the steering mechanism to the bike. So, it should be functional, safe and dependable. Elegance really shouldn't factor, but if it must:

2 - It should be way down the list. Like 11 out of 10.

3 - Anyway, ask 10 people, you'll get at least 5 different responses, possibly 10. It's all subjective. Why do you need me to tell you, what looks good? Can't you decide that for yourself?

[ColonelJLloyd]

Originally Posted by Gpmrntz

This is a silly question for three reasons.

1 - While small, a stem is a key piece of machinery connecting the steering mechanism to the bike. So, it should be functional, safe and dependable. Elegance really shouldn't factor, but if it must:

2 - It should be way down the list. Like 11 out of 10.

3 - Anyway, ask 10 people, you'll get at least 5 different responses, possibly 10. It's all subjective. Why do you need me to tell you, what looks good? Can't you decide that for yourself?

Aesthetics or "elegance" are not mutually exclusive to function, safety, or dependability in a stem. Not sure what gives you that impression.

[martl]

Quill stems: Nitto forged
Ahead: Syntace 99

[ERK55]

Originally Posted by Gpmrntz

This is a silly question for three reasons.

1 - While small, a stem is a key piece of machinery connecting the steering mechanism to the bike. So, it should be functional, safe and dependable. Elegance really shouldn't factor, but if it must:

2 - It should be way down the list. Like 11 out of 10.

3 - Anyway, ask 10 people, you'll get at least 5 different responses, possibly 10. It's all subjective. Why do you need me to tell you, what looks good? Can't you decide that for yourself?

For me, asthetics/elegance would rank either #1 or #2 on a list of priorities.
But that’s me. And I can decide that by myself.
Of course I’ve never owned a commercially manufactured stem, of any brand, that wasn’t functional, safe, or dependable.
And the only ones that were truly attractive were made by the framemaker.

[kramnnim]

Need a photo of the bike

[jadedaid]

I like three stems/;

S-Works stem
Tune Geiles Teil 4.0
Moots RSL stem

Which one is on the bike largely depends on the fit. The Moots has a 45mm stack height whereas the others are 40mm, and the tune is -8.

In retrospect the news 700 for the RSL stem was not money well spent, even though the stem is glorious. I like the S-works one almost as much and those can be had for about 60 brand new on everyone’s favourite auction site.

[mmendoza87]

1. FSA Afterburner. Actually an MTB stem, It is a wide stem with a short stack (under 35mm I believe) and with the -10deg rise it looks great with a slightly sloped top tube on a road bike and it's fairly affordable.



2. The BMC ICS stem combined with the corresponding headset cover is also quite beautiful, along with the gloss-on-matte contrasting finishes.



3. Although this is a one-piece bar/stem, besides the smooth transition from the stem to bar, I absolutely love the underside of the Black Inc. Barstem. It reminds me of the underbelly of a B2 Bomber.