Preview: Straitline Ultra Boxxer Direct Mount Stem
Straitline Ultra Boxxer direct mount stem
Straitline Components has developed one of the shortest reach Boxxer direct mount stems we’ve used at only 28mm. Read more inside about their Ultra stem.
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It’s not every day you see stems this short or purpose driven. The Straitline Ultra stem is lightweight and designed to get the handlebars closer to you with a very short reach at only 28mm. The stem is drilled for Boxxer mounts and we bolted it up to our M6 for some testing out.
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If you’re not familiar with Straitline, they CNC their parts in house in Sidney, B.C. with some very nice equipment. Their finish and attention to detail on all their products are top notch in our book and remain some of our favorite gear.
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Back to the stem, the bars essentially sit right over the Boxxer stanchions once installed and it makes for a very unique look and feel swapping from a 50mm stem. The stem accepts 31.8mm bars, or Straitline also sells 25.4mm CNC’d shims for their 31.8mm stems that let you run the smaller 25.4 bars.
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The stem is so tiny that to install it takes some care and patience to setup.
First you must bolt the stem to the top crown as the front two bolts will end up sitting below your handlebars.
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Next you install the top two faceplate bolts snugly followed by tightening the lower bolts. Straitline stems tighten this way to make installation even easier (only one gap to gauge) and help stress the handlebar less they say.
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There are caviats to running this specific stem and if you’re a fan of running 30″ of spacers above your crown, this stem won’t work for you as there is a limit to how high your steerer tube can stick up above the crown due to the steerer tube coming in right under the handlebar.
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On our Boxxer World Cup with flat bars the bars end up hovering right over the stanchions so making adjustments to the fork with this setup isn’t easy if you need to add/check air. A riser bar would’ve added some clearance here but it’s still tight if you like running your bars low.
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With many other companies now speccing the Boxxer mount we also tried it on our 2009 FOX 40 RC2 that has the same Boxxer direct mount stem bolt pattern. It works here as well, but there are limitations again.
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Depending on the handlebar you use, your headtube size, and other variables you may have to run your crown higher than you’d like to provide adequate clearance. In addition to taking care that the steerer tube isn’t too high to interfere with the handlebar, it is also necessary to check the tolerance to the stanchions.
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Mounting the Easton Havoc bar to the Ultra stem and FOX 40 we had to have the crown at a maximum of 27mm below the stanchions (measured from the top of the stanchion, not the top of the adjuster) to avoid any contact with the adjustment dials.
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This stem is really unique and those looking to run it should take the tight installation rubric into consideration. With this stem, Straitline designed it so that you have to give a little bit (tight installation specifications) to gain the shorter 28mm reach this stem boasts.
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The Ultra stem is available in blue, red, black, bronze, grey, pink and you can also now purchase Straitline spacers to match.
MSRP:
- 130.00 CAD
Weights:
| Manufacturer | Model | Year | Real(g) | Pic. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straitline | 31.8mm Ultra 28mm Boxxer |
2009
|
135 |
 |
| . |
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You can purchase this stem through just about any bike shop in the USA through BTI, or check Straitline’s website for a list of more distributors in other locations.
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damn, now i need to be nice for santa…..
Make sure to leave a snack for Santa
sexy, will be on my M6
btw whens that M6 review coming out?
Quick question: Whats the point of having such a short stem? I’ve been riding for close to ten years now and not once thought, oh I wish my stem was 22mm shorter…
It helps get your weight back a little bit. 22mm might not seem like a lot but try (if you have one) putting a 70mm stem on your bike and you’ll fell a big difference over your 50mm. The difference is the same going the other way.
The shorter stem lets you get your weight right over the fork and improve steering response. You can also run a slightly larger bike (getting a longer wheelbase) without the longer cockpit that usually goes in hand.
It’s not for everyone (setup wise) but people are wanting stems like these for those reasons.
Straitline has some nice stem’s, I recently bought the new pinch stem and it totally kick’s butt. The only thing that bother’s me is the cheap looking bolt’s, allthough they are high quality 12.9 steel grade screw’s(not some cheap zink-alloy 8.8 or RVS) they do look cheap and mis-match the nice colour.(specialy dark like black) Bit of a bummer considering they do cost a pretty penny.
Since you need to tighten every screw to a whoopin’ 12.2 nm(!) I wonder if you can swap them for some black colourd screws without a problem?
Sneeck, we defiantly here you there on the esthetic look of black bolts.
Straitline uses the high grade screw’s so the gorillaz don’t have a chance at wrecking their products. You can black colored screws if you like and they’ll work just fine, but they are not as strong.
Oh and Honoodle, the M6 review we’re planning on putting it out early next year (quarter 1).
Very nice review.
I appreciate the pictures and explanation of some of the fitment issues. I have a Fox 40 and was going to but this stem, but I think I will need to take my bike to the shop to test fit a stem.
I hope they are also going to make a more conventional 50mm or a 45 mm
Excuse my ignorance but if this is such a great idea why has nobody ever though about it before? Most stems seem to be 50mm. The shortest I’ve seen was 40mm.
Can you get enough leverage over the front end with such a short stem to initiate turns?
Well it’s not a “great” idea for everyone and there are limitations on setup.
Most companies wouldn’t want to make such a stem, its definitely not for everyone and isn’t optimized for the masses.
Spencer: We didn’t have any issues with that.
Hey Rob, That’s because it is very difficult to design a stem without interfering with the “boxxer standard” bolt pattern. Motorcross bikes use a similar set up 20 -30 mm in front of the crown.
So we accomplished the short stem by tilting the face plate so that you can actually acess the bolts. All current designs are limited due to this, we simply designed around the standard to achieve the first short boxxer stem. 7th picture in shows the tilting well.
It also has to do with wanting to keep the stem very wide at the perch, we are approximatley 50mm wide. Anywider it will interfer with the bend in the bar, any narrower you are lessening the support for the bar. Strong design and again not intended for the masses.
I am glad this review came up, thurough. It’s Very hard to say it all in so few words but this is for those seeking an agressive stance. We could have come out with standards sizes first, and we will, but this was first on the slate.
This very bad video shows the stance it is called take one for a reason. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIrk8l5rHZk
And Spencer yes! Do some push ups, kidding!
Thanks for clearing that up! That video is so bad I’m not sure whether to laugh or to cry!!!
lol ya you guys like that one.. it is called take one because we were going to hit the trails and post a real promo but weather has been shit since.
Drew is fast, didn’t say he was any good at gettign any form of details correct lol. We are supposed to hit mnt Prevost tomorrow and do the vid but it is snowing a ton. So live with the comedy sketch !!
Can you slam your boxxer while using this stem?
Spencer, our Boxxer is slammed in the above pictures. You shouldn’t have a problem slamming it.
Hmm… I quote
“sicklines Says:
December 12th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Sneeck, we defiantly here you there on the esthetic look of black bolts.
Straitline uses the high grade screw’s so the gorillaz don’t have a chance at wrecking their products. You can black colored screws if you like and they’ll work just fine, but they are not as strong.”
Actually… Your wrong… Normaly a 12.9 bolt is black in color… its Nitrokarburated to get a durable finish. You can order *like Straitline apparently has* 12.9 bolts in Electroplated silver finish if you like since most manufacturers have both types in stock.
So…if you dont like the color…there are 12.9 bolts in black to purchase.
Plush-
Straitline uses 12.9 bright zinc plated bolts, and they (Fastenal) do have black, but they will rust over time according to the guys at Straitline and that is why they don’t use them.
Using cheaper grade alloy black bolts (that a lot of stems come with stock) is what I was referring to when making that comment, I should have specified a bit clearer.
Yes Sicklines, fastenal can swap these out for the black bolts but they are lesser quality.
We started way back in the beginning with black Black but people were complaining about that.
It’s kind of like buying a Ferrari then the rims rust within a month! The black bolt heads will scar from installation attracting rust and in our eyes looks like sh*t!
Just received my new Straitline stem. Looks great and feels light. I’ll review how it feels after we get over this bad run of weather up here in the PNW.
Just received my new Straitline stem. Looks great and feels light. I’ll review how it rides after we get over this bad run of weather up here in the PNW.
Spencer you are a good man! Rumour has it your chances of getting laid when running the Straitline flag increase 37.6 percent…. by a Girl!
Merry xmas, holiday time!
I really love your solution to a 28 mm reach. I run a Azonic hammer with 25/28 reach, but has the problem with nowdays forks it build up high. But the mx reach is great.
Is a Marzocchi 888 2 bolt compatible version in the planning?
If so, 1 order is placed!
Cheers RH
Hey RHead, with our VWS vertical wedge stem being underside compatible with the boxxer we turned a blind eye for the moment.
Ideally the boxxer bolt standard would be adopted and we can make just a few stems that fit across all fork manufaturers.
Unfortunatley we will not be making one right away so take that money and spend it on Valentines!
what’s the max amount of steertube on top of the crown ?