Race Face Atlas 35 Stem
Race Face Atlas 35 Stem. It’s intended for serious gravity riding, and made accordingly from bomber 6061-T6 aluminum, which is nice and light but still tough enough to take a hammering without getting thrashed. The four-bolt clamp is designed to lock down on your bars without creating pressure points, which lead to weakness, and the U-shaped interface helps distribute the load to prevent failure. It comes in three lengths to help you fine-tune your setup, and weighs right around 160g, which makes it competitive with less durable XC-style stems.
Renthal Apex Stem
Renthal Apex Stem. The oversized clamping hardware secures the bar in place with a sort of 240-degree hug, virtually eliminating the targeted stress points that can contribute to bar failure. The Apex also has an artistic side, though, courtesy of its Art Deco styling, so it classes-up your ride even while you’re tearing down lines.
Syntace Megaforce2 Stem
Syntace Megaforce2 Stem. Its clamp face is an ultra-wide 42mm, which gives it exponentially better clamping force, which translates into less twisting of the bars, and more precise steering. It’s also available in an incredibly short 30mm -a perfect match for many bikes’ longer reach measurements. The Megaforce2 is made from a high-strength aluminum alloy, and clamps to the bar using two distinct pieces, which are held in place by a total of four titanium bolts.
Thomson X4 Stem
Thomson X4 Stem. The X4 features a sculpted stem, sleek clamp bolts, and is made with 7000-series aluminum alloy to ensure torsional stiffness and precise steering. The X4 Stem comes with a 3-year warranty from the manufacturer. The stem is available in Black or Silver with a zero (90) or 10-degree (100) rise.