steinercat

Have been thinking about this for my flat-bar gravel bike. I don’t need too much ‘suspension’ but there’s some hardpack sections I ride that really beat my hands/arms up. I already have 45mm tires on a steel frame/fork, but I could use just a little more help I think.

Glad to hear the positive results for many users.

Wildwood 

i did the Softride flexible stem thing decades ago with a flat bar bike. Never again! Flexible stem/moving handlebars over bumpy terrain is not a desirable trait for me. Regular road vibration I can deal with in better ways. This is an old idea being recycled thru the current trend that a 'pillow smooth ride' is superior. If they start to squeek it's even worse.

yeah, yeah, yeah - this new design overcomes all the previous problems of earlier versions that are in the junkpile of innovative products.

edit Willing to sell the Softride stem at 1/2 the price of the Redshift product. Evaluate floppy bars for yourself.

re-edit: after reading the below comments, I would add to my post by saying - If you are riding roads/gravel with significant sections of wash-board or wash-out, that are beyond the tire's ability to mostly absorb, then you probably don't need a road bike geometry bike with shock stem. You would be better served with mtb tires or fork / rear triangle suspension.
imho = floppy/bouncing bars in irregular terrain produces diminished steering control and leads to sketchy situations, unnecessarily.

FlashBazbo

I own a Redshift Shockstop stem and I used it for several months . . . but I don't like it. It ought to be perfect for me. I'm an old guy and there are lots of rough nasty roads in our area, but I didn't like the pogo feeling. I switched the Shockstop out, on my gravel bike, and went to a Niner RDO stem. It flexes "just enough" for me. In fact, even it probably flexes more than I like sometimes.

(Where's the best place to sell a bike stem?)

WalksOn2Wheels

Funny enough, the stem showed up in my mailbox shortly after making my previous post. I was able to configure it and get it installed later in the evening. Initial setup is a little intimidating when you have to flip everything around for the -6 degree orientation. I won't get a real ride until maybe noon Saturday, so we'll see. I have a very specific stretch of really, really bad chip seal I want to try it on. I'll even make a point to run down some gravel roads on that route as well.

And for sure, this is a redux of the 90's softride which is notorious for being awful. I will admit to not experiencing those 90's innovations first hand, but the redshift product seems almost immediately better in that it has 15 distinct settings from stupid soft to pretty rigid. They give guidelines based on weight, but you can always go stiffer if you feel like it flexes too much.

And another thing: I would never put this on a road bike. With modern tires at 25-27mm and modern rim widths for more tire volume, you have all the suspension you need for most road situations. When the road sucks a little more than normal, you just deal with it. But for my intended use on gravel, those roads can vary from superfine smoothness of packed gravel to full on washboard and large chunk gravel. Most of the local events have a 100K option and something to take the bite out of the front end for that distance would be most welcome.

Cyclist0108

I just moved my stem and my shockstop seatpost to a new touring frame. Since both are adjustable, I just run them a little firmer than what is suggested for my weight. My experience has been a lot more positive than it was when I tried a Lauf fork.

zacster

This nothing like the Softride though. It doesn't flex up and down as much as just dampen the vibration. You don't really think about it or feel it, you feel like you are riding your road bike as usual. At this point I'm conscious of it being there because it is new to me. I guess on gravel or other rough conditions it would become more obvious, but that's the point isn't it?

I still have mine at the default flex. I could stiffen it if I feel like it is too flexible in the future. I wouldn't want it any more flexy though as then I might actually notice it.

WalksOn2Wheels

Well I got out today with the redshift stem. I set it up -6 degrees (like the stem it replaced) and set it to the 3rd stiffest possible setting because I am *ahem* in need of some weight loss. I'm right around 245 right now. But overall, it was pretty great. It genuinely didn't factor in or seem at all noticeable on a smooth flat and standing to climb didn't present any odd feeling or pogo effect on the front end. It was just stiff enough to have some good feedback, but running it on the absolute crappiest roads around, it made a massive difference. If I really wanted to have a "plush" feel I could go a lot softer, but so far it seems fairly perfect. I tried to run down a gravel road, but what used to be gravel not too long ago is now just nasty chip-seal slightly worse than the other road I had already planned on riding. Either way, it did the trick. I think this is perfect for me at the moment. I will try to report back after some gravel events. I'm doing a 35-ish mile route at an event on the 25th. Curious to see how it does there. I may be tempted to go one notch down on the stiffness before then.

zacster

I got out today since it was 60+ degrees in NY in February. I was a good 15 miles into my 20 mile ride when I remembered about the stem. My point here is that it really just disappears and feels like it isn't there, except that it is dampening the shock. It serves its purpose without being noticeable,

Trakhak

"Suspend the rider, not the bike!" That was Softride's slogan for their suspension stem. Its parallelogram action ensured that the bars and brake levers would stay level rather than rotating down at every impact, which is what happens with all the single-pivot suspension stems.

It's a shame that they didn't sell enough of them to keep improving the design. I used the second-generation aluminum Softride suspension stem with a flat bar on a road bike converted to off-road use, and I loved it. Yes, the pivot bushings needed replacement every so often, but servicing the bushings was far cheaper and easier than servicing an oil or air suspension fork.

By the way, riders sponsored by Softride and using Softride suspension stems won the mountain bike cross-country World Championships and the World Cup back in the 1990s. Too bad the stems didn't look as cool as suspension forks.

Cyclist0108

My Redshift Stopshocks Seatpost (parallelegram) and stem:

zacster

So are you liking the seat post? I see you're set up for touring, my bike is pure road.

Cyclist0108

I've had it on 3 different bikes, on-road, off-road and now this. On-road, it is very smooth. Off-road, it is a little bit bouncy, but I minimized it by setting it as if I weight 250lbs. I'm only finishing assembling this touring bike, so I can't really say anything except that on limited test-rides, both on and off-road on this bike, it has been good.

Sorry that isn't more helpful, but it is the best I have got at the moment. For my drop-bar rigid 2.8"-tire mountain bike, it made the most difference (despite already having "plus" tires).

smashndash

Sorry to derail this thread a bit, but I’m really interested in the Lauf fork for my upcoming all-road bike. Did you not like it for road, mild gravel, serious single track or all 3?

Cyclist0108

I tried it attached to their carbon gravel bike. I used it on the same ride I normally take with my steel-framed, carbon Enve CX fork, and it really beat me up. I am not entirely sure if I should blame the fork, the frame, or the tires. Ideally, I should try the fork on my own bike before concluding anything. I really wanted to like this fork, but I think the lack of dampening made the bike hard to control on steep rocky descents (fire roads and single track in Wilder Ranch, just north of Santa Cruz, if that helps). On road it actually wasn't too bad. I tried that first and thought I liked it, but changed my mind when I got off road. However, there really isn't much need for it on road.

Ramshackle

I've been using it for months on my road bike. Used a medium spacer. Took it off for a few rides to see if it made a difference. It did and I put it back on. Maybe a little springy at times, but the comfort outweighs it.
​​​​​

smashndash

Ah ok. I can’t assume a cheap-ish carbon frame would match a steel one in terms of compliance. Your experience with rocky stuff seems to echo public opinion and common sense. If damping were unnecessary, then people wouldn’t use it.

Still not entirely convinced that I’d be better off with a rigid fork, though. Fast, rocky descents would probably be rare for me.

Cyclist0108

My "Fast" is probably your "slow".

zacster

Another update. I needed a new rear tire and this time decided that I'd go with fatter tires to go along with the Shockstop stem. I was able to squeeze a 700x28 in the front and a 700x25 in the rear. I pumped them to 95 today, as a first try. The ride was definitely more comfortable, way more. I stubbornly refused to try fat tires for 30 years, and now I don't know why.

My bike now feels like the Spec Roubaix I rented in SF that started me on this.

smashndash

Wait. How much do you weigh again? Don’t mean to turn this into a tire pressure debate but:

https://axs-stage.sram.com/tirepressureguide

I personally weigh 135lbs and used to run 45-50psi in my 28mm tires normally. I’ve gone as low as 40psi - with tubes. Look at the recommendation for TL pressures on that website. IMO those are actually a bit higher than necessary. I have a friend who weighs 175lbs and runs 60psi in 28mm tires.

What kind of tires are you using? Ironically, stiffer, more reinforced tires can actually feel floppier at low pressures than supple race tires.

zacster

These are GP5000 tires, and I weigh around 190. I would never ride with tires that low. That sounds way too low and would cause problems. I put my numbers in the calculator and the front says 75 and the rear 95. I still would not ride with 75 in the front. I was going to try somewhat lower, maybe 85F/90R. In any case, when I've gotten flats on the road and pump up the spare as hard as I can with a hand pump to around 75 it always felt squishy.

On my commuter bike I use Gatorskins in a 26" size and even these I pump up to 90. I don't always pump these up before I take that bike out and it too would feel squishy if I let it go too long. I ride in NYC too, not known for smooth roads, but they aren't as bad as you'd imagine either. When I ride my fat tire bike I keep the pressure down but that's a different beast.

And another thing, I just check Conti's website and they are rated at 95-120 psi, so 95 is at the low end. That doesn't mean you can't go lower, it is just what they recommend. I take that with a grain of salt too as it could just be the way to get maximum wear out of them.

smashndash

Hm. It definitely takes a bit of mental retraining to get used to a soft tire. I’ve personally run a 25mm front tire at 35psi (yes everyone called me crazy) or so in a race and had no issues with flop. I assume it’s more of a feel thing.

Not saying you have to lower your pressures or anything. Just saying that there are quite a few of us running quite low pressures and enjoying it.

WhyFi

I'm around the same weight and run 28s at ~70psi on 17mm internal width rims. No problems.

zacster

A final update to this. It's been 5 months now since my last post on this and I've been riding with the shockstop and wider tires the entire time. It really is just more comfortable, especially on long rides, and I really forget that it is there. I've kept the tires at 95psi and felt anything lower was squishy, but I don't pump at every ride like I used to, but never let it go for more than two or three days.

ARPRINCE

It looks like they have a 25% off on Black Friday. Wanted to get one for awhile now so very tempting!

1Lieutenant

I have been using the Redshift stem for the past year on my Lynskey R300. It absorbs road vibration and softens harsh hits nicely. Has reduced the discomfort of my wrists and arms substantially. Works so well I periodically check my front tire to ensure it is not low on pressure.
I have never noticed "pogo effect" I only notice a substantially smoother ride on known trails. To me, well worth it!