Big Bad Log

A few days ago I received a Van Nicholas titanium stem. Well, I ordered it chez Van Nicholas but the stem I received had Hi-Light painted on it. Now I know that Hi-light has been making Van Nicholas frames (and also the Airborne frames before that) since years, but I found it a little funny that they sent me a stem with the original logo on it. Not that I mind. Hi-Light do a terrific job. The quality of the pen is good to very good (as compared to the excellent craftmanship of the 3 times as expensive Seven stem). The welds are clean and even and the build looks strong, even though the pen (a 120mm / 5 degree / 31.8mm job) only weighs an astonishing 146grams. Check out the pictures, on one I have placed it above the Seven pen so you can compare them.

Why did I buy this pen? Well, I might have mentioned - or I might not - that the Morati M-bar that is mounted on my newest bike is 110mm in lenght. That is one cm shorter than on my other bikes. So from the beginning I was thinking about taking the M-bar off and replace it with a proper-length stem. One cm may not be much to an outsider but to an avid biker that is a lot.
Especially when you have several bikes, the key is to have all the riding positions exactly the same. Ok, a few mm's off will not hurt but one cm is too much. I would sit too short on my handlebar, causing all kinds of muscular problems and worse. Putting the saddle further back is not an option either, since that would put me too far back behind the bracket. The Morati was doomed from the beginning. Thats why I was on the lookout for another stem/handlebar combination since I got the bike home. The Morati will go back into its box and await another bike, or I can perhaps mount it on the Hilset, which is better suited to its length.
Another advantage is that the Hi-Light stems' brushed titanium finish better matches the Merlins'.
Now I only need a handlebar to fit the 31.8mm oversize handlebar mount the stem has. I have been looking at some ( shock !! horror !! ) carbon bars that would fit the bill. Since I am scared stiff of breaking carbon, only the best quality carbon handlebar will do. So far I've singled out the Race Face titanium-reinforced Next XC SL flat bar and the Easton EC90 XC bar which both weigh around 130grams and cost about that much in Euros. The alternative is a Seven titanium handlebar which will set me back around 200 euros . But quite frankly, I think the black carbon bar will look better on the bike. Lets see what develops.