Our famous KnockRated™ level of bulletproof reliability, at a great price! Seamless 1-piece 3D forged alloy construction, with secure dual bolt steerer tube clamp & faceplate-style bar clamp.
Submitted by
Raymond
a Weekend Warrior
from Christchurch, New Zealand
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2003
Strengths: Strong, Cheap, Nice Black Finish, holds well
Weaknesses: Bolt threads extend too far out of clamp body, clamp bolts are not knee friendly Bolts are only chrome plated and susceptible to rusting when wet.
Bottom Line:
Only had it a week and lost skin on my thigh and knee from the bolt threads protruding from the clamp, not nice, will be replacing it with a Thomson tomorrow.
not that nice to look at, but its just a stem. does its job with no complaints. there is nothing that could be improved upon except maybe using some proper stainless bolts. awesome stem.
Bike Setup: 2001 devinci phantom hardtail, deore/lx/xt drivetrain, titec post/stem/bar, etc.
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Submitted by
Guille SM
a
from Capital Federa, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Date Reviewed: December 9, 2002
Strengths: Strong, light, cheap and looks good.
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
This is a really good XC stem. Cheap, good looking, light and strong. You can't ask for more. There are lighter stems but also much more expensive. If you don't want to spend too much money on the stem this is an option.
Bike Setup: Vairo XR5000;LX;XTR;Ovation;Ritchey Rock Pro;etc.
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Submitted by
Aaron
a Cross Country Rider
from Austin, TX
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2002
Strengths: Products strengths?...Oh yes, this is the strengthiest stem Ive ever used. Cool one-piece forged design. Not easy to scratch either.
Weaknesses: Causes me to make up new words like "strengthiest."
Bottom Line:
I needed a shorter stem with lower rise to offset the increased head angle caused by installing a 100mm travel fork. Although this is more due to the size and rise of my stem, but my bike steers quicker and more precisely than before. This stem is very strong due to the 3-D forged design and the fact that its only 110 mm long. I paid $19 for mine so it didnt break the bank either (unless you add up everything Ive paid to make my bike what it is today.) Gram counting maniacs will want to look elsewhere, but I prefer to enjoy my ride rather than stress over the fact that Im lugging 2 extra ounces up the hill.
Bike Setup: '01 Raleigh M60: Deore/Alivio drivetrain, Deore brakes, RockShox Judy SL, Rockshox seatpost, Answer Pro-taper bars, IRC Mythos XC tires, Selle Italia Max Flite Trans Am saddle, Wellgo clipless pedals, and of course the Titel Lil Al stem.
Drove my car, with bike on roof rack, through a motel parking lot underpass this summer. Lil Al took the full impact on the chin, came through with a few tiny scratches, didn't even knock him out of alignment. Impressive. Rack mount was destroyed.
Strengths: It's still, nice shape and colour, and cheap
Weaknesses: Heavy!
Bottom Line:
I brought it in black colour, just to make the best colour with black Team frame. My bike is so light, 21lbs so I fitted a-bit-heavy stem is fine...I'm sad that I fitted a carbon bar!
Bike Setup: Giant XtC (hardtail) Team, '01 SID XC, 575 wheels, Sram Attrack/XT drivetrain, Guess USA crank, Shimano XT discs, Titec Stem, Taiwan-made Carbon bars, Kore Lite post, Selle Italia nitrox
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Submitted by
Eric
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 7, 2002
Strengths: -STRONG!!!!!! -STIFF -CHEAP -KILLER LOOKS -DID I MENTION HOW STRONG IT IS?
Weaknesses: -HEAVY, BUT I CAN DEAL WITH THAT
Bottom Line:
THIS STEM IS KILLER STRONG. WILL NOT BEND, FLEX, ANYTHING. IT IS A LITTLE HEAVY BUT THATS OK BECUASE I'M 195 POUNDS AND NEED A GOOD STRONG STEM. ITS ALSO HOW CHEAP? WOW!!!!!! NEED A NEW STEM? GET THE TITEC LIL AL!!!!
Bike Setup: XC Raleigh, Mavics, Deore & XT gear, Titec, built strong but reasonably light for long rough XC rides.
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Submitted by
Antonio
a Weekend Warrior
from North East USA
Date Reviewed: October 31, 2001
Strengths: Bad-ass black color, really stiff. Price is nice.
Weaknesses: Not a fancy, expensive looking stem that will strip out or fail - wait, thats a strength.
Bottom Line:
Well, I have worked my way through a few stems for various reasons - stripped holes (ritchey), steel threaded inserts that came out (Control tech - these are replaceable, but that scares the poopie out of me), a crack (no name). In the end, I have heard and feel that forged stems are the strongest, and this stem seems strong. the threds seem stable and durable (but I'm sure that an agressive ham-hand could strip them). It stays on and does not flex. I like it. I can't really figure out why the welded Big Al costs more, or why anyone would buy one. Bottom line - unless you need the coolest looking stem, you cnat go wrong with this one. P.S. Great warranty!
