Opinions: best looking stem

[voir dire]

Originally Posted by gunder

I'm curious, will a Deda stem with a 31.7 handlebar clamp work on a handlebar with a 31.8 clamp diameter?

100% yes.
31.7mm vs 31.8mm are not actual measurements as much as they are round down vs round up nominal dimensions. No worries.

[benb]

I couldn't decide without matching to the bike.

In general for me:
- No way on Square or Triangular shape profiles... functionally inferior too IIRC
- Shouldn't be too oversized
- Most of these melted/droopy aero ones are ugly IMO
- Matte Finishes only work on very specific bikes, gloss works better on most bikes as almost all bikes have gloss finishes other than the "murdered out" carbon bikes from BigBikeCos the last 5 years.
- I think the Stem finish should match the seatpost finish.. gloss seatpost/mast/topper + matte stem is not good.

I had a Thomson X2 in gloss black on my brushed Ti Serotta and always thought that was a good looking combo till it did the ol Thomson crack and fail.

I have swapped a few stems on my Trek Domane.. It's a gloss finish frame/fork seatpost. I just recently swapped it from a matte stem to one of the original stems designed with the frame and it looks a lot better. The original RXL Stems Trek was shipping were gloss near the steer tube and transitioned to flat 2/3 of the way up the stem so the steer tube end matched the frame & the bar end matches the bars. It's a big improvement in looks for that bike. That bike is obviously monstrously huge tubes and not a single 100% round "tube" anywhere on the bike but a round relatively less chunky stem just looks a lot better on it.

[jkbrwn]

For people complaining about the Sim Works logo, it actually isn’t printed on the stem. It’s a decal in the box that you don’t have to use. I did not use it on my Sim Works Rhonda.

[dddd]

I've liked the regular Ritchey WCS stems these last few years.

They have a good range of angle options as well, which can allow a half-cm adjustment to the stem's effective or perpendicular reach.
This fit the need for me with my longer leg-length proportion riding an H1 Koppenberg, a used-bike purchase having only 45mm of exposed steerer.

[Toddykins]

The answer to this question always is and shall remain: Firefly custom

[Coffee Rider]

Originally Posted by Toddykins

The answer to this question always is and shall remain: Firefly custom

You should post that bike in the gallery. Here I am slumming it with just an Enve stem in your old one

It’s hard to argue with your choice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Toddykins]

Originally Posted by Coffee Rider

You should post that bike in the gallery. Here I am slumming it with just an Enve stem in your old one

It’s hard to argue with your choice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I miss the mint one but glad its getting good use!