The right stem

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Permalink Reply by Bob Chambers on February 14, 2010 at 11:15am

The key thing I would recommend is, since you have carbon bars, get a stem that uses four bolts to hold the face plate that clamps the bars. That distributes the forces more evenly through the clamping area. There are lots of brands that have four-bolt face plates.

Personally, I don't see the point in spending all the money on a carbon stem. A good aluminum stem is a fraction of the cost, is almost the same weight and gets the job done nicely.

If you go with an aluminum stem gripping a carbon bar, it wouldn't hurt to use what's called "carbon assemply paste" on the bar clamp area before you attach the bar to the stem. It does two things ... enhances the grip (because it has a bit of grit in it) and helps keep the aluminum and carbon from adhering to each other, which they can sometimes do. Tacx makes carbon assembly compound that you can find online, or any decent bike shop should have one brand or another of the stuff.

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Permalink Reply by Bruce Carlson on February 14, 2010 at 8:17pm

Thanks for the advise. Deda has 31.7 mm stems. Can they be used on 31.8 mm bars?

Bob Chambers said:

The key thing I would recommend is, since you have carbon bars, get a stem that uses four bolts to hold the face plate that clamps the bars. That distributes the forces more evenly through the clamping area. There are lots of brands that have four-bolt face plates.

Personally, I don't see the point in spending all the money on a carbon stem. A good aluminum stem is a fraction of the cost, is almost the same weight and gets the job done nicely.

If you go with an aluminum stem gripping a carbon bar, it wouldn't hurt to use what's called "carbon assemply paste" on the bar clamp area before you attach the bar to the stem. It does two things ... enhances the grip (because it has a bit of grit in it) and helps keep the aluminum and carbon from adhering to each other, which they can sometimes do. Tacx makes carbon assembly compound that you can find online, or any decent bike shop should have one brand or another of the stuff.

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Permalink Reply by Josh Boggs on February 14, 2010 at 8:51pm

Bob said most everything I was going to mention. Carbon stems do provide some shock absorption qualities, but they're primarily for cosmetic purposes, in my opinion. The handlebars make more of a difference, but you've already made that switch, so you know what we're talking about.

The 31.7 Deda stem should work fine with a traditional 31.8 bar. They may say otherwise, but I've never had any problems with Deda stems and any other brand bars. Since you've got carbon bars, make sure you're using a torque wrench, otherwise the switch may become WAY more expensive. The carbon assembly compound that Bob mentions is good for stems, handlebars, and carbon seatposts. When you use minimal torque because of the lower tolerances of carbon, sometimes the parts want to slip a little. With the grit, as Bob mentioned, it helps hold it in place.

Best of luck with the upgrades. Let's see some pictures of the finished product on VeloReviews.com!

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Permalink Reply by Bruce Carlson on February 16, 2010 at 3:54am

Thanks all. Now, to find a stem.

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