How safe is a light road stem on an XC bike

Discuss light weight issues concerning mountain bikes & parts.

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steveadore
Posts: 386
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2020 10:01 am

by steveadore

Is this S-Works SL stem safe to use on an Epic HT XC bike?
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/s-wor ... 107-156347

I'm 5'10", 70kg/155 lbs, and would use it mainly for relatively gentle trail touring type rides (i.e. no racing, definitely no jumping), in the 90mm length version with a 720-750 mm handlebar.

I don't want to risk cracking/braking the stem, that's all

snaxez
Posts: 311
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 7:14 pm
Location: Estonia

by snaxez

It`s fine. 110-115g in its 110mm is not anything extreme. Extralite stem is 83g@110mm and that is used on MTB-s as well.

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steveadore
Posts: 386
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2020 10:01 am

by steveadore

Thanks so much!

hannawald
Posts: 1706
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2016 7:28 pm
Location: Czech Republic

by hannawald

If I am not mistaken Specialized uses this stem on Sworks Epic so it´s not a road stem and you can use it for cross country riding including racing and small jumping.

steveadore
Posts: 386
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2020 10:01 am

by steveadore

hannawald wrote:
Mon Nov 21, 2022 7:43 pm
If I am not mistaken Specialized uses this stem on Sworks Epic so it´s not a road stem and you can use it for cross country riding including racing and small jumping.
Indeed, Specialized customer service have told me the same :)

Hexsense
Posts: 3269
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2015 12:41 am
Location: USA

by Hexsense

If it survive road tire at 100psi over bumpy roubaix. It's fine with suspension fork, minus extreme downhill stuff.
Which one is harder on your hand? A few bottom out on an XC fork? or the continuous high-speed banging of the Roubaix path on rigid fork and hard tire?

Seph
Posts: 127
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2023 7:08 pm

by Seph

Probably you are safe because x is nothing extreme. I have ridden terrible roads and I think the vibrations are compared to one xc route.
I think if you go more off road such as trail riding or Enduro , in this case you must use a specific stem.
But also i have to admit that i see a lot of riders using low xc parts on trail bikes whiteout any problem.... For my type of ride anything that stands for xc scare me because I think I'm a bit too aggressive.

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