Rivendell Lugged Stem

The Rivendell Lugged Stem arrived! This is easily the best way to class up your bike for under $100. When I pulled it out of the wrapper I actually thought it was the wrong size. I'm so used to looking at aluminum threadless stems that the thin walls of the steer clamp actually made the stem look like it was for a 1" steer. This stem just screams elegant (assuming something can scream while still being elegant!) I know some might think "Lugged steel? That must weigh a ton!" I put the stem on the scale and it clocked in at 180 grams for a 95mm. As $80 stems go that's considerably heavier but then again most $80 stems are made for racing and won't last nearly as long as this stem nor do they look nearly as nice. Basically, it weighs about 2 ounces more than a high-end aluminum stem. 2 ounces isn't a whole lot and you could probably save that much by chopping off excess seatpost length. Plus it's a real safe bet that this stem is considerably stiffer than any 120 gram aluminum stem and stiffness can be just as important in climbing as lightweight. There's no reason you couldn't mount this on a race bike. If anything it would probably be a good choice for cyclocross and criteriums where crashes and sprinting are more frequent.

There are some very minor quibbles that potential buyers might want to be aware of. First, some of the finish work around the lugs is just a teeny-tiny bit rough. It's on par with what you saw on Japanese lugged steel frames back in the 80's. If you're looking for or expecting the crisp lines of someone like Richard Sachs or Vanilla look elsewhere. Of course this stem costs less than 1/2-1/3 what many customer builders charge for a lugged stem so it's more than worth the tradeoff. Finally, the polished finish is almost too polished as finger prints readily show up when you handle the stem.

Overall, I'm so happy I popped the extra $40 and picked this stem. It's worth every penny. My day job allows me to order direct from Quality Bicycle Products and many other bike vendors. While a great perk it's also a bit of a necessity since people in the outdoor retail industry make substantially less money than people in other industries. Anytime you see someone in the industry pay full retail for a product you know it's got to be great.

My brake lever hunt has been a bust. Tried several local shops and nobody has the Cane Creek/Tektro levers in silver. QBP is out of the Tektro models but do have the Cane Creek version in "pewter" which sounds too grey for me. Rivendell is also out of stock. I could use some Shimano levers I have but I really don't like the way the Shimano levers feel in my hands. Looks like I'm going to have to "settle" for using the Campy Record carbon brake levers. They might be black but at least they're Campy. Plus I suppose they will nicely match the carbon blades on the fork.