When Darimo machined out its customizable IX2 AL alloy stem last summer, it hit some wildly low weights, yet now a new Unlimited version drops the original’s rider weight limit while barely adding many extra grams. Now suited for anything from road to all-mountain biking, the IX2 AL Unlimited is still a weight-weenie stem and is still available in whatever size you need…
Darimo ultralight IX2AL Unlimited alloy stem
The original IX2 AL aluminum stem was developed to give pro XC racers more lightweight cockpit fit options – especially an issue with every taller bar positions on 29er cross-country mountain bikes with longer fork travel. It was Darimo’s first move away from lightweight carbon, but has been met with a strongly positive response from riders looking to dial in their position. But not every rider is under 90kg themselves, and a lot of more aggressive riders simply wanted extra stiffness and to not have to worry about stem strength.
So, Darimo went back to the drawing board to engineer a version of the customizable alloy stem with no limit on rider weight or riding type…
What’s actually new?
The one obvious difference between the original IX2 AL & this new IX2 AL Unlimited is the small bars connecting the upper & lower bands of the steerer tube clamp, providing a stiffer connection to your fork. Then, to make the new stem stronger overall, Darimo mostly just left more material around the steerer and handlebar clamping areas. Each of these stems is CNC-machined out of a solid block of 7075 aluminum in-house by Darimo in Spain, so they just took off a little bit less material, making the clamps a bit thicker.
The result is a bit more weight, but still claimed under 100g.
That’s still pretty light for a mountain bike stem, and only 18g more than the original ultralight version. But now with rider usage or rider weight limit, Darimo calls the Unlimited “indestructible“. (And if you are light enough and ride a less demanding style, you can still get the lighter stem for the same price.)
Darimo IX2 AL Unlimited – Pricing, options & customization
Just like the original, the new 200€ Darimo IX2 AL Unlimited stem comes stock in a super broad 37-size range: -6°, -12°, -17° & -25° angles and lengths from 40-130mm, with titanium bolts. And if that doesn’t solve your fit issues, they make you a custom stem in pretty much any length, angle, or clamp diameter you need for just 240€. Custom also means the option for custom engraving, and Darimo says they’ll specially machine you one to work with your bike’s internal cable routing, as well!
All of the 31.8mm IX2 AL alloy stems are available in natural silver, gloss black, or matte black finishes standard. And they’ll even custom anodize them in another color if you want. The 48mm wide one-piece bar clamp was designed originally for lightweight carbon mountain bike bars, but works with most conventional bend, round drop bars too. A 4-bolt replaceable faceplate version is also in the works.
