Bikes with 1-1/4" steerer tubes are a small but stubborn part of the market — think older Specialized Roubaix and Tarmac frames, some Cannondale models, and various endurance bikes that specced the larger-than-1-1/8" but smaller-than-tapered upper bearing. Finding a replacement stem for that steerer size is where riders usually get stuck, and Ritchey's Comp 4-Axis-44 in the 1-1/4" clamp is one of the few current options that isn't a NOS eBay hunt. The Comp 4-Axis 44 stem features a 44mm-wide faceplate and is designed for a 1-1/4" steerer.

Built from 6061 alloy with stainless steel bolts, the stem uses a 31.8mm bar clamp and a 44mm-wide four-bolt faceplate. The wider faceplate spreads clamping load across more of the bar than a narrow-body stem, which matters when you're torquing down carbon handlebars where uneven pressure creates stress risers. Ritchey forges the body rather than machining it from billet — the forging process forces the material grain to follow the product shape for greater structural strength, and the wider bolt spacing increases stiffness and security without needing a wider stem body.

One install note worth flagging before you unbox this: Ritchey 1-1/4" stems ship with a small piece of tubing inside the steerer clamp, and that tubing is NOT a shim — it must be removed and recycled before installing the stem. It's packaging protection, not hardware, and clamping down on it will give you a bad day. The 4-Axis faceplate itself uses four bolts with a symmetric pattern, so torque them in a cross pattern to the spec printed on the stem body and check the gap top-and-bottom to keep the bar centered.... Read More