The ST03 Stem: Worth Every Stare

The beauty of doing all of our design, engineering, and testing in-house at the ALLIED Technology Center is that if we have any doubts or questions about anything we make, we can just re-make it. And that’s what we did with our drop bar stem.

The new stem is quick to install, more adjustable, and visually integrated with the lines of your modern road or gravel frameset. Like our previous stem, it’s still the simplest and easiest with internal routing on the market, but we just made it a little simpler, a lot more customizable, and ~13g lighter.

INSTALLATION AND ADJUSTMENT GUIDE

DETAILS OF THE NEW STEM

We changed a lot with the new stem, but it’s still the simplest internally-routed stem available.

With most integrated designs, if you want to tweak fit or angle, you’re pulling apart the entire front end and bleeding your brakes. With the old ALLIED stem, you could always change the length without undoing your hoses; now, you can also change the angle—and the whole process takes less time than you'd think.

ADJUSTABLE ANGLE

The biggest benefit of the new stem design is the multitude of angles available for customization. The old ALLIED stem was available in two models, a zero angle and a -6 degree. The new stem is a single model that you can adjust to either zero or -8 degrees by simply adding or removing a shim—just loosen the stem, pull the top, swap the angle shim, and replace the bolt. Done.

NO SPECIAL TOOLS

The new design eliminates the need for a special tool to tighten the compression plug. Any of the several 4mm Allen keys you’ve got lying around will do the trick, and tightening or loosening the plug is intuitive. No special tool. No special knowledge. Just a classic compression plug interface.

BOLTLESS HEAD UNIT MOUNT

The new stem still integrates a K-Edge computer mounting system, but it’s even more integrated now. There are no additional bolts or fasteners to secure the mount; instead, the geometry of the system itself locks the mount in place. It’s a cleaner interface with less hardware and fewer opportunities to over- or under-tighten a bolt.

CNC'D IN THE ATC

Every stem is CNC’d here in the ALLIED Technology Center, just outside of Bentonville. We do it ourselves, so we know how precise the tolerances are, which is a key reason why the system doesn’t creak. An added bonus to in-house production: we’ll paint it to match your new frameset.

MODERN AESTHETICS

When designing new products, performance is our key metric, but aesthetics also matter. We like clean lines throughout a bike, and the new stem integrates better with modern tube shapes. Perfectly round spacers? Nope, gone—replaced with something a little more shapely that complements contemporary head tubes and frame lines.

WE MAKE PARTS WE WANT TO RIDE

When you choose ALLIED, you’re not just buying a bike or a part; you’re investing in a product built with the utmost care and attention to detail. We're committed to using the best materials, employing skilled craftspeople, working with the best factories, and upholding the highest standards of quality.

Above all else, we are driven by a relentless commitment to build the best high-performance bicycles in the world.