Anything special to look for or consider when getting a stem for a carbon steerer tube? Ritchey, for example, says that their WCS stem will not do damage to carbon. Does that mean others will?
opposing stem clamp bolts like the ritchey WCS or Oval have. It doesn’t mean that others will do damage, just abide by torque specs and you should be fine, also get a good “steer tube” insert, one that goes into the fork steer tube and places a bit of reinforcement into the steer tube. I can’t think of the manufacturers right off hand.
here is a link
http://www.profile-design.com/2006_product_pages/accesories/acc_karbon_gapcap.html
I use a Ritchey WCS stem with a Reynold’s Ouzo Pro Peleton fork on my road bike. You can use any circumference style clamp stem. Stay away from the “pinch” or “wedge” type stems. Described on the user’s manual on the Reynold’s site.
Geez, I’ve used many different stems on my AlphaQ Sub 3 1" carbon steerer. Never gave it much thought. Presently I have a 90g Syntace on it with a shim. But I’ve had all sorts of different stems on it over about 4 years now. Never had any issues.