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Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from St Louis, or Kirksville
Date Reviewed: November 26, 2001 | | Favoriate Trail: | Kokopelli Trail Loops in Fruita | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | Touring Cyclist, it came on a bike | | Strengths: | good position, dual bolt design which makes it easy to take the handlebar off without taking off the grips and brakes and shifters | | Weaknesses: | double flexy. no, triple super flexy. and made out of cheap metal. | | Similar Products Used: | Zoom, Titec Lil Al, an old Kore | | Bike Setup: | heavily upgraded Trek 7000 | | Bottom Line: | I am not sure if I am reviewing the right stem, so just to be sure, I am reviewing the grey icon stem that came on a '99 Trek 7000.
The stem worked reliably for a few years, although it was flexy as all hell. I could feel the thing twist when cranking real hard, or climbing super steep hills. Then finally the other day I noticed that the handlebar was starting to motorcycle a little, and when I tried to tighten the handlebar clamp bolts, the hole for the clamp bolts stripped out. Not the bolts, but the threading in the hole which they screw into. Not what I needed to be spending money on at the moment. But, I was happy to get rid of it. I mean come on, the diameter of this stem wasn't much bigger than that of the handlebar! Ideally, I would like to have a Thompson Elite stem. Now THAT thing is one beefy mother. and it looks better. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Aaron R.
a Cross Country Rider
from Baltimore, MD
Date Reviewed: October 20, 2000 | | Favoriate Trail: | i guess a decent dirt one | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Connection | | Strengths: | Light, Strong, what more do you want it's a stem | | Weaknesses: | none at all wel maybe the single bolt clamp mech. i might have a creaking from it. haven't pinpointed yet or felt like spending the time so i guess none really | | Similar Products Used: | stock piece stem | | Bike Setup: | trek 6000 w/mars-1, xt-517 wheels, selle seat, mostly everything upgraded except drivetrain well lx cassette | | Bottom Line: | Great stem at any price. I got mine on sale at the shop cause they had a huge buy-out of a shop that went out of buisiness so i got it something like 35 pecent off. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric
a Cross Country Rider
from Altamonte Springs, FL
Date Reviewed: October 19, 2000 | | Favoriate Trail: | tsali | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | supergo | | Strengths: | light (168 grams)
one bolt bar clamp
looks good | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | generic | | Bike Setup: | Fisher frame, SX Ti, GT/X517 wheelset | | Bottom Line: | You cant get much better than this stem with out paying $200 on a custom Ti stem which will only save you 30 grams. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Josh
a Cross Country Rider
from Fairfax,VA
Date Reviewed: September 7, 2000 | | Favoriate Trail: | Great Falls | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | Light
Cheap
Stiff
Looks good
Available in different lengths | | Weaknesses: | well, it wasn't FREE..... | | Similar Products Used: | Kore, RaceFace, and several other of the usual suspects | | Bike Setup: | Manitou SXR Ti., Spicer Al. Frame, Xt all around, Bontarager Crowbar Comp bars, WTB Momentum headset, SunRim Ryhnos w/ Ringle hubs | | Bottom Line: | OK, this is actually for the Durante Mountain stem, but there's no listing for it here........but...
Can't find a lighter, stronger, stem for anywhere close to this price. It looks great, fits several sizes of bars, and is dirt cheap.
Sure, go get yourself a Kore stem or RaceFace or whatever. They're not noticeably lighter or stronger, and I'll use the $80-$100 I saved to buy a round of drinks for all of you suckers who drop all that extra dough just for a trendy name and a pretty paint job. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt
a Weekend Warrior
from Berkeley, CA
Date Reviewed: December 31, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
light, easy to change out handlebar, stiff | | Weaknesses: |
too stiff? weak clamp | | Similar Products Used: |
some no-name quill piece of crap from '94 | | Bike Setup: |
Airborne Lucky Strike, Icon Diesel handlebar, Profile long bar ends | | Bottom Line: | Decent stem. The weird clamp thing weirded me out at first, but it sure makes it easy to get the bar off so I can ship it to wherever I'm going. Also, the first day I had it, I was climbing in the saddle, hands on the bar ends, and the handlebar slipped. The clamp wasn't on tight enough, even though I torqued it down pretty hard. I had to really put some pressure on it, and I weigh over 200 lbs. It's not a bad stem all around, but I'm considering switching to a Ti cockpit for the extra vibration dampening. It does come in a wide variety of lengths and bends, which is nice, and the welds are absolutely gorgeous. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
TREE
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle WA
Date Reviewed: November 20, 1999 | | Favoriate Trail: |
downtown Seattle | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
stiff
forged finish
quality | | Weaknesses: |
the icon logo looks silly
Icon should fire the guy who design their logo!
I tried to replace a different size of a same kind,the store told me that sliver stem for $30 and black for $69!!!!!!???????!!!!!!!???? | | Similar Products Used: |
kore lite | | Bike Setup: |
Trek 7000 | | Bottom Line: | What! icon????????(when I was buying the Trek 7000)
Oh yeah!!!!!icon!!!!!!!!!!(now)
suprise me a big time that they are good stuff!
5 hot sh*t for quality.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
AV98
a Cross-Country Rider
from SF Bay Area
Date Reviewed: September 14, 1999 | | Favoriate Trail: |
High speed Fireroads and Singletracks | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
Light
Stiff
Durable
Kool XTR Gray Color
Easily Interchangable | | Weaknesses: |
None | | Similar Products Used: |
Control Tech
Profile Boa
Performance Topo | | Bike Setup: |
Proflex 857
NR-2 Front
NR-4 Rear
Full XT component grouppo | | Bottom Line: | This stem rocks! It's light and durable with a pretty inexpensive price. The design is just like the Kore Elite with the single bolt release. It works great, making handlebar changes a cinch. It's one of the harder stems to find but worth looking for. Icon is owned by Trek which usually signifies mass produced lower quality products. I must disagree with this product, seems like they've spent more time on quality control and research. I must add that the Gray XTR finish makes it a non-standard winner. 5 Cheesy Poofs heading Cartman's way. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Some K H
a Cross-Country Rider
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: June 3, 1999 | | Favoriate Trail: |
All trails | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
Light, dependable, well-made, clean design, most length & rise are available | | Weaknesses: |
Reputation as OEM spec. hinders it's progress to becoming a sought-after aftermarket item ! | | Similar Products Used: |
Bontrager, Ringle, Litespeed, Kore Elite, Syncros, Profile | | Bike Setup: |
TREK 8500 SL with Manitou SX-R
MERLIN XLM with Rock Shox SL
Mostly XT & XTR | | Bottom Line: | If you guys are tired of paying $80-90 for a Kore Elite, Litespeed, etc, take a GOOD LOOK at Icon's offering. Similar hinged design as Kore & a peated surface for durability ! Championship material. For that ultra smooth finish, look to Klein's for similar design ! | | Overall Rating: |
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