Road Stem

Quoted message said:

The stem is one of those one bolt non removeable face plate clamp on style model.

Question #1: Are road stems more prone to failure than mountain bike

stems?

Quoted message said:

Should you not recommend a road stem on a mountain bike?

Road bikes are, for the most part, as durable as mountain bike stems, although there are some
special-purpose mountain bike stems, typically used by downhillers, that are about half the weight
of the entire bike and obviously designed for extreme use.

High-quality road stems aren't going to be suitable for mountain bike use though, due to mountain
bikes using a 25.4mm diameter handlebar, while road bikes use either 26.0 or 31.8mm.

Quoted message said:

Question #2: The write-ups on mountain bike stems suggest that the stems

can

Quoted message said:

be reversed (upside down) without compromising safety.. Are road stems manufactured differently so
that it is not recommended to be reversed?

A good many mountain bike stems are also made to be useable in either orientation, although that's
generally not the case with a non-removable face plate style.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗

In article said:

May 16, 2003

Hello there..

I have an older but expensive road Syntace 1" threadless stem that has a has -17 degree angle --
which when mounted is parallel with the ground.

The stem is one of those one bolt non removeable face plate clamp on style model.

Question #1: Are road stems more prone to failure than mountain bike stems? Should you not
recommend a road stem on a mountain bike?

It depends on the stem and how it will be ridden. There are road stems out there that are very light
and will not be a good choice for any kind of abuse. There are things people do on mountain bikes
that demand much beefier components. And if you're planning on using flat handlebars they are
unlikely to match the clamp diameter of the Syntace stem.

Quoted message said:

Question #2: The write-ups on mountain bike stems suggest that the stems can be reversed (upside
down) without compromising safety.. Are road stems manufactured differently so that it is not
recommended to be reversed?

Most threadless road stems are reversible, I don't know if some would pose a problem installed
upside down. Most would be fine that way.

--Paul