The Radavist

When Factory Five first introduced their 31.8 clamp quill stem in silver, a lot of people requested it in black. Well, it’s finally here and in stock now so head over to Factory Five to see more information!

“The Boxcar Stem is the perfect combination of stiffness, strength and reasonable weight. Available in +/- 0 in 50, 70 and 90mm. Also +/- 15 in 70 and 90mm. All screws are high strength stainless steel with the popular T25 head. Made in Chico, California with US sourced 2024 aircraft alloy.”

Sounds good to me! Especially for a made in the USA, steel hardtail! See more at PAUL.

Ever want to run a 31.8 clamp bar on your traditional 1″ threaded frame? Well, the guys at Factory Five do all the time but they didn’t stop there. By adding a removable, two-bolt faceplate, they made switching bars a cinch. Now if you’re running this stem on your track bike, you can swap between drops and flats or riser bars without unwrapping your tape or removing your grips.

Designed, made and tested in China, forged from 7075 aluminium, these unique and useful stems come in a 90mm length at the moment, with more lengths on the horizon. The Titan Stem is shipping TODAY so order now at Factory Five!

Now I wonder what this will do for all the classic road builds out there?

MTB stems keep getting shorter, but there’s a barrier to ultimate stubbiness. That threshold seems to be around 30mm. Maybe that’s short enough, but for not for Kirk Pacenti. In his quest to push new ideas, Kirk has developed a patent pending PDent™ system, allowing stems to go as short at 15mm, with initial test products coming in at 25mm. Now, 5mm isn’t anything to brag about, but this is an interesting concept and an even moreso, something worthy of discussion.

Rather than paraphrasing Pacenti’s PR, I’ve pasted it in below, along with a few product photos.

For those of you who wish those ENVE stems were designed for mountain riding, or came in mountain lengths, today’s your lucky day. Just announced this afternoon, ENVE has developed a new stem, designed specifically for their M-Series wheels and component range.

The MTN stem is available in 40, 55, 70 and 85mm lengths, with a 6º or -6º rise and a 37mm stack height. MTN Stems are due to hit dealers any day now, so head to your local shop for ordering.

These look super slick!

“For a limited time, get the SuperLogic Carbon C260 Stem in one of cycling’s most popular accent colors. Bikes from Pinarello, Ibis, Masi, Jamis, etc… all have models to match.

The full carbon C260 stem was designed to meet the needs of high-wattage European Classic Specialists. The SuperLogic Carbon C260 maximizes Strenght-to-weight through the use of high modulus carbon fiber, increased boom diameter, a wide clamp and our patented C260 clamp design.”

Lengths: 90/100/110/120/130mm
Stem Angle: 84/6 degree
Weight: 125g (110mm)
MSRP: $297.95

In stock now and ready to ship at Ritchey Logic!

This classic shape is often rendered in steel and is not the lightest option for a modern day race machine. For those looking for a classic Ritchey look for the XC bike, look no further. 35 years since it was first introduced to the MTB world, the Bullmoose returns. Just as stylish, but a little lighter…

The Ritchey WCS Bullboose features a 9 degree sweep with a 6 degree angle, weighs in at 280 grams for the 80mm and comes in three sizes: 70x720mm, 80x730mm and 90, 100 & 110x740mm. Retail is set at $299.95.

Ever since I first got to use one of Speedvagen’s Integrated Cross Stems, I was in love. After deciding to “archive” the CX Worlds Edition, I commissioned Speedvagen to make me an all-black version. As long as my cross bikes use cantilever brakes, one of these stems will be resting atop of the steerer… especially since they look so good in all-black!

It’s such a simple design, on a high-tech component. It greatly improves the usability of a cantilever cross bike, for a small upcharge to the retail price on a standard ENVE stem and right now, Speedvagen is offering free Shipping on all Speedvagen Integrated CX stems for 1-week. Use code: SHIPMYSTEM at the Vanilla Cycles Boutique.

Over the past few years, Chris King and Cielo have moved closer and closer to being able to offer the components to dress an entire bicycle. New to their catalog are the Classic and Racer Stems. Both of which are made in-house, from 4130, available in many lengths and 0 degree or +/- 6 degree. Each stem is available in a variety of paint colors and the faceplates all match the full Chris King anodizing spectrum.

See more information below and head over to Cielo to buy direct.

This collaboration has been in the makings for quite some time and it coincides with the new Airflow line from Cadence. Ritchey’s C260 stem got a wet coat with “Keep Going” painted on the top, along with the Airflow graphic.

In stock now at Cadence in various lengths.

To commemorate a forthcoming collaboration with Ritchey, Dustin Klein from Cadence took the time to personalize his new Swiss Cross frameset. I love seeing projects like this unfold, especially with companies like Cadence and Ritchey, both of which make exceptional products.

Personally, I think the Cadence x Ritchey stems look great and I can’t wait to see what else they’re cooking up!

Until then, check out the process and completed bike photos below!

Speaking of rad stems! Anthony at Velo Cult has been spending a lot of time documenting the work of Winter Bicycles. This track bike is probably my favorite Winter build of all time. Head over to Velo Cult to see more great photos!

No way. Personally, camouflage on your bike, or your person is just like any accent: use it sparingly. Case in point is this Swamp Things custom-painted 3T cockpit from Starfuckers. Granted, I’d like to see something like this on an all-black bike, but the intended ride ain’t bad either.

When Speedvagen first announced the Integrated stems earlier this year, people were split like a cable yoke. Some liked it, some hated it but I loved mine. I loved it so much that I paid Speedvagen to paint me a one-off (at the time) black on black Integrated stem for my Geekhouse.

Turns out, black on black looks great and so now, Speedvagen is offering this murderously-sleek stem in their web shop for $350.

Now, considering ENVE sells these stems for $280, I think that’s a fair price for internal cable routing and a sick in-house Vanilla paint job.

Need a review of the stem? Check out more below.

This is a beautiful photo of a beautiful stem, Mitch. I’m getting so pumped on NAHBS, I can smell the flux. Even if Map Cycles isn’t going to be in attendance, he’ll be there in spirit. Over the past few years, I’ve really come to admire Mitch’s work and his new digs in Chico seems to be working out quite nicely.

Photo by Kyle Kelley

I didn’t get the chance to photograph Ty’s new Mudfoot-matching stem while I was in LA, so Kyle got some great shots of it for me. See the rest of this Speedvagen-painted ENVE stem at the Tracko Flickr.

Fyxation‘s expanding their line for 2013 and their new catalog highlights their newest products, including new framesets. Check it all out above, with more frame photos here, at their blog.