Best road stem ever made? Could be.. Ritchey stems have been known for great value and light weight performance - now comes the 4axis with cutting edge design features to bring stem design to the next level.
Highlights include a bias cut clamp slot which offers a more secure and pinch free grip of steerer tubes - perfect for today's carbon steerers. 3D net forging of 2014 alloy makes for the strongest stem. Period. The strength to weight ratio is simply unmatched. Forged, contoured and polished face plate mates perfectly to all bars while dispersing linear clamp stresses.
Features
31.8mm
Weight 115 grams (10cm)
42mm stack height
3-D Net forged
2014 alloy construction
Specially designed forged and contoured 4-bolt faceplate
Angled/bias cut steerer clamp helps prevent damage to lightweight aluminum and carbon steerer tubes
Love it. Nicely machined, nicely finished, stiff, light, and minimal-- it clears up a surprising amount of space on the tops as compared to the FSA OS 115 that I had prior to this. Add in a reasonable price and this stem just dominates.
11/14/2009 10:34:39 PM
Anonymous :
This is a great stem, particularly because it works at low torque (5nm) and doesn’t deform your carbon steerer. I have three of them. If you intend to use these with 1" steerers, note that these stems used to come with a very nicely machined shim that matches the stem perfectly. At least my first two stems did (and were advertised as such). My third one from Excel didn’t, but Excel sent me one immediately upon request.
6/10/2009 3:24:29 PM
Anonymous :
I have two of these, and as I write this, I’m buying a third. The quality and finish is excellent, the stiffness is also excellent. I have had one small problem with one of the stems -- but not with the other -- the stainless bolts are soft and my 4mm Craftsman hex socket used on my torque wrench rounded out one of the hex holes in two of the bolts making it very difficult to tighten. Interesting that it only happened with one of the stems and on two of the bolts on that stem. No matter -- its still a great product and more of my money is headed to Boulder as I write this.
4/13/2009 12:14:30 PM
Anonymous :
BY FAR ONE OF THE BEST STEMS I HAVE EVER USED, BETTER THAN EVEN CARBON AND JUST AS LITE
4/9/2008 10:19:07 AM
John Maurin :
Great stem. I don’t think about it or worry that it won’t hold up in races.
10/19/2007 7:49:53 AM
Anonymous :
I’ve had 4 WCS stems and now a 4-Axis WCS on my Colnago Dream HX. Everything is great: weight, strength, stiffness, bias-cut steerer clamp, smooth edges at faceplate for carbon bars. Only demerit is the closely spaced 4 bolts, which I believe is a gimmick that exists only because of market/consumer demand for 4 bolt stems. Still my favorite though.
9/13/2007 9:58:13 PM
Anonymous :
Make sure to measure your stem when you get it. There were a batch of these made that were 5mm longer than what was marked on the stem so if you ordered 100 it was 105 and 110 was 115. Ritchey has since corrected this mistake but check yours. Hands down this is one of the lightest stems on the market and stiffest for the price point.
5/31/2007 5:08:33 PM
Anonymous :
You can try to find a better stem then this but you won’t. Its the lightest stem on the market and best price point. Awesome attention to details and is carbon friendly.
4/9/2007 11:51:52 AM
Anonymous :
This is the best stem I’ve ever used, at any price. The alloy version is actually lighter than the carbon version. Check it out.
2/2/2007 9:35:50 PM
Anonymous :
I recently purchased the 4axis OS stem in 110 length and was surprised by the gain in stiffness when compared to the same length older version WCS OS stem on my other bike. This stem is slighter lighter then the older design and at the same time much stronger. Great job Ritchey!
3/29/2006 12:45:42 PM
Anonymous :
Probably closer to 5 stars than 4, but 5 star reviews should be uncommon. I have the 130 length. It weighs 125gms. Plenty stiff for me, but I’m no sprinter. Hard to beat for less than $100!
;)
