Review: Redshift Sports Short ShockStop Stems - Final Word

  Note: Guitar Ted Productions received a Redshift Sports ShockStop stem at no charge for test and review. Guitar Ted was not paid nor bribed for this review and will strive to give his honest thoughts and opinions throughout. 

Redshift Sports Short ShockStop Stems come in 55mm and 70mm lengths.

The vibration reducing ShockStop Stems have been a staple of my kit for several of my bikes for many years now. In my opinion these devices do a better job of reducing vibrations on gravel rides than a telescopic suspension fork and are more user friendly and versatile than some proprietary stems that do a similar thing. 

So, I am a 'fan' of these stems from Redshift for many reasons. Am I biased in my take on these new shorter Redshift Stems? Only in that I expected the new short version to be as good as the original ShockStop stems are. If there were  any drop off in performance or feel in the new stems I would be very disappointed. The new stems have a completely new inner working as well. Had this been harder to deal with than the previous version that would have been another negative against the new, shorter stems. 

So, is this new version as good as the original design of the ShockStop Stem? The answer is no, it is not 'as good', it is better than the originals.

Gut-shot of the new design's innards.

I found the new version of the ShockStop stem to be better in a couple of significant ways. First was in the ride feel. This shorter stem was obviously going to allow for less leverage from the handle bar, which is how the stem gets activated over vibrations and small bumps. I was concerned that this might make the feel of the shorter stem to be stiffer than the original ShockStop stems. However; I found that not to be the case.

In fact, this stem may be even more compliant than the original version. Of course, this all depends upon how you set the stem up with the internal elastomers. This sets the spring rate of the stem, and therefore it affects ride feel and vibration absorption to a large degree. So, while I was pleased with this stem I tried out of the box, I could tune it further with the included extra elastomers. This leads me to the second way in which the new short version ShockStop is better than the original.

That would have to do with the internal design change made for the shorter version of the ShockStop stem. It is what I would term as a cartridge with two elastomers sitting side by side. This cartridge slides out of the stem's body after removal of the stem face plate and handlebar.  Elastomers are easily slid in and out for tuning. The whole process is easy and intuitive. 

Compared to the original ShockStop guts, which has a long threaded bolt that must be carefully installed along with the elastomers being in the correct orientation, and it becomes easy to see which process is more desirable. Now I have to say that I don't think the difference is that big, but the simplicity and effectiveness of the new design is just more pleasing to work with. 

The ShockStop Stem (and the big tires) made short work of this grassy field traverse.

Final Word: With the perspective that the Redshift ShockStop stems are vibration reducing devices and not suspension, I have to say that this new shorter version of the ShockStop Stem has been a pleasant surprise. I had serious doubts that Redshift could pull this off with such a short stem shaft, but they have, and it works very well. 

I had great feel from any point on my handlebars and the stem lent a smoother, almost vibration free ride over many types of surfaces. That is a welcomed thing when it comes to my hands which are prone to becoming fatigued and numbed by too much vibration absorption. But this goes beyond hands to my shoulders and upper body which all feel some relief from what would otherwise be constant vibrations having to be absorbed by those parts of my body. Something like a vibration absorbing stem may feel like a gimmick to you, but once you've tried one, it shouldn't take much to note that you end a ride feeling fresher and less recovery time will be needed before another outing. 

Again, I am a fan of Redshift's ShockStop Stems, and I had my doubts that a shorter version would be good. I was ready to pan this effort, but much to my relief, I don't have to because this shorter version is not only as good at what it does compared to the original ShockStop Stems, it is even better in some significant ways. If you have a gravel rig that requires a short stem, this may be just what you are looking for to add a bit of comfort and relief to your ride. Check it out if so. 

Redshift Sports site: https://redshiftsports.com/

Note: The first image in this post is courtesy of Redshift Sports. All other images are Guitar Ted Productions.