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CARBON STEMS: Is It Reliable Enough?


'Dale

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Roadies Out There,

 

Thinking of buying me a new stem. See pic below.

 

Is carbon reliable?

Or is it preferable to stick with alu?

 

Please gimme your views. Gracias!

 

 

http://www.fullspeedahead.com/storage/product/items/EN_c976af27-b059-4dae-ac04-feb9cac191e5_P248-1-ST-RK-135C.jpg

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`Dale - I have a couple of friends who have used FSA carbon stems - no issues. I think the trick here is if you are going carbon is to look at sticking with well known brands who have a reputation to uphold. Although I don`t have a Carbon stem I would have no problem going with one.

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One of the most important things to also remember is to not over tighten any carbon bits , spend the money and get a torque wrench and following the manufactures recommendation and don’t go beyond them and you will be fine.

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depends on stiffness. hence not many pro riders using carbon stems or bars. had a PRO vibe stem. twisted like spagetti. riding a richey wcs alu stem with no problems.

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Yes. I have been using carbon stem and bar for years without problem. But as the other hubbers pointed out, the torque on the bolts is very important

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Been using for 5+ years.

FSA, Giant, ITM etc.

 

No problems.

 

Bought a Zipp stem recently.....can't wait to mount it on the bike!! :drool: :thumbup:

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I use Easton EC90 SLX3 carbon bars but partners it with an Easton EA90 alu stem. Not because I think that the carbon stem will cause problems, only because the bars themselves are already flexy enough, and I don't want to make it more flexy. If you are happy that the carbon stem won't make it all too flexy, then I don't see why you can't go with the FSA carbon stem. FSA seems to be a reputable brand for carbon parts.

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That FSA stem looks awesome.

 

But generally carbon stems are not always lighter than their alu brothers...

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That FSA stem looks awesome.

 

But generally carbon stems are not always lighter than their alu brothers...

 

and anything below about R800 is not just carbon, it's alu wrapped in a thin layer of carbon.

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Rather get the FSA OS 99 CSI stem. It is carbon wrapped over alu with the same good looks. Stiffer, stronger and lighter...and cheaper.

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Rather get the FSA OS 99 CSI stem. It is carbon wrapped over alu with the same good looks. Stiffer, stronger and lighter...and cheaper.

 

+1. Awesome stem.

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You will get absolutely no benefit by fitting a carbon stem. The only reason I would get one is because it looks cool. Most carbon stems are aluminium with carbon wrapped around it. The FSA that you have shown is pure carbon though.

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Does the extra costs of a carbon bar justify the small differences when copmared with a good alu or composite bar?

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according to wikipedia and wiki anwsers the density of carbon fiber is 2.8 g/cm3 and aluminum is 2.70 g·cm−3

but carbon is much stronger

 

this is probably very unhelpful unless you can find some find of industry standard for finding how hard you need to hit the tree before something breaks

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