The new ultra-short Discord Creemee & updated Discord w(Right) stems just may be the perfect solution to getting a more comfortable, upright, and stable position on your dropbar gravel & adventure bike. As modern enduro, then trail, then XC, and now gravel & adventure bikes have all adopted longer reach, slacker geometry & short stems, VT off-the-grid bike shop Analog Cycles and their Discord Components brand have developed a range of ultra short threadless & quill stems to dial in better fit for your move to off-road drop bar riding. And the stems are all entirely made in the USA.
Discord Creemee 0mm offset aluminum adventure bike stems
Analog Cycles debuted their ultra-short 0mm wRight steel quill stems two years ago, and now are back with a more modern CNC-machined alloy version (plus an update to the wRights too.) The idea from the start was that many off-road dropbar riders simply had their bars too far forward. And surprise, bringing the bar back didn’t result in sketchy handling, so they started cranking out more & more stems.
Anyone who knows Analog, knows that they can wax poetic all day long about pretty much anything bike tech related (…something, something pot calling the kettle black.) And while they aren’t really into electronic shifting, automatically actuated full-suspension bikes, or even carbon fiber for the most part, they do know a thing or two about riding bikes in the woods and having a good time doing it. While the off-the-grid bike shop concept might suggest a bit of their underlying retro-grouch, Analog digs modern technology too, and were pretty excited to be able to develop & manufacture this CNC-machined 6061 aluminum Creemee stem with Swift Designwork in NJ.
The upright stem takes its name from a Vermont delicacy… actually it’s just a soft-serve ice cream that Analog says is best tall, vanilla/maple twist & covered with rainbow sprinkles, hence their photos. What you get is a no-offset stem that bolts a modern 31.8mm dropbar onto a standard 1 1/8″ steerer tube in a comfortable upright position.
One other good thing that also does is let smaller riders pick a frame with longer reach while maintaining a good position on the bike, but without having to resort to compromised geometry with wacky headtube angles, fork offset, or massive toe overlap.
Analog calls the machined alloy Discord Creemee stem lightweight & tough. When I pressed on how much it weighed, they said “don’t ask… my scale is broken”. Elaborating on toughness, they were clear that it is a “normal mountain bike stem” meant to be ridden on and off-road on road, gravel, adventure & touring bikes. It is not a gravity bike stem. “Gnar is fine but no sendy gnar gnar.”
The $165 Discord Creemee has 0mm of offset, 80mm of stack height, 52mm of 1.125″ diameter steerer tube insertion (no carbon steerers according to Analog) and a 4-bolt removable faceplate for 31.8mm bars. All hardware is US-made stainless steel, and the 6061 alloy stems are available in anodized silver or black. While no other sizes are available now, we have seen that Swift has been prototyping ones with a bit of offset and similar stack that will likely be added in the future.
Discord w(Right) updated 0 & 30mm offset steel quill adventure bike stems
As for the revised steel Discord wRight quill stems, they are still made of 4130 chromoly steel, brazed in Massachusetts by Alex Meade Bikeworks and mount with a 225mm long Nitto quill & wedge. But now they too, get updated with a 4-bolt removable faceplate for 31.8mm bars.
The $195 Discord w(Right) stems are available in either 0mm or 30mm offset, and are offered in standard clear gloss or semi-gloss black ceramic coating finishes, or even Analog’s custom cerakote colors by special order.
Coming Soon: Discord Fingerling 50 & 70mm steel quill stems
“Coming soon: 50mm and 70mm Discord Fingerling Stems also made with the same shit as above. About 2 months out.” I couldn’t resist quoting that PR-speak. The gist is there, the upcoming Fingerling will add the possibility for a bit more offset for those still working with modernizing their threaded steerer tube adventuring bikes, but not quite ready to go zero-offset.
Want to read more about Analog’s revolutionary way of thinking, want to help ‘subvert the paradigm, or just need to burn a few hours in corona-induced lockdown? Head over to the Analog Cycles website and dig in. You can either head to their True Facts section or dive into the Musings and Rambles of their journal. Or just support a local independent bike shop…
