Anyone have any pros or cons using an adjustable stem like the Oval Concepts one?
I’ve got two of them of different lengths in my spare parts collection, but use them only for position experiments - either for myself or family/friends. They are really pretty heavy, so once you figure out how to get the bars in the right spot with a conventional stem, you should probably do so. You’ll likely end up with a collection of fixed stems, too. Save your shims for these in a safe place - you never know when one of them will fit the bill for somebody perfectly, and you may be looking at an unexpected combination of stem and handlebar size.
Old stems are great for trading stuff.
Thanks
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The bolt on the center piece comes loose, it wont fall off (I guess) but it moves a lot! for me that makes me nervous … as Gandalf said: I only use two tools, WD-40 and duct tape, if it moves and shouldn’t I use duct tape and if it doesn’t move and should I use WD-40… With this thing duct tape was not enough so I torqued a little more and the dam thing broke!!! there goes 89 down the toilet. The thing is: when you are ridding the aero bars and you feel a little movement, the first thing that comes to mind is: dam bars are coming loose, the second is: will I make it home in one piece? then when you realize that the problem is in the center bolt of the stem you relax, but never enough. The fun part should be that you spend good money on your equipment so you can ride safely thinking about riding not falling! You are probably not going to fall but the thing moves so much that its inevitable to think about that possibility.
I was told by the sales rep to check it before every ride… i don’t have time… so I torqued it a little more and it broke… now I use a normal stem, I check and clean my bike once a week, I’m happy. I don’t have time to do it before every ride, and peace of mind is worth much more than a few mm. Rithcey has a 30° pro stem that you can flip, very good! specialized has also one that goes to -24° and deda makes the pista that will get you steep.
But I should add that Oval products have a very good quality finish, they are nice, just that the concept still needs a lot of work, maybe Felt will some day get it right! but for me no thanks!
Syntance has an interesting concept I’ve never seen one but take a look: http://www.syntace.com/index.cfm?pid=3&pk=922
I really like the Ritchey adjustable stem. Strong, stiff, reasonably light at ~220g, and decent price ~$60.
Thanks for the input, I think I will go with one of the fixed ones with more drop. I don’t won’t worry about things getting loose on a ride or race either.