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Still Letting Your Bars Dangle? The Stem-Dock Takes the Hassle Out of Fork Service

Written by Travis Reill
Stem dock side by side
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A new Scottish start-up, Ravens Outdoor, has introduced the Stem-Dock. The startup’s founder, Allan Doyle, invented the Stem-Dock to solve a pretty common problem faced by at-home and professional mechanics.

Stem-Dock: Annoying Problem, Simple Solution

The Stem-Dock being used in a bike shop

We’ve all had it happen. You need to remove the fork from your bike, and as you loosen the top cap and stem bolts, everything falls apart. The fork drops, tugging hard on the front brake hydraulic line. Headset parts and stem spacers, once held by the steerer tube, are now scattered on the floor.

And, now, the handlebars and stem are just dangling by the hoses and cables, mainly in the way. The stem is scratching the bike, and any other work, like a brake bleed or touchpoint adjustment, has to wait until the fork goes back on.

So, Ravens Outdoor built a simple solution they’ve dubbed the Stem-Dock. It is a dummy steerer tube that straps to the toptube during projects like a fork service. Rather than just having the stem and bars dangle, they can be mounted to the faux steerer tube of the Stem-Dock. 

The Stem-Dock also helps keep small parts organized. After placing the stem on it, spacers and headset parts can also be placed in reverse order. When you are ready to reassemble, everything is there, ready to go back on.

Ravens Outdoor made the base of the Stem-Dock conformable and straps-on to any size top tube. They also include magnets on the base to hold the tiny parts and tools.

While we haven’t had the opportunity to test the product, it seems Ravens Outdoor is on to something. This seems like a simple solution to a frustrating issue.

Not much is known yet about the nitty-gritty details for the Stem-Dock. It is patent-pending and is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, where it still has a long way to go with just nine days left.
Travis Reill
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B@se
B@se
2 months ago

interesting product. although I do not like strap ons. We use a replacement steerer tube from RST to replace the forks steerer. So al bits n bobs stay on the headtube.

at home I have an old fork upper part which I use for this, one of the olde fork models had a fork crown with bolts, so very easy to use as a dummy fork.

also there are plenty other dummy fork options. Old fork is free, replacement steerer goes for 25 euro’s with vat.

at one of the LBS where I worked we used diy dummy forks so al handlebar parts would stay with/on the bike when you would hang the bike in the cue in the back of the shop, so when the fork was send out for warranty/service no bits would be lost. For rebuilding the bike, there was always the vise on the bench with an old seatpost in it where we put the handlebar onto while putting the (new)fork back in the headtube.

interesting to see how this product would be adopted in the market.

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Nathan
Nathan
2 months ago

Fantastic idea. Think I’ll make my own for zero dollars.

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Klaster_1
Klaster_1
2 months ago
Reply to  Nathan

Dummy forks you can find on Printables work too, if you have access to a 3D printer.

1
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HDManitoba
HDManitoba
1 month ago
Reply to  Klaster_1

Just use an old fork or crown steerer assembly and insert it after you take out the fork being serviced. Doesn’t matter if it’s the absolute correct size steerer as long as it’s long enough to fit through all the parts and headtube and the stem clamps to it.

Every shop will likely have something sitting around that would work just fine. This also keeps the lower headset bearing in place and captures all other parts thus allowing the bike to be taken out of the stand and hung up by the rear wheel on a hook so you can service other bikes in the stand while you wait for the fork. Likely would be just as (or more) stable as the “new product” if you wanted to do brake bleeds, etc.

Boy, I’d hate to be the shop employee telling the customer why there’s a big scratch on his top tube where this thing was strapped on. I can see mechanics putting it on dirty, then it flopping over to the side leaving a good scratch in the most visible part of the bike.

This “product” is at best some 3d print files the creator could sell for a few bucks. Likely would never recover his costs for the patent unless he is also a lawyer doing his own patent work for free. And patents only protect your product if you have the money to defend it. Again, can’t see this making that much money when free/cheap and better alternatives are already available.

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Adam Cooper
Adam Cooper
1 month ago

Why strap something else to your bike when you could just slot a dummy holder in place?

Fab Lab have such a thing – https://www.fablabaustralia.com.au/products/dummy-fork

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