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Analog Cycles 0mm w(Right) stem wants you to sit up, relax & enjoy the ride

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Head angles are going slack, stems are getting ever shorter, so why not take it to the extreme? The dirt road riding & touring aficionados of Analog Cycles have been preaching the gospel of slowing down to enjoy the ride for years. Now their new 0 & 30mm offset w(Right) stems take inspiration from century-old bike design to give riders a more comfortable grip on the bars and a stable ride.

Analog w(Right) 0 & 30mm offset quill road & tour stems

photos courtesy Analog Cycles

Analog Cycles has a motto of ‘subvert the paradigm’. And that’s pretty well the M.O. of building a (pseudo) modern zero offset quill stem, based on bikes made by the Wright brothers in 1890s Ohio.

The Concept

The idea essentially boils down to the fact that those turn-of-the-century bikes used large volume tires, slack headtubes, and a good bit of trail to deliver a ride that was both stable and predictable on rough road surfaces. And of course those bikes used super short or even 0-offset stems paired with swept back or drop bars to give cyclists (especially smaller ones) a comfortable, upright position on the bike without any toe-overlap.

But Why?

Why bring back a century old 0mm stem concept? Well, now more cyclists are rediscovering the pleasure of riding back roads, dirt roads & gravel. Fast moving off-road bikepacking is exploding, but so too is the idea of casual touring & cruising on quiet roads.

Mountain bikes are getting ever shorter stems and slacker angles, and the time may be ripe for gravel touring riders to reap the same handling benefits on the road as well. With back swept alt-bars (like a Jones H-bar), riders’ hands were often already behind the steerer tube. And with most road drop bars stretching the rider even further forward, a no-offset stem could bring hands back to a comfortable reach. You don’t even need really slack geometry.

So Analog took the idea, prototyped some no-offset stems and spent months riding each iteration on road & trail to see if the handling really worked like anticipated. And it did, so they decided to start producing the stems to help more riders dial in proper, comfortable fits.

It really help riders looking to shorten the reach to their current bar setup, or who feel their bar is too low. The biggest to benefit could be riders with longer legs/shorter upper bodies, who can size up a frame with the no-offset stem to lessen toe overlap (which any small rider will testify is a real problem, especially with larger volume tires and/or fenders) and avoid some of the geometry compromises that plague smaller bikes.

Tech Details of the w(Right) stem

The w(Right) is a made-in-the-USA chromo steel stem, a mix of TIG welding and fillet brazing by the California bike builder crafting the American made Crust Bikes (more about those coming soon.)

It uses a two-bolt removable faceplate for easy install, and has 0mm and 30mm offset version. The stems are available to clamp 26.0mm classic road or 31.6mm modern road bars. For now the wRight is only available with a 225mm long quill to fit 1″ threaded headset/forks.

That means that this is a retrofit solution for the most part, although a number of retro-grouch friendly steel bike companies – like Crust, Rivendell, Soma to name a few – still build 1″ headtube touring bikes. The stems are designed to work with typical road & touring geometry, and have been tested on bike with average to long fork trail. (It could help turn your old 1″ mountain bike from the 90s into a fun off-road drop bar ride, while keeping your hand position in check.)

not the wRight stem, but a 30mm Crust threadless one

A version to work on a 1 1/8″ threadless bike is in the works too. Fabricator Darren Larkin already builds some similar items for Crust, and is working on the Analog removable faceplate versions as we type, that will retail starting under $180 when they get announced this spring.

The quill stems are in production now. You can pre-order direct from Analog now with a $80 deposit. A raw (completely unfinished stem, paint it if you want, or let it corrode) wRight stem sells for $140. For $185, Analog will treat & then clearcoat it for you, so you get to see how great it looks with less rust over time. Lead time is about a month as of now.

AnalogCycles.com

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Eggs Benedict a.k.a Darth Baller
Eggs Benedict a.k.a Darth Baller
6 years ago

You would think this would make for some pretty squirrely steering. But maybe not.

pinko
pinko
6 years ago

The best part is the rack up front!
I understand people riding these bikes are almost always new to cycling, but the set up is a big no-no and actually dangerous.

Do not confuse this with Rivendell please!
Not related, nothing similar.

Eggs Benedict a.k.a Darth Baller
Eggs Benedict a.k.a Darth Baller
6 years ago
Reply to  pinko

I’m not confusing this bike with anything. As far as I’m concerned it has almost no redeeming qualities. If someone offered me the whole bike for free, I’d take the frame and fork and ask them if they wouldn’t mind keeping all of the other crap, so I wouldn’t have to dispose of it. I’d probably take the stem too, and cut it length wise with a torch.

Smale Rider
Smale Rider
6 years ago

Buying this is a statement that you bought the wrong bike to begin with.

ascarlarkinyar
ascarlarkinyar
6 years ago

You better have stupid long trail on your fork or this stem is gonna steer like 10 cups of expresso. The industry got away from this because forks with long trail needed to be super strong and heavy. A better idea was to use what we have now. Longer stem and less trail. Duh…. going backwards instead of forwards. Not a good idea bro.

Mr Pink
Mr Pink
6 years ago
Reply to  ascarlarkinyar

Yeah, tell that to Charlie Cunningham.

Love the stuff people think they know but have no clue about. Obviously zero experience with dirt drops and old school MTB’s.

Oh and Soma makes a lovely raked out cromo fork that isn’t any heavier than any other steel fork out there and rides dreamy.

Pinko
Pinko
6 years ago
Reply to  Mr Pink

You seem to be confused because these stems do not have anything to share with Charlie Cunningham set up. They are just a no sense.

lop
lop
6 years ago
Reply to  Mr Pink

This stem shares absolutely nothing in common with anything Charlie Cunningham made.

SAWTOOTH
SAWTOOTH
6 years ago
Reply to  ascarlarkinyar

What is exactly is “expresso”?

dustytires
6 years ago

My GUESS is that it will be squirrely, because without a really slack head angle and/or straighter fork to add stability, these little stems take away the tiller effect of more stem/reach/hoods to stabilize the front end. The only way mtbs can confidently have short stems is because the head angles are slacker than ever and now a couple companies are reducing fork offset further increasing trail / stability to the point that it feels like the front end is welded to the ground. With drop bars having ‘reach’ and brake hoods extending even further I can totally see the logic in this, but not until the bikes themselves match the retro geo that these stems were copied from.

JBikes
JBikes
6 years ago

$140 for a raw unfinished quill stem?
W.
T.
F.

Me
Me
6 years ago
Reply to  JBikes

That’s what I thought.

Klaster_1
Klaster_1
6 years ago

The zero offset stem looks so temptingly like a seatpost, I’d try to mount a seat to it just for laughs.

ChrisC
ChrisC
6 years ago

So… This is for the 1,000 or so people that actually own and ride a Rivendell?

J D
J D
6 years ago
Reply to  ChrisC

Rivbike has made a thousand bikes? How come grant isn’t rolling in the dough? Right. Camp gear and Tagua nuts for sale.

FFM
FFM
6 years ago

You have to remove the handlebars to adjust the stem… because difficult is the new cool.

Mark
Mark
6 years ago
Reply to  FFM
dockboy
dockboy
6 years ago
Reply to  Mark

That’s an adjuster for a threadless system, the stem FFM is talking about is a quill stem for a threaded system.

Mark
Mark
6 years ago
Reply to  dockboy

Oops, I misread FFS’s comment. Yes, you have to remove the bars to adjust the stem alignment or height. Or drill a hole through the clamp plate and bars- after all, how much stress are they seeing right at the center of the clamp area anyway? Especially if you use sleeved bars too. 🙂 But yeah, maybe make it a 4 bolt clamp then.

I was anticipating how to adjust the headset for the upcoming threadless version. You could have either a center bolt where you have to remove the stem or use this adjuster. Or use my previous suggestion.

Chase
Chase
6 years ago

Rivendell is down the road from me and I see them occasionally. I still don’t get it. why?

dockboy
dockboy
6 years ago
Reply to  Chase

They are very comfortable, capable bikes with some real flair and a classic simplicity. Some people like cars with carburetors, tube amps, and other “outdated” tech. I got to test ride one on my local trails, and it wasn’t super fast, per se, but I sure was steady, and I climbed anything I wanted and went down heartier hills than I thought I might like to on such a chill bike.

Deathmetal Sprinter
Deathmetal Sprinter
6 years ago
Reply to  dockboy

People like tube amps because amp companies still can’t make a solid state amplifier that’ll saturate/distort like a good, quality valve amplifier. That being said, not everyone who uses tube amps is some vintage hipster looking to play a Rickenbacker or a Guild through a crappy old Vox. Some of us like our Peavey 5150/6505s, Mesa Double/Triple Rectifiers, and Engl Powerball/Savages.

So to use tube amps as a defence for this garbage stem, is ludicrous. Plus, I’m 6’3”, so there isn’t a steel frame in the world that would fit me, and look normal with this stem. Then again, I prefer carbon monocoque frames with threadless stems and hydraulic disc brakes with electronic shifting; just like I prefer arched top/bottom, thin-line mahogany guitars with blade headstocks, ultra-thin necks, double-locking tremolos, and active pickups, because I like technological advancement. The ridiculous stem in this article is the antithesis of any forward thinking advancement or idea.

Oscar
Oscar
6 years ago

That stem (whitout the removable faceplate, ok…) can be found here in retro bike part stores….for around 10€. Chromed. See: https://www.biciclasica.com/componentes/potencias

Fred Gravelly
Fred Gravelly
6 years ago

Was this like a bet between staff or something?:
Head BR person: Hey Cory, I’ll bet you a brand new gravel seatpost that you can’t write a 500 word essay convincing us & yourself on how awesome this stupid $140 stem from 1890 is.
Cory: What’s the catch
HBRP: You can only use the word ‘gravel’… once
Cory: You’re ona

Fred
Fred
6 years ago

Without the slacker headangle and a much longer reach that stem will just make a normal roadbike twitchy.

VeloMini
VeloMini
6 years ago

Same as the proof is in the pudding.
So is the proof is in the ride.

Longer frame and fork rake calls for straight line ride stability.
Shorter top tube and upright riding is great for comfort.
Not so great for climbs.

Classic bikes are really great for flat area riding.

That bike up there is not a disc brake gravel bike.
But more like a modern townie with a classic twist.

ted
ted
6 years ago

Didnt realize i woke up on April 1st 1984… are they serious with this?

The Dude from 1903 Tour de France who is looking for his bike
The Dude from 1903 Tour de France who is looking for his bike
6 years ago

Man. I wonder why it took so long for gravel grind to shut down. Now that Analog cycles is taking over, I ask myself the same question. With idiotic, dated, retrograde parts that they are charging an arm and a leg for, I cant help but wonder, WTH are they thinking? My head hurts. My soul aches. I need to take a nap now…

Atilladagun
Atilladagun
4 years ago

Very cool idea. I’d love to try the stem, bar, shifter combination out on my retro gravel bike. I don’t know what the hell the rest of herd is talking about with respect to adjust-ability and the ride of “vintage” steel on dirt. Ya’ll would probably still be happy riding 35mm kevlar sidewall tires on gravel based on your closed minds.

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