Specialized Comp-Set Multi Position Stem £24.99
Tuesday 30th September 2008
Weight: 161g / Two angles (+12 or +24degrees) and three shims (0, 2, 4 degrees) / Length: 75, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130mm / 31.8mm bar clamp / Contact: www.specialized.com
Fitted to a lot of Specialized bikes as standard this Comp-Set stem is a similar idea to the adjustable head tube on Commencal bikes. The Comp-Fit comes in two rises (12 and 24degrees) and has an oversized steerer clamp into which you insert one of three acentric shims. These can also be rotated and allow you to tilt the stem to a number of different angles. So if you take one shim place in the stem that's one angle, rotate the shim, that's another. Flip the stem upside down and you've two more positions. There are 12 possible options with each. To make this easier to understand there's a detailed instruction manual included. The only problem is even with the 12-degree stem, the lowest angle attainable is +8 degrees and since most trail bikes these days are running 5-degree stems or less, it's too upright. You can invert the stem (to -8 degrees) and play around with the headset spacers to get it higher but this looks odd on a mountain bike. The reason for the lack of proper mtb options is simple — the Comp-Set is a road stem and the angles don't work both ways. So the solution — a dedicated mtb stem that fills in the gaps.
Mbr rating:7
