Wow, this looks like it could be awesome. Never done kickstarter but what do you think the final price would be after they have been out. Looks like the aerobars went from 125 to 180 so looking at maybe 130 for the stem?

I checked that out after they contact me. It's similar to the Girvin stem from way back when (which I used, along with the Softride stem). Interesting timing, as I'm currently testing this stem:

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Mark Chandler, Editor In Chief
GRAVELBIKE.com | ride everything

That stem has been popping up in ads on every website I visit. Interested to hear how it performs. The stafast stem might make the cut on my cx/road bike but I'd never sport it on a tri bike. The interesting the about the new Redshift stem is that it doesn't seem like it would impart an aero penalty over a normal stem which makes it interesting for use on a tri bike.

If you scroll down to the bottom of their Kickstarter page the early birds are $89 I think.

Looks like it could be cool.

I don't fund Kickstarters anymore based off principal, far too projects with pie in the sky promises that never deliver, but I'll happily buy this if and when it comes out and is favorably tested.

This looks really promising. I have a Redshift Swift system on my road bike, and I've been really impressed with the design/engineering*, execution, and customer support. I expect the same will apply to this new product. This isn't a typical pie-in-the-sky Kickstarter, this is a company with an execution track record.

* Modest caveat: It looks like my optimal road and aero positions, which I've been dialing in with a fitter over the past weeks, may require a modest change in seat height, reducing the switch-on-the-fly convenience of the system. But even if that turns out to be the case, it's still more convenient than having to switch out seatposts, and I'm still really impressed with this product.

@GreenPlease - Thanks for backing us! We really appreciate the support! I'm one of the founders of Redshift Sports and the engineer behind the ShockStop.

Adambeston's guess was pretty close - we'll probably target somewhere around $135-140 USD for the MSRP post-Kickstarter.

We really wanted it to be a drop-in replacement for standard road/tri/cx stems, both from a fit standpoint as well as an aesthetic standpoint.

If you have any other questions about the Shockstop, please let me know and I'll do my best to answer them.

Niccolo - Sorry to hijack the thread, but I'd be interested to hear what the final difference is between your road and aero seatpost heights. It will be useful for our records - you can PM me if you'd like or email info@redshiftsports.

More on topic - Scott (another Redshift cofounder) and I both did Challenge Poconos a few weeks ago with the Shockstop/Switch Aero System combination on our bikes. The first 6 miles and last 6 miles of the bike course were absolutely terrible road surface (the roughest I've ridden in a while), so it was really nice to have the stem on there to take the edge off. Interestingly, it's possible to select an elastomer combination that works well in both road and aero positions. In aero, there's more weight on the handlebar (by about a factor of two), but that weight is centered over the bar tops rather than the hoods, which means that the leverage ratio is reduced by about a factor of two on the stem.

I went thru the page again but didnt see how many different sets of elastomers are included. My main concern is that it says 1-2cm but that is huge on a dialed in tri bike. Is there going to be a "solid" elastomer that could be set up for racing a smoother course? The roads around here could use the full for sure bc of the ka-klunk nature of them drives me nutso but having to be that high for a race and having to swap stems would be rough.



Could you let us know that and also from what I can tell you take the stem cap off and remove the handlebars to change out the elastomers?

Adam - we're actually still finalizing the exact number and durometers of the elastomers that will be provided. We may end up differentiating slightly between people who are riding flat-bar road/hybrid bikes, versus people who are riding drop bars/aerobars, since the difference in required stiffness between those two geometries is pretty large (you need a much softer durometer for a flat-bar setup).

Most likely, we'll end up providing between 3-4 sets of different durometers (i.e., 2 each of Shore 50A, 70A, and 90A, or 2 each of 50A, 75A, 80A, 90A). Then you could mix and match those as necessary to fine-tune the feel within that range.

Regarding the 1-2cm of travel - that is the total travel range from topped out to bottomed out. For performance-oriented road/tri riders who are riding on paved roads, we'd recommend selecting elastomers so that the stem is lightly topped out during normal seated riding on a smooth road. That ensures that there's no perceptible movement or effect on fit while riding normally, but that the suspension will have plenty of room to compress to accommodate larger bumps or vibrations. Obviously, with this setting, the suspension is slightly less sensitive to very small bumps, but still damps road buzz quite effectively. For most riders, if you put both of the stiffest elastomers in, the stem will feel essentially rigid except over very big bumps.


If you ride a lot of gravel trails or just prefer a more active suspension feel, we suggest choosing elastomers to give you about 2mm of sag at the end of the stem during normal seated riding (this corresponds to about 5mm at the ends of the brake hoods on a drop-bar road bike). In this case, you can simply place additional headset spacers under the stem as necessary to compensate for the sag.


You're correct, in order to swap elastomers, you'll need to remove the stem faceplate, then unscrew a small preload wedge. Admittedly a bit of a chore, but hopefully something you only have to do once or twice as you dial in the feel.


Sorry for the long post!

What lengths and stem angles will be available to those who pledge support for your project?

Burnt Toast - The flippable +/-6° stem will be available in 90, 100, 110, and 120mm lengths. We will also have a high-rise +30° version at 100mm length. You can find the full specs table about mid-way down the Kickstarter page.

Absolutely. I'm in touch with Stephen directly on email--for all I know that's you!--and my intention was to send a final report once things are dialed in. FYI, for now the difference looks like it'll be 6mm or a touch more, though we're also tweaking to see if there's a compromise position that doesn't require changing seat height. It looks like lateral seat position will be able to stay constant, which is great.

Really support what you guys are doing, and the way you're doing it. On my current bike I have to run a shorter stem than you're offering for this new product, but happy to express my support, so I ordered up a t-shirt to support it.

total diversion here, but uh, do you know which buggy this is? My wife needs to know. Yes I know this is weird.

Almost everyone sees a difference of at least 5mm. This is because people tend to measure to the same point on the saddle. But in aero, they sit on the front of the saddle. And on the road position, they sit on the back.

For reference, my TT bike saddle height is 821mm. My road bike saddle height is 817mm.

PS: The RedShift guys are classmates of mine from Princeton. Hi Erik & Stephen!

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Were you guys at the Iceman Cometh Expo? I swear I saw a suspension stem at the expo.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

Yeah, but the Redshift Switch system moves the saddle both forward and up, though exactly how much up I don't recall. I'm finding that I need some additional up in aero position on top of what the saddle offers, somewhere between 6mm and max maybe 1 cm.

Didn't realize the Princeton connection, actually was thinking Stephen's photo looked a bit familiar, apparently we overlapped there for undergrad. My Niccolo username is kind of an homage to Machiavelli, to whom I was exposed in Maurizio Viroli's classes there. Small world!

Niccolo - it is indeed me that you were emailing (Stephen). I think Jordan (Rappstar) is agreeing with your findings. His bottom-bracket to saddle distance is slightly larger on his TT bike vs on his road bike (I'm making some assumptions here that he uses the same length cranks) which is similar to what you're describing. The degree of this is dependent on your saddle, and to some degree, your anatomy as you rock your hips forward.

Makes sense.

I've been riding an old-school Selle Italia Flite saddle, and am now demoing a very new-school Specialized Sitero (which feels bruising for now but I have a hunch is really going to grow on me).

Economist - Nope, wasn't us, but that looks like a pretty awesome race!

Any progress towards a carbon seat post on the Red Shift system?

Could you possibly find space to route cables on top of the stem, and perhaps a centerpull exit on the bottom, similar to that of the Tririg Sigma? It would really help aero and aesthetics a lot.
Best of luck with your new product!

I like this idea as well though something tells me it's a bit of a long-shot for Redshift to accommodate our wishes here :) Plus you have to remember that the TriRig stem also acts as a cable stop which wouldn't be possible with this system.

aahydraa - I love the idea - I've always admired how clean the front end of a bike can be using Tririg's products. Unfortunately, it's a bit complicated for a couple of reasons. The main one is that there's quite a bit of stuff inside the stem near where you'd ideally would want a cable to pass through. The elastomers, preload wedge, bearings, and pivot bolts are all right there, so passing a cable through this area would be nearly impossible (it's pretty packed in there as-is). Also, as Greenplease correctly pointed out, it wouldn't work as a cable stop for the brakes because the stem moves up and down relative to the brake.

Obviously, when SRAM introduces their wireless electronic braking system next year, this will all be a moot point. :)