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#1
05-17-2005, 03:19 PM
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Cookie cutter Taiwanese stems from Bontrager and Zipp
Check out the latest new Taiwanese reinforced plastic stems on cyclingnews.com:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?...xx_lite_stem05 http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?..._carbon_stem01 Some manufacturers add value by at least designing (if not even manufacturing) their own innovative components. Not Bontrager and Zipp, who'd rather just slap their label on an "off the shelf" commodity product popped out of a mold in Taiwan. (Not just any product either, but a your-life-depends-on-it stem!) Am I the only person who finds this tremendously insulting to their intelligence? These companies don't even *try* to differentiate themselves. How stupid do they think we are? I applaud everyone on this board who, by patronizing Serotta, has voted for quality and innovation with their wallets. I hope everyone here will continue to eschew junk like this, when confronted by it in the marketplace. (Rant over.) 
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#2
05-17-2005, 03:29 PM
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as alvy singer said...
Quote:
"the universe is expanding".
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#3
05-17-2005, 03:39 PM
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If you don't like em don't buy em. That's why we have choices.
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#4
05-17-2005, 03:45 PM
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Quote:
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#5
05-17-2005, 03:50 PM
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i'm a little uncertain what makes these stems crap. other bontrager stuff i've used is quite good (their seatpost in particular.) why are they crap? (not meant as fighting words, just seeking further explanation.)
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#6
05-17-2005, 03:53 PM
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stem
i would not want them
both T 300 fibers plain weave the lowest strenght you can buy
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#7
05-17-2005, 04:06 PM
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This isn't exactly a new practice. Companies in all kinds of industries have done this for years. Relabelling a good product benefits both the marketing company and the consumer. Bontrager/Trek and Zipp are saving themselves the cost of designing a new stem and then having it made to their specifications. The consumer saves because the price of the stem is less than it would be if the marketing company had to cover the costs of design and manufacture. If you like a design just shop around and buy it from the least expensive source. Supergo, Performance, and a number of other mailorder stores will probably be selling the same stem in a few months under their own label.
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#8
05-17-2005, 04:14 PM
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I must admit I'm a little surprised at the Bontrager variant - KB has always been a bit of a skeptic, and a man of great integrity IMO. I personally can't imagine using anyone's carbon stem, but I guess if I had to I would have thought his was a relatively safe one.
__________________
"Wait, stop! We can outsmart those dolphins. Don't forget: we invented computers, leg warmers, bendy straws, peel-and-eat shrimp, the glory hole, *and* the pudding cup!" -Homer Simpson, Treehouse of Horror XI
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#9
05-17-2005, 04:23 PM
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i am personally scared-to-death by cf stems
as well as cnc-ed aluminum stems, especially the ones with the itty-bitty bolts. i had my own "personal jesus" moment with one 3 years ago and it was a slow ride home. hey - thanks for reading. Last edited by e-RICHIE; 05-17-2005 at 04:27 PM. Reason: i was in depeche mode
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#10
05-17-2005, 05:22 PM
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Perhaps due to my fixation (pun intended) for track bikes, I am inherently drawn to quills... much like the jewel bellow.
It's my rare Suntour Superbe road quill - never used!. If it were not for my radical 58 degree (drop) Nitto track stems. Id use it.
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#11
05-17-2005, 06:49 PM
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Quote:
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#12
05-17-2005, 06:52 PM
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Quote:
computerized numerical control (machine)
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#13
05-17-2005, 07:08 PM
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Quote:
i had another brand cnc-ed stem fail, and brother, once is enough. in my pea-brained attempt at explaining this, cnc-ed products begin as chunks of aluminum and everything that doesn't look like a stem is machined away. afterwards, the holes are drilled and tapped. otoh, a forged stem basically is, er, forged into the basic shape. i don't know what happens after that. the rub is that the grain structure (or something else very important) used for the chunk in cnc-ed products is made from stuff that is too rigid or too hard or maybe the molecules only line up on shaboth. whatever it is, i was ever wary of it BEFORE i used cnc-ed stems, and swore off the goods after my "personal jesus" moment. hey - thanks for asking.
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#14
05-17-2005, 07:14 PM
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Quote:
but becuase aerospace alu with proper heat treatment the maching on cnc machine its not easy the most people buy easy machine alu that do not give that problems and of course have no heat treatment and is cheap but again could done right if people knwo what they are doing that's the problem the people who make them mostly do not bike otherwise they would not make it like that cees
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#15
05-17-2005, 07:17 PM
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Quote:
AMEN, BROTHER!!!!!!!!
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