icepick_trotsky 

I stumbled across this on eBay, and it looks like a way better solution than an adapter. There are other around, but they're all much more expensive.

mstateglfr 

Saw those last week when i was trollin thru ebay for stems.
Love the removable faceplate to facilitate easy and clean installation.

mongol777

Looks very similar to Factory Five, https://wearefactoryfive.com/products/f5-titan-stem
F5 Titan only comes in 90mm and double the price of your ebay find

mongol777

Found another one, 90mm,
I wonder how flexy are they. I'd probably risk it on the bike which does not see a lot of spirited riding but for anything else I somehow do not feel re-assured of stem quality. I'd love to hear from someone with first hand experience

GTizzy

The Factory Five team are good guys. They design original and beautiful products. This is obviously a counterfeit. I know it's tempting to race to the bottom, but please think twice before buying, and maybe read this article in Cycling Tips about the whole counterfeit cycle following the launch of the (awesome) Spur Cycle Bell:

https://cyclingtips.com/2016/08/a-ta...ounterfeiters/

If you want beautiful products, and thoughtful innovation from small manufacturers, support them by buying their products.

Thanks!

GTizzy

Also, all those tempting arguments ("It might come from the same factory!" "I'm bypassing the marketing cost") are thin self-justifications. Sad!

Read the Spur Cycles article.

mongol777

I like what F5 is doing. I saw F5 Titan stem at LBS and it looks really good. And their Pista frame - oh my:

icepick_trotsky 

Sheesh, do you guys work for Factory Five or something?

mongol777

Haha, I know - we look like total shills! No, I don't work for them. I was ready to pull the trigger on the frame though but their sizing chart threw me off, it is odd. They also make very nice chainring and I see it quite often this days posted on various forums

RobbieTunes

I thought Factory Five was a boy band. I also thought the Factory 5 stem had a "full" clamp with a clamp bolt. The J and L is "open face."

I took delivery of one of those J and L 31.8 quills about a week ago, in silver. Looks pretty good, and will look better when I polish it. Let's look at the pro's and con's from my recent experience:

Pro:
1-Price.
2-Available in silver or black.
3-Big bar capable; I'm running a Deda Big Piega on it, looks great.
4-Simple 2-bolt mounting, standard wedge/steerer setup. Easy to mount any 31.8 bar.

Con:
1-Finish could be better in silver, kind of mottled. Not a Nitto or Cinelli, for sure.
2-2-bolt clamp for a 31.8 bar. Compared to most threadless stems, makes you wonder.
3-The cap didn't fit against the stem very well. I had to file to stop it from binding.
4-Sizing. It could really be .2-.5mm smaller, as it does not grip the 31.8 bar all that well.
5-The two bolts are cheap and ream out quickly under the torque needed to clamp the bar. I replaced them with steel bolts.

Would I buy one again? Yes. The price makes up for the time it takes to "get it right." The flexibility of being able to run modern bars like short/shallows on a C&V frame is worth it.

Is the Factory Five a better stem? Yes. Is it worth 2.5x to 3x as much? No.
I normally pay more for US-made products, but the difference is pretty substantial.

Of course, once I put some serious load on the bars, we'll see how that stem clamp holds up. The two bolt clamp has me a bit nervous. The only 2-bolt clamp threadless stem I've ever used was a Profile Design Forgie, and those bolts were huge. These bolts are the same as bottle cage bolts. I recommend replacing them with steel bolts immediately.

Just my opinion, since I have one.

mongol777

I may be mistaken but Factory Five does not make any products in the US. They are China based brand (Shanghai if I recall correct) and I would assume everything is made either in China or Taiwan.

mongol777

Here is close up of F5 stem, does it look different from J&L?

RobbieTunes

Nope, pretty much the same design, I guess. F5 fit and finish look better, bolts definitely look better, more recessed (and look like steel) The cut-outs on the J and L are deeper, but not very precise, and the silver J and L is not polished, more like cloudy satin.

It will take me about 20 minutes to get the finish to be reflective, then another 10 to make it look like chrome, but it will be done. I've already got steel bolts in there. The OEM J and L bolts are OK for water bottle cages, not much else. Next time I get to Fastenal, I'll pick up some stainless bolts.

mongol777

Thank you! Will wait to hear your feedback on how it rides. I find some modern quill stems (and some vintage too of course) are a bit on the flexy side.

mongol777

No word on pricing yet, fresh off the press The Velo ORANGE Blog: Them Stems

Essthreetee

RobbieTunes

Two facets to this, maybe three:
1. Go with the Factory 5 if you must. Just a lot nicer stem.
2. Use steel bolts. I value you here, and there are only two bolts.
3. The Innicycles adapter changed the equation for me but it's $90 plus a stem.

Now, you can PM me and I will send you my 31.8 quill.
I think having it in your mitts is a better way to grasp the variables.
You can always send it back after you give it a go

marciexyz

Hey, what is your method of polishing out bike parts such as this. Thanks 👍🏻👊🏻

guisar

While I agree (and support many small manufacturers), having dealt with J&L before I'd believe that the Factory Five is an engraved version of this rather than this being a copy of their model. J&L products, in my experience, are legit- well made and supported.