eeSilk Stem – Launch Edition

I bought the eeSilk Stem for a long gravel race this June, the famous OnBound race in Emporia, KS. The stem works really well on rough terrain, and helped decrease wrist, elbow and shoulder discomfort. Having the ability to switch from soft to firm helps when riding on mixed surfaces such as gravel and paved roads, though I’ll not recommend it for fast-paced road rides because the flex on the stem takes a toll on your momentum decreasing your wattage output.

The reason why I gave it a 3 star rating is because after installing the stem I had a squeaking sound that I couldn’t figure out for weeks, so I actually took my bike to 2 different cycling shops hoping they could address the issue; the first one tried a couple of times but were unsuccessful; the second shop suggested replacing the compression plug which we ended up doing, but unfortunately didn’t fix the issue. Long story short this morning I brought the bike back to the shop for them to look into that issue again, and after a detailed inspection they realized the sound was coming from the stem itself, the pivoting mechanism was the culprit. So the mechanic added the appropriate lubricant product and apparently that took care of the issue, and I really hope it did because I can’t stand having squeaking sounds on my bike, so the next few rides will tell.

Unfortunately I also had a bad experience with Cane Creek’s customer service. The first day I got the stem, I misplaced the elastomers which are the rubber part that creates the suspension and it comes with 3 of them with different densities. Anyway, that day I sent them an email asking if I could get/purchase an extra set, and it took them almost a week to get back to me and to make matters worse their response was asking me about which part of the system I was making reference about, when clearly there’s only one part of the system that’s called elastomer…. I don’t know what kind of expectations others have about the proper email turnaround, but I work in sales and if I take this long to get back to a client, I’ll get in trouble and probably loose te opportunity to do more business with that person.

Bottom line is that the stem works as intended, but the squeaking sound it’s unbearable and I hope the lubricant solved it, otherwise I’ll have to get rid of it. Regarding my experience with their customer service, well that’s disappointing and I hope they improve it.

it's a good product. i did have an issue with it. with really bumpy terrain, the setting would change. while getting service, outpost bike shop found there was an o ring issue causing the setting to change during bumpy terrain. they got the new o rings from cane creek. would have been nice to hear from the company directly and sooner.