Worthy companion to the seat post, it really does soak up the rattle.
Don't expect anything like a suspension fork on the gnarlier, single track type trails. It feels slightly delayed, for lack of a better word, when you work your way over large obstacles. But it does feel quite good on rocky doubletrack, cobbles, etc. And does noticeably reduce fatigue in the hands and really most of the upper body.
It really shines on rough gravel roads, making potholes and washboard disappear with surprising efficacy. Handling did not suffer, and I do appreciate the compliance switch to provide a firmer, more rigid feel on smooth asphalt sections.
I bought a 80 with compliance switch for my wife, she loves the soft ride feel over rough roads. After hearing her positive comments and seeing first-had how well the stem is works (it’s very high-quality), I bought one for myself. It’s a little overkill for smooth paved road use, but on dirt roads and washboard, this stem works quite well…okay, washboard still sucks, but it’s not as bad. Note, the compliance switch is not a full lock-out, it simply provides two levels of stiffness. To be honest, I just leave mine in its stiffest mode, so I would’ve been happy with the simple non-switchable version. It’s not for everybody, nor is it ideal for every road condition, but front suspension is always a good thing on rough terrain. In short, it takes a little bit to get used to if your coming from the stiff-loving roadie circuit, it’s overkill on smooth roads, it’s great for most gravel situations, and not for hard-core single-track (but to be fair, it wasn’t designed for that). Remember, it’s not going to compete with a suspension fork, but I recommend if you’re looking to increase comfort.
Swept back handlebars works poorly with the EESilk+ stem.
I am using the Alee Denham Koga handlebar with this stem. Similar to Moloko and Jones handlebars
When the hands are on the handgrips, the stem barely moves, when the hands are on the bullhorns then yes it works fine.
The stem will behave differently depending on the distance of the hands in relation to the center point of rotation of the stem
The rating is for sweptback handlebars
Really nice compliance and I love the adjustability. Turned my gravel bike into a bike that far more capable on really rough roads or even lighter MTB trails. Read my Strava summary for my thoughts.
Does a great job of taming frost heaves on Green Bay concrete roads and as a bonus provides some basic gravel capabilities to my sportive and 55 year old hands.