Review: BMB Reverse Raise Stem – The stem that will change your mountain bike

Both of these options introduced points and concepts that significantly contradicted the mechanics of traditional frame and stem design. You could say Mondraker removed the stem length by adding it to the top tube, and Rulesman suggests the same thing, but he’s just saying he’ll consider increasing the frame size.

Of course, it’s completely unfair to say that either of these brands just made a sturdy stem and that’s it. And both brands have made plenty of other improvements to the bikes overall. Ruelsmann’s reasoning also suggests that the rear center will be longer. I’m a big fan of this and think it could open up new avenues for design. They also note that the 10-20 mm stem proposed by Mondraker many years ago cannot compensate for the inherent rearward weight bias that occurs when moving to shorter, taller stems due to other geometric dimensions. It also suggests that it was somewhat restricted.

Both of these ideas are really interesting, and I especially liked Seb Stotts’ article above about Rulezman’s products. But today the stem in question is from American brand Be More Bikes, and while we’re focusing on their unique take on stem design, we’re also trying to convince you that looks can be deceiving and it’s not all that different after all. I have doubts as to whether or not there is.

A bold look, an even bolder statement

There are a lot of passionate people in the bicycle industry, and Bronson Moore is one of them. His stems are not forgotten, he orders 1,000 units, assembles them in CAD, and then happily moves on to the next step. Speaking with him at Sea Otter earlier this year, it’s clear he lives and breathes this strange and wonderful creation, and I have so much respect for people like him.

The stems look wild and the statement is equally grand. Copy of BMB’s stem characteristics he categorizes into two main areas: raised height and reverse offset. Let’s start with the former.

Some of the claimed benefits, in no particular order, are that the stem allows the rider’s arms to have a better angle to the bars, allowing for more confident descents, and allows the elbow to bend before the joint reaches maximum extension. It’s more room to facilitate and maneuver. The increased distance between your arms and legs gives you more leverage on the bike, putting more weight on your feet instead of your hands, allowing you to achieve a gentler, more comfortable attack position, similar to your normal posture. It is said that it will become On a dirt bike.

As for the reverse offset, Copy says it reduces the feeling of wander on loose bikes, provides better control so you can load the side knobs more effectively, and allows riders to make tighter turns. Masu. This position prevents the front wheels from being pushed in at extreme steering angles and gives the front tires a better feel on the contact patch, meaning you can carve around the rear with more confidence.

These claims can be game-changing. Unlike other novel ideas that challenge “stem conventions,” this stem does not claim to be part of a larger geometric concept. They specifically state that there is no need to make the bike bigger.

So far, it’s extreme.

Can this position be achieved with traditional components?

During testing, I was curious to see how this actually compared to the typical parts we have at our Squamish headquarters. I’ve ridden in high-rise bars before and, like many of us, am well aware of the limitations as well as the benefits. Sometimes it feels like you’re crossing a no-man’s land when the very high front end goes between the edges of the tires. Balanced, but transitions between turns feel a little vague, and the front lacks grip and small flexes are unstable, especially when the front wheel doesn’t have enough weight to keep it balanced and follow in a straight line. It may start to become the real cause of. And it’s true. Being on the Y axis isn’t too bad, and being loaned out isn’t too bad, but for me, the transition through the vertical plane can be unsettling.

I installed Unser’s impressive A76 bars. This may come as a surprise, but it features a 76mm rise. The bar placed my hands about the same height as his BMB stem, but 80mm forward. To investigate this further, I rotated the 40mm stem 180 degrees and reinstalled the bar. As I circled the parking lot, I noticed two things. I didn’t particularly like it, but it still felt strangely familiar.

Impressions of mountain climbing

Riding the stem puts you in a very unconventional position, but that’s kind of the point. I immediately thought of all the people I’ve met over the years with back issues and thought this would be a great option to try. I also thought about people who want to learn bunny hop, and I realized that this would be a great teaching material. Then I hit the trail, but the endless possibilities of what this trunk could do started to dry up.

How a bike fits is very subjective, and I’m going to bore you by saying that how the bike fits my body is the most important thing I encounter on Pinkbike today. there is no. However, I found that when riding on flat ground or climbing this stem, I found myself in a position that became tiring after long periods of riding the bike. Generally, I like to have some support from my bones, joints, and skeleton, but I don’t want to be using my core for long periods of time. Even on bikes with a low front, I like my arms to support my upper body and my elbows just coming back from the locked position.

The RR stem gave me a plank-like position on gentle climbs and a town bike feel on steep climbs. I’ll happily admit that I’m not a gym buff, but I don’t think I usually struggle with upper body bike fitness. However, my triceps felt like they were constantly being preloaded trying to keep the load on the front. When the inclines got steeper or more technical, I felt like I had to actually press my chest against the stem. On right-hand climbs, this stem not only lacks front grip and seesaws from front to back looking for traction, but it’s also downright tiring.

Lifting the front wheel is easy, just to be clear, but for those who find their front wheel stuck on roots or square edges, this stem will help.

Descending number of impressions

Riding this stem on a regular bike, in this case the oversized Transition Spire, felt completely strange. I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t think you can make such a big change to the bike’s weighting by rider weight and not treat it as a massive change.

There was a lack of front grip and looking for it could lead to lunges and pushes. I had to balance when leaning, but the window was small and that didn’t help. What happened more often was that you found a reliable angle of inclination and only the front began to wash, and the large expanse between the ground plane and the hand went around and punished you, making your hand feel like it hurt . You will lose a lot of height. This is not the handlebar flop feeling where the tires are gripping so they fall inwards in a sense, but rather an enhanced and exaggerated version of a wheel wash, where the wheels get wet while being washed. It was like hitting a root. Drag the front brake.

We ran it back-to-back and compared it to a standard 40mm stem and 35mm riser bar.

Preloading the front during braking was also very difficult when grip is important. fall on the rail When entering the turn, shift your weight onto your outside foot and adjust your grip with your inside hand.

On flat, straight sections it might feel fine, but only on high bars, which offer the benefits of a near-turbocharged version as well as the well-known trade-offs. of reverse stem. I’m a big believer in the idea of ​​”heavy feet but light hands,” but this is more than an extreme theory that I can agree with.

I’ve talked to Bronson and he seems to accept that this stem isn’t for everyone and may suit certain frames, positions and techniques better than others. He even explained that he wanted to use this stem as a stepping stone to a more comprehensive concept. This seems like a great idea to me. The balance between the two points is a result of both placement and consideration, and I’ll be interested to see the frame he ultimately creates given the very high front position of the stem. He’s also working on a second version with a slightly lower height in hopes of fitting a wider range of riders on a wider variety of frames.