First time buying a stem. I really don’t know what’s good/ bad.
I have a stock Felt 110mm, 0 degree stem (which bolts stripped out of) with a “FSA Vision Aluminum Triathlon with Carbon extensions” bar
So all I know is to look for a 110mm stem with 0degree rise. What else do I need to know/ look for? What brands/models should I look for?
Thanks
seth
That’s about all you need to know. Hundreds of stems will do the same job for you. Any particular recommendation will be nothing short of opinion.
IMO carbon for a stem is a non issue. Always liked the Ritchey aluminium stems, especially the WCS line, but they now have an adjustable model which seems interesting:
Ritchey or Syntace. Both are excellent quality at reasonable prices. Easton is very good stuff as well.
I saw the adjustable stem at Performance the other day. The weight would be my only objection. I believe it’s more than 100 grams heavier. Maybe that isn’t a huge deal but how often are you going to be adjusting the stem?
There’s one more thing you need to know before shopping…clamp size. Make sure your next stem has a 26mm bar clamp to fit your Visions. Don’t buy anything marked “oversize”…these have 31.8mm clamp for “oversize” bars.
Thanks for the replies.
One more thing. 0 degrees doesn’t seem to be too common through search. What will a ±6 degrees rise do? what difference will it make?
0 degrees doesn’t seem to be too common through search. What will a ±6 degrees rise do? what difference will it make.
It means a couple of cms +/- in bar height, assuming you don’t do anything with the spacers. If you want exactly the same par height, you can either add a spacer (assuming there is a spacer on top of the bar) or flip the stem so it has a +6 degree rise and remove 1 cm of spacers. That should put you at about the same bar height.
O degree stems are getting rarer these days. That’s why I posted the Ritchey adjustable stem. Ironically, I just sold a rare 0 degree Ritchey stem on ebay not too long ago.