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Race Face Prodigy

MSRP $ 41.00
Weight 224 grams (115mm, 8’ rise)
# of Reviews 13
Average Rating 4.23/5
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Submitted by k3n!f a Cross Country Rider from Hobart, Australia
Date Reviewed: March 16, 2006
Duration Product Used:2 Years
Price Paid: $25.00
Strengths:Looks, stiffness, doesn't creak, bolts do up on the side, confidence inspiringly solid.
Weaknesses:Uhhhh none that I can think of.
Similar Products Used:IKE light (that cracked)
Bike Setup:Merida HT, Fox Vanilla, Juicey 7's, Raceface Evolove cranks, Hope XC hubs.
Bottom Line:A genuine fit and forget product. Bought it 2 years ago on special, haven't had to think about it since =D
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

Submitted by Kevin McMahon a Racer from Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: December 26, 2005
Favorite Trail:Jumpingpound Ridge
Duration Product Used:More than 3 years
Purchased At:OEM
Strengths:Perfect. Canada rules. The bolt setup is very well done, making it clean and simple. I have bashed my knee before on stems on tricky trails when I get clipped out or whatever, and having no boltheads to destroy me is awesome.
Weaknesses:None!
Similar Products Used:Raceface Evolve Stem 2005
Bike Setup:this bike is a 2001 Norco Rush
Bottom Line:It works great! no problems, holds the bar really well, creaks when it's loose and needs some cleaning, but it's reasonable light and cheap. If you want something lighter, you have to pay a loooot more.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

Submitted by Mark a Cross Country Rider from Taiwan
Date Reviewed: October 31, 2004
Duration Product Used:3 months
Price Paid: $8.00
Strengths:Look, feel, finish
Weaknesses:none
Similar Products Used:various, too many....
Bike Setup:Giant XTC
Bottom Line:Beautiful stem. Completely stiff with no flex whatsoever. The Finish is very nice. The best part is not having the bolts at the rear of the stem, but at the side. Very clean design. No noise.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

Submitted by Mark B. a Weekend Warrior from Ft Wayne, IN
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2004
Duration Product Used:3 months
Price Paid: $40.00
Purchased At:online
Strengths:good price, stiff, easy to install
Weaknesses:none
Similar Products Used:SYStem, Prodigy BOA, OEM crap
Bike Setup:motobecane x4b2.0 w/ black fork, xt crank, Deore/sun ds-2 wheels, Titec trucker bar
Bottom Line:the stem looks good, and performs perfectly; couldn't flex it (i weigh 235, used to pick up engine blocks). It gave me a perfect platform for steering and manuals. LOVE the no-weld aspect!
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

Submitted by Kevin a Weekend Warrior from IN
Date Reviewed: February 20, 2004
Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
Price Paid: $20.00
Purchased At:Pricepoint
Strengths:Easy to install, looks good and bolts are out my way.
Weaknesses:???
Similar Products Used:Specialized, kore
Bike Setup:Hr comp.. XT drive, marz mx pro w/eta, panaracer etc...
Bottom Line:I got this stem to up grade from the stock higher rising stem that came with my bike. I bought it with the sette duo riser bar as a package deal. Seems easy to install, and looks cool haven't really rode much on it...yet. bottom line nice stem....nice price.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

Submitted by Justin a Cross Country Rider from Memphis, TN
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2003
Favorite Trail:Tour De Wolf
Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
Price Paid: $20.00
Purchased At:Ebay
Strengths:-Looks Good
-Light
-Cheap
Weaknesses:-None Yet
Similar Products Used:Spezialized
Bike Setup:03 Hardrock w/ Mucho Extras
Bottom Line:The bottom line is, I needed a new stem. My old Spezialized stem flexed a tad (I weight about 180lbs) and finally the bottom handlebar bolt stripped out. I bought this stem b/c of the Raceface name and the fact that I got it pretty damn cheap. So far I've been very happy with it and I would reccomend it to anyone as well as buy it again.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

Submitted by Mark a Cross Country Rider from Canada
Date Reviewed: May 2, 2003
Duration Product Used:1 Year
Strengths:works great
Weaknesses:none
Similar Products Used:titec, coda, axiom
Bike Setup:Rocky Mountain Vertex
Bottom Line:After I bought the bike, I never really thought about the stem again....a sign that it's doing its job well (and quietly).
I buy another one without hesitation!
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

Submitted by Andy Orr a Cross Country Rider from Fort Collins, CO
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2002
Favorite Trail:The one I'm on...
Duration Product Used:3 months
Price Paid: $30.00
Purchased At:pricepoint... where price is the point
Strengths:Stiff, light, good value, sensible rise, comes in a wide variety of lengths.
Weaknesses:A little finicky to set up straight if you don't do it right.
Similar Products Used:Thomson Elite, RF SyStem, Titec, Syncros, Specialized
Bike Setup:Ever evolving AC Air Lite
Bottom Line:I bought this stem to replace the flexy and noisy OEM Titec that came stock on my 2002 Giant AC Air Lite (great trail bike). My first choice was a 110 X 15 Thomson I had laying around but the 15 degrees of rise was a little too much when the fork was in 5 inch mode. The 8 degree rise of the Prodigy was more like what I was used to.

So far, I have been very happy with this stem. I weigh 215 lbs and I have not had any problem with flex or creaking as described in other reviews. I have noticed that the stem can get a little cockeyed during install but it's easily corrected by "directing the stem" - giving the ends of the handlebars a quick tap with your fist - and tightening the mounting screws evenly.

Dollar for dollar, I think this stem is one of the best values out there.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

Submitted by Stenchy a Cross Country Rider from Boca Raton
Date Reviewed: July 27, 2002
Duration Product Used:3 months
Price Paid: $34.00
Purchased At:Supergo
Strengths:Strong, good looking, does not creak like everyone says it does.
Weaknesses:none
Similar Products Used:specialized stems
Bike Setup:2002 Specialized A1 Rockhopper with Race face cranks, mavic 517 rims, hayes mechanical hmx-1 discs, bontrager fs 2002 gel seat, hutch. python tires, xt derailliers and shifters.
Bottom Line:A great stem for not alot of cash. It does not creak and I weigh 200 lbs. It mounts straight, I dont know whats the matter with the rest of these reviewers, they have no mechanical touch. They need to have their local shop work on their bikes, its obvious. This stem does its job!
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

Submitted by WA a Cross Country Rider from Redhill, UK
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2002
Favorite Trail:mmmm.... trails!
Duration Product Used:3 months
Price Paid: $40.00
Purchased At:Nirvana. Westcott
Strengths:Strength, looks, fittings
Weaknesses:Creaks and can be tough to get straight... see below for more info!
Similar Products Used:Specialized stem
Bike Setup:Kona Kikapu, Z1 X-Fly
Bottom Line:Solid stem, does the job of connecting bars to forks well enough. Chunky and rugged looking.

It does creak and click a bit under load no matter how tight you have it - it also looks quite easy to shear the bolt fixtures if you don't tighten the pairs evenly.

The previous reviewer mentioned the stem being crooked... it's not! This occurs because of the off centre steerer tube fixings - located at about 45degrees right from forward. When you tighten these, it pulls the stem to the right by several mm. This means you have to line it up slightly to the left, and then tighten it to get it straight. Race Face say it's designed like this to save your nuts in a crash... I say there's still a nice chunk of metal to crunch into, but this feature means you can never quite get the stem perfectly straight! Duh?!

Looks good though - especially in silver/black.
Value Rating:4Overall Rating:3

Submitted by Bubba a Cross Country Rider from Austin
Date Reviewed: April 16, 2002
Duration Product Used:3 months
Strengths:Holds handlebars to the steerer tube so i can steer my bike... out-of-the-way stem bolts... looks low-key.
Weaknesses:Holds handlebars to the steerer tube CROOKED... creaks like an 80-year-old, arthritic, chiroprator's nightmare.
Similar Products Used:control tech... generic.
Bike Setup:two wheels and some luvin'
Bottom Line:A decent stem does it's job at holding the bar to the steerer tube without major problems and this stem does just that. Really a no frills stem; not a piece of art or feathery light, but again, it works. The out-of-the-way stem bolts are nice for me and my two thousand body parts. Nothing's really failed on the thing so far, but i have yet to really punish the sucker.

Although it works overall, there are little things that annoy me. One, the stem creaks even when torqued and greased. Usually when putting a lot of force on the bars on climbs and such, but creaks nonetheless. Second, it is crooked. I replaced my bars a while ago and noticed the same thing with the new and old bars so naughty stem.

A solid no-frills part that could use a couple of extra bolts on the front and some alignement.
Value Rating:4Overall Rating:3

Submitted by Mad dog a Cross Country Rider from B-more Maryland U.S.A.
Date Reviewed: March 28, 2002
Favorite Trail:Patapsco Avalon/Gambrills
Duration Product Used:3 months
Price Paid: $30.00
Purchased At:Catonsville Bike Shop (Da Bomb!)
Strengths:Looks cool. Not heavy. The faceplate has two slots (or sights) that allow you to see the handlebar and gauge its angle (if your HB has tick lines indicating center) before clamping it down. This make is easy to set up. Bolts are on the side - not the back: this makes for one less thing to bust your n*ts on.
Weaknesses:Not as light as Easton's. Doesn't enjoy movies.
Similar Products Used:Bontrager (also with sideways bolts) MANY generic aluminum
Bike Setup:M4 FSR with X-Vert Air, all XT, Spinergy Xyclone Wheelset.
120mm stem w/10D rise
Bottom Line:Affordable, pratical, just what a stem should be.
Value Rating:4Overall Rating:4

Submitted by todd a Weekend Warrior from dallas,tx
Date Reviewed: February 3, 2002
Favorite Trail:grapevine
Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
Price Paid: $40.00
Purchased At:online
Strengths:looks
Weaknesses:striprd out just putting it on. did not even get it thight.
Similar Products Used:kore
Bike Setup:gt i-drive with xt,xtr. z1 x fly and cane creek ad-10.
Bottom Line:threeds should hold up better than this.
Value Rating:2Overall Rating:2






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