I found an Ergostem!

Look (see what I did already, now you will have a gauge for how this post is going to go...) and see what I managed to FINALLY (it's been years of on/off looking) snag on ebay.

For some reason it has long been a Unicorn horn for me.

A 31.8 1 1/8" Look Ergostem. Holy geez have I been searching for one of these things for YEARS. What's the big deal you ask... well compare to the stem I have been using

A good stem as well make no mistake.

And you'll see pretty quickly that the amount of available adjustment, especially when it comes to getting lower, is huge with the Look. For me, getting lower is always on my list of things to do, especially now that I moved to a naturally taller bike. (Speed Concept) My saddle to Pad drop is the lowest it's been in probably 5 years, so I was glad to be able to get a little more out of the Look.

Unfortunately I've reached the bottom out point now... my bars are nearly touching my Tririg Omega, which I assume means I'm as low as I can get.

ohhh yeah!

So is there a downside to this thing? Well... there are a few.
First, this thing is heavy. Like a pound. That's pretty beefy for a stem.  Of course I'm no weight weenie, so it doesn't bother me that much.

It's also pretty ugly. It definitely is in line to be painted... as concrete gray isn't the most flattering color on my black and gold Trek.

The stem has a little flex to it as well. It's not "noodly" exactly, but I don't think you'd want to put Cavendish on it for a sprint.

Finally, there is the issue of clamp security. I used my Torque Wrench and hit just below the recommended toque specs for the securing bolts... which is 25nm(!!!) I've read quite a few other's experience that the high torque breaks the small set plates in the stem, although knock on wood mine seem to be holding strong.

All of that aside... it's exactly what I needed to get (closer) to the position I needed. And it's an awesome hard to find piece of kit... and that counts for something doesn't it!

Thanks for checking out the blog this week. I really appreciate it!

- Christopher Morelock