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New 2011 Turbine Stem from RaceFace – Lightweight with All Mountain Aspirations

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RaceFace seems to be trickling out new goodies about every other week, and the latest is their Turbine Stem. New for 2011, it’s made for XC, Trail and All-Mountain riding, which is impressive considering it weighs just 135g for the 9omm length!

It’s machined from aerospace grade 7075 aluminum with laser etched graphics. While the new Turbine Bar and Single rings robbed the Pantone book of colors, the Turbine Stem is available in any color you want…as long as it’s black.

Official PR, specs and more photos after the break…

Specs:

  • SIZE: 60, 70, 90, 100, 110mm
  • RISE: + or – 6° (reversible)
  • BAR DIAMETER: 31.8mm
  • STACK HEIGHT: 39.5mm
  • WEIGHT: 135g (90mm with 31.8mm bar clamp)

FROM RACEFACE:

Product Highlights:

  • Beautiful new CNC machined finish
  • Lighter than Thomson X4 and just as strong
  • Light enough for XC but strong enough for AM

Product Overview
New for 2011, our Turbine Stem was designed for riders with an eye for perfection. Born from aerospace-grade 7075 aluminum, we’ve set a new standard in stem design that minimizes weight, maximizes stiffness, and completely overloads the drool factor.

Every gram of excess material has been precisely CNC’ed away to reduce weight, and when the machined cut-outs are combined with the laser-etched graphics, the result is a work of art. But don’t let the good looks fool you. Although the Turbine Stem is engineered to be light enough for the World Cup XC circuit , it’s strong enough to allow you to point and shoot down rough, boulder-strewn descents. And because it’s available in lengths ranging from 60 to 110mm and has a reversible +/- 6 degree rise, it has the versatility to do all of that and a lot more.

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RED
RED
13 years ago

That is one dead sexy stem…

Gillis
Gillis
13 years ago

agreed

DANGERJONNY
DANGERJONNY
13 years ago

at last something to restore my faith in the styling dept at Race Face

Tony
Tony
13 years ago

Nice but it looks all but identical to a Thomson X4, with an X2 faceplate. I can only assume Thomson elected not to use a faceplate like that with a big holt in it on their MTB stem because their testing revealed it wasn’t adequately strong. I think I’ll stick with the X4, which seems to me to be essentially a perfect design.

Kovas
Kovas
13 years ago

Brings back memories of my old RF Deus stem, not the current forged design, but the original CNC-machined one that had all that neat CNC texture on it. Cool stuff.

Light enough for XC, yet tough enough for AM. That’s the magic equation for any high-end part. Build your bike up so you can ride it or race it without sacrifice.

I agree with Tony, it’s hard to improve on the X4, but looks like Race Face is giving it a run for the money.

pmurf
pmurf
12 years ago

Having owned both this and the Elite x4, I love the turbine, and it’s now my stem of choice. The machining isn’t QUITE as impeccable as the x4 ,but it’s still pretty top-notch. But aside from finish, I think RF beats Thompson in every category. It’s 25g lighter length-for-length, and incredibly stiff too, probably thanks to it’s groove-locking faceplate design. It’s also a beautiful sculpture, growing in diameter from the steer to the bar, a very unique look for an aluminum stem. Add to this cool but understated graphics, and I don’t think I’ll find anything I like more for a long time.

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