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Cane Creek Cycling Components Engineering Manager
Asheville, NC –
When I was a kid buying $8 “Oakleys” at the local convenience store I thought I was sticking it to the man- they looked cool and blocked the sun. I mean come on, those $200 sunglasses do the same thing and probably cost less than $8 to produce.
My adult self, however, really likes nice sunglasses. Sure they look cool and block the sun, but the engineered polarization, premium level touch points, well designed fit, and ergonomics really set them apart from their $8 knockoff.
At Cane Creek, we have been dealing with some counterfeit products that have much higher consequences than not being polarized. These parts are critical load bearing items in the braking and steering systems of your bicycle- the eeBrakes and eeSilk Stem to be specific. A failure with either one of these components could have serious safety implications.
I am impressed at the attention to detail of the knockoff stem, they pretty much nailed almost every part down to the millimeter – even down to the array elastomers that come in the box. We spent countless hours testing and analyzing field feedback to ensure our spare elastomers cover the spectrum of rider weights and riding styles- the knockoff includes extra elastomers as well, but they are all the same spring rate…
The knockoff stem has a massive amount of play between the bushings and main pivot. I am not exactly sure how this would ride, but I don’t want to find out. Both the radial and axial tolerance stackups of this pivot system are critical, if anything is slightly out of spec you have either binding or loose, potentially uncontrolled, steering.
Furthermore, bushing material on the counterfeit appears to be machined black nylon. The eeSilk stem uses engineered IGUS bushings designed to be friction free and handle large compression loads without permanent deformation or embedding. While the nylon bushings may work for a time I can’t imagine they would last much past 10 hours.
My favorite part of the eeSilk stem is the lockout mechanism, both how it works and what it does to improve your ride. Twisting the lockout lever drives a wedge between the static steerer tube clamp and the articulating main body locking the system. This took years to develop and refine- if the wedge goes too deep the lever doesnt turn a full 180° and can bind up, if it doesn’t go deep enough and the lockout doesn’t work. There is also a plastic bushing in the lockout wedge system that creates a friction free sliding surface between the parts. The knock off stem does not have this bushing and the wedge doesn’t go down nearly far enough to make any difference in your ride.
The three main structural components of the stem are the steerer tube mount, main body, and faceplace. These parts are designed to be forged for their function and, more importantly, strength- their knockoff counterparts are produced by machining. While a fully machined part looks great, it is not as strong, durable, or tough as a forged equivalent. When aluminum is forged the material grain grows to follow the shape of the part increasing its strength, toughness, and durability.
My biggest concern with this knockoff stem, or any counterfeit product, is the lack of accountability to any safety standard. The International Testing Organization (ISO) has a full suite of safety requirements and test standards for all components of a bicycle. The testing requirements for a stem to go to market is vigorous and intensive. There are static load tests, in-phase and out-of-phase fatigue tests, steerer tube and handlebar clamping tests- all of which ensure the safety of the rider and hold companies accountable for the quality of the products they release. At Cane Creek we test above and beyond the ISO requirements – we also develop our own tests based on field testing and competitive product analysis. We gathered real world displacement data of the stem during our favorite gravel descent and copied that displacement wave profile for 100 hours to ensure the stem can safely stand up to real world conditions without any compromise in performance.
I am disappointed to see this counterfeit stem in the marketplace. It took our team years of hard work, development, testing, failing, and trying new things to get a final product we are proud of into the world. The misses of the knockoff product are all but assured to make it ride like just that – a fake. More importantly, while it may look the same and work well enough, there are serious safety concerns with this product.
Stop using the product immediately if there is any question of a product’s legitimacy – Counterfeit products are not scrutinized by the same safety and testing procedures authentic Cane Creek products are subjected to.
Please report all counterfeit products, or suspicious products for sale online to: BrandSecurity@canecreek.com
To ensure that you are always purchasing legitimate Cane Creek products please only shop at Authorized Cane Creek Cycling Components retailers or directly on CaneCreek.com.
