12 Comments

  1. Constant-Ad-8538 on

    Grease your bolts and tighten in an x pattern. As long as your bars aren’t fried I don’t see why a cnc’ed stem from a reputable company wouldn’t work.

  2. They won’t slip if you tighten them properly.Ive got that stem and I only stopped using it because I wanted a front load.Never slipped except once when I tightened it improperly the night before while drunk.

  3. Is it a performance mod, No. is it a geometry-changing mod, yes. It really only matters if the stem you’re looking at is different than what you’re already running.

    *cue back in my day gibberish*

    I bought an S&M Redneck XLT stem because it was the thing. It replaced my eastern Atom stem. They were the same size except the eastern was a solid block of aluminum. I saved like maybe a couple ounces. But it never changed anything for the better as I like to go on my front wheel a lot. Getting a Shadow Attack stem in 48mm vs the S&M’s 53mm made nosewheelies more exhilarating because I found myself going over the bars more so I had something new to learn to control. (Then there’s flipping your forks around to really enhance that effect if you want to cheat doing hang-fives). Trails riders and park riding would better benefit from the longer 53mm stem so there will be less front flips sans-bmx

    Then the whole top load stem I cannot speak for because I never ran one but I think it comes down to how the bolts are stressed with how you lift and land but I don’t know I’m just a woodworker what do I know about screws

  4. Just give the inside a good ol rub with some sandpaper and use proper tightening techniques and you will be just fine with just about any stem

  5. One thing I believe is that Brand new bars and stem will slip one or two times when it’s new because of the new paint, just re tighten it and it will be fine

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