Originally Posted by
BocaJr
IDK, a silver stem with black handlebars, it's a no for me. Especially, since the bike is equipped with black hubs, black FD, black RD, black crank arms, black canti brakes and a black headset.
It's all personal aesthetics, but for me, one of the distinctive things about that particular groupset is the fact that it is not all black. The chainrings form a nice contrast. Similarly, while stem and post don't need to match (especially as with early Marins for instance where the stem matches the frame and is aesthetically an extension of the frame), i think using a silver stem preserves the original look of the bike. The conversion is thus more in keeping with the original style.
But more than color I meant the design of the stem. Just seems more at home on a pedalec than a vintage Stumpjumper.