Muddy Brown's Blog

1 November 2015

Fresh Goods Sunday - KCNC SC Superlight Wing Stem & Faceplate

I bought one off these stems a few years ago for the Salsa Carbon XX1 Beargrease and has been rock solid after nipping up the stem plate bolts after a few rides. At first I was unsure about how it would perform / last as I do love my well and truly tested Thomson stems.
I changed the bars on the Dale Black Nano Ltd Edt and also wanted to swap the old FSA stem with red logos. I did buy the 3T Stealth stem but was heavier than the FSA so thought why not try the KCNC SC Wing stem on a road bike. The new bars have a longer reach so reduced the stem length from 120mm down to 110mm. The claimed weight is bang on as was the 90mm version on the fat bike. Fitting is simple and only took a few minutes.
In use there are no major signs of flex and the shorter length helps my back. I have re torqued the bolts after a couple of rides and all is well. They are not cheap but its also not expensive and is bang on value for money I would say rrp £67.99 with 5% off xcracer shop if you buy three items at the same time. The delivery is always fast and well packaged.
Talking about the packaging I do like the box / foam insert these stems come in.
Here is the manufacturers blurb -
Superlight scandium stems. Super good.

- Ti bolts & natty lazer etching.

- To fit 1 1/8th steerer of course.

- Aggressive or scenic mode, reversible 5 degree rise/fall.

- 38mm stack height, for xc & road racing.

- CNC machined from scandium T-7451 Alloy

31.8mm

60mm c85g

70mm c88g

80mm c92g

90mm c98g
100mm c103g

110mm c108g

120mm c113g

The only thing I didn't like about the stem was the sliver faceplate but KCNC do replacement faceplates in black, red and gold. I was torn between gold and black but opted for the stealth black option in the end. This had to be ordered in so took a few extra days to arrive. They are not cheap for what you get but the only other option was to spray the silver one! rrp £16.99, they are not on the xc racer shop website but can be ordered if you email the lad. Manufacturers blurb -
KCNC SC Wing Stem Coloured Faceplate 31.8mm
CNC machined from 7075 alloy.
Sand blast finish, anodised gold, red or silver.
Fits 31.8mm Sc Wing and Team Issue stems

Early Sunday morning local road ride on the Pilgrims

What a morning to get up early and ride into the sunrise. The mist came down last night and the forecast was foggy this morning but the higher I went the better it was, the complete opposite to yesterday mornings ride. Its still warm with the temperature ranging from 7 -14 degrees with very little wind again. This has got to the best ride I have had for ages for fantastic views of the sunrise and mist in the valleys. I tried to take some photos but they never come out as dramatic as what the eye can see.
The route was sorted of planned then re planned about a dozen times as time went on. I was adding extra loops / sections and ended up doing 48 miles with nearly 3.5k feet of climbing.