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Submitted by
Ron
a Cross Country Rider
from Chicago
Date Reviewed: July 2, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$55.00 | | Purchased At: | Local shop | | Strengths: | Weight | | Weaknesses: | square edges, I have striped 2 of the 6 ti bolts...I work in a shop and understand that you need to first losen a bolt before you wrench down on it...... | | Bike Setup: | Full suspension XC race | | Bottom Line: | cost vs. weight vs. reliablity....I would go with a Thompson next time | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
easy rider
a Cross Country Rider
from Australia
Date Reviewed: May 20, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | jensonusa | | Strengths: | Looks good, did everything it was supposed to... for a while. | | Weaknesses: | durability? | | Similar Products Used: | kore,titec,kona | | Bike Setup: | gt pantera | | Bottom Line: | The front clamp on mine cracked near one of the bottom bolts only after about 6-7 months... disappointing as I only use this bike for commuting on roads/paths. I contacted the local distributor and they agreed to meet me half way for the replacement cost of a new front clamp. I guess its better than nothing but im sure the bolts were not tightened too much so really I expected better. I would try it again though as im assuming it was just a faulty clamp. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
al
a Weekend Warrior
from So. San Francisco
Date Reviewed: May 11, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$43.00 | | Purchased At: | jenson | | Strengths: | looks,color, quality, weight | | Weaknesses: | not available in a 10 degree angle | | Similar Products Used: | titec big al | | Bike Setup: | nrs 3, egg beater, marzocchi z4 | | Bottom Line: | Good stem, it took 3 hard falls, one of them took me over a month to get my left arm and shoulder muscles back in shape. Another fall I flipped over this time hurting my right shoulder, sores on both knees, right lower thigh and a bunch of other bruises all over. The titec enduro bar took it all without any damage, the bike had no visible damge other than the left grip .
The most important thing for me is that this stem looks like it was made for my silver, red and black 03 giant NRS 3, it matches the graphics perfectly and I got a killer deal at jenson (they ran out fast) last time I checked cambria had the best deal on those but not nearly the deal I got. If you care about weight performance and cool looks get this stem. I read it looks even cooler with an answer protaper riser bar or hyperlite carbon flat bar since it has the exact same colors and similar graphics. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sindross
a Cross Country Rider
from Canada
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Bottom Line: | I just had to post a review on this stem as soon as i got it! I bought it from pricepoint.com. Its incredibly lite! The box claims it weighs 130grams, but that's problably for the smaller stem, 100mm or something. I got the 110mm so its problably a bit heavier. I'll post another review in a few months, then i will know how it handles the trails... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Manuel Ang
a Cross Country Rider
from Bothell, WA USA
Date Reviewed: December 18, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Jury still out on this one. | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA.com | | Strengths: | Headquarters located minutes away! | | Weaknesses: | None really. | | Similar Products Used: | Other stems on other bikes. Mostly no-name or in house brands. | | Bike Setup: | 2k1 SJ Pro | | Bottom Line: | Update from previous:
I wanted to do some maintenance on the front end and needed to remove the stem, crud, the head on a Ti allen bolt stripped, saddened I looked up their website and was suprised that their HQ is located right in the next town over - right off the bike trail even. I told the Service Rep the problem and he told me to come in and get a replacement. That simple, by the end of the day instead of having to communicate to an international company I had my part as was ready to go. For you local Seattle Northend riders that should be a big plus!
Upping the rating for service! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joel Rogers
a Cross Country Rider
from Lancaster CA
Date Reviewed: October 22, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | Jenson | | Strengths: | Lightweight, Ti bolts, 4-bolt setup makes it stiff, priced pretty reasonable considering it's so light... | | Weaknesses: | Steerer Tube clamp has semi-sharp edges, so it isn't very knee-friendly...most all stems used to be this way, when the whole threadless movement came along...and they stopped making them that way for a reason...I guess if you never crash, and you never banged your knee into the back of your stem, you'll be fine....8^) | | Similar Products Used: | Ritchey, cannondale, Kore (it had a really smooth steerer clamp), but weighs a ton... | | Bike Setup: | Zoke Z2, XTR/XT, Velomax Climax's, Avid Ti's, blah, blah, blah... | | Bottom Line: | Seems as though this stem is pretty stiff, which is a good thing considering how light it is. Gotta be careful with the Ti hardware though. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew Klauser
a Cross Country Rider
from Feldafing
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Starnberg | | Strengths: | Low Weight, finish | | Weaknesses: | none.so far | | Similar Products Used: | Syntace Megaforce, Race Face System, Ritchey WCS, Syncros Cattlehead, Roox Danny's Stem, Kore | | Bike Setup: | TREK Pro Issue 98 | | Bottom Line: | Weighs in a bit below 160g. So some grams more than the Ritchey. But the additional meat translates into a much stffier feeling (I=220 lbs). So, inmy oppinion, the ideal stem for a light xc bike. The Ritchey is to flexy for my taste (and weight). The others are heavier. The Syntace is good, stiff, dependable, threads tend to give. The Roox is super stiff, for hard core fuzzies very recomendable. The Syncros is a pain in the neck to install, the Kore is uneaven, the Race face talks with you. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Manuel Ang
a Cross Country Rider
from Bothell, WA USA
Date Reviewed: July 25, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Jury still out on this one. | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA.com | | Strengths: | The FSA stem (although not the highest ranked stem) is one of the lightest with a 4 bolt retention and the fact that colors matched my bike was the lock.
| | Weaknesses: | I don't know why I would spend $60 on a stem???? One of the screws was semi-defective - the allen head. | | Similar Products Used: | Original products that came with bike. | | Bike Setup: | 2k1 SJ Pro | | Bottom Line: | I guess its a XC stem. Its construction tells you not to use it for DH. It is still one of the absolute lightest stems available with a 4 screw retention system. It also has a cool cutaway look on the portion attached to the steerer tube. It also appears to be machined which adds to its value points. I don't know, I would not get a stem unless cutting grams or trying to make a bike fit themselves. If you've never experienced bar movement and the bike fits you forget it. If you are DH that might be a different story as durability plays the biggest role but for normal bike applications if it ain't broke don't fix it. Apparently this unit weights in about 1 ounce more (28 g ) than advertised at 120g. I saw it advertised at 145g and it is still one of the lightest. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stephen K. Barbar
a Cross Country Rider
from Brandon MB.
Date Reviewed: July 25, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Brandon Hill | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$65.00 | | Purchased At: | Stream & Wood | | Strengths: | Light, Look nice, Stiff, less vibration than other Alumium stem, the color match my bike. | | Weaknesses: | None so far. I suppose you should not too tighten the titanium screws (the matal is supposed to be soft). | | Similar Products Used: | Brontrager, Aximon, icon. | | Bike Setup: | Rocky mountain (Hammer) | | Bottom Line: | I would like to recommend this stem to my friends. It is so good looking, light and trouble free. I don't know why, I can feel less vibration from this stem when compare with other alumium stems. May be the claim is a lot wider and it uses 4 screws. I use 6 degree rise and 120mm length and it is working good for me. From the review below, my stem also weight 156 gms. I think the 120gm on advertising is for its 90mm length stem. +/- 10 per centage in weight is acceptiable to me. I am quite satisfied with it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mick
a Racer
from Sacto, CA
Date Reviewed: July 2, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$64.00 | | Weaknesses: | misclaim on the weight | | Similar Products Used: | s-works; 200g but has a weak clamp. | | Bike Setup: | stumpjumper - lots of chris king, lots of XTR. | | Bottom Line: | This stem will do what it is intended to do. It looks nice which is only a small consolation to that fact that the published weight is grosely understated. Mine weighs 156g instead of the published 120g. Not a huge difference but if I would have know that before buying, I would have gotten a Thomson. FSA, you loose a chili for lying. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Boston, MA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 20, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$69.00 | | Purchased At: | Beyondbikes | | Strengths: | Quality, lightweight, looks | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Thompson | | Bike Setup: | Ellsworth Id, Hayes, Fox125RLC | | Bottom Line: | The question is: why would anyone buy a stem other than Thompson? For me, I just wanted to mix it up and give this stem a try. It's lighter than the Thompson elite. I haven't weighed it but I trust the user below. Claimed weights seem to be an "approximation" these days. Despite this, the workmanship is impeccable and the aesthetics are fantastic. Not as burly as the elite, but I couldn't imagine this thing breaking. It steers perfectly, it's stiff, light, and looks awesome. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lau
a Racer
from Macau, China
Date Reviewed: May 14, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Strengths: | new and very light, good shape. | | Weaknesses: | $$$, afraid of break hahahahaha | | Similar Products Used: | Amoeba, Titec Lil Al, RaceFace Forged, Easton EA 50, Profile | | Bike Setup: | 1994 Parkpre Team 925, 2002 Mars Elite, Crossmax UST, Continental Twister UST, XT/XTR, FSA stem, PfR bar and seat post, Selle Italia XO | | Bottom Line: | I use the FSA because it's light and my 925 is heavy. I use a 5 degrees of this. I don't know what to say, it's better than Titec. What I afraid is it's too light, I have never tried the lightest stem (for me) before, it may broken down...I hope it may not! hahahahaha... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
pedalAZ
a Weekend Warrior
from Phoenix, AZ
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | any | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$59.00 | | Purchased At: | Jenson USA | | Strengths: | Good lookin' | | Weaknesses: | Not as light as advertised | | Similar Products Used: | Kore Ahead Lite | | Bike Setup: | Titus Racer-X with light weight components | | Bottom Line: | Ordered this from Jenson USA after Jenson's ads touted its weight as 120 grams. Actual weight on digital scale for 120mm x 6 degree stem is 157 grams. 105mm model weighed 145 grams, per another Arizona customer.
Still a decent value at 59 bucks, but WAY off on weight claims. Beware!
I'm only giving 3 chilis because of the misrepresentation. Workmanship looks good, and I am happy with my other FSA product (crankset). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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