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Darimo Carbon is no longer limited to carbon thanks to the long-awaited release of their lightweight CNC-machined IX2AL aluminum stem. It’s been a long time coming, as we’d seen prototypes of the alloy stem on pro mountain bikers for a couple of seasons. But while Darimo was refining cockpit positions for elite mountain bike racers, back in the workshop they were machining, testing & refining the customizable alloy stem to bring it to consumers, too…
Darimo ultralight custom IX2AL alloy stem
c. Darimo
We last caught up with one of the fully customizable Darimo IX2AL aluminum stems on Anton Cooper’s super slammed Trek Supercaliber World Cup XC bike. Cooper, together with fellow Trek Factory Racing’s Evie Richards and BiSX Performance Race’s Lukas Fluckiger, have all worked with Darimo, because their stock stems on modern 29er just couldn’t get the bar down low enough for them.
Development & customization
Trek bike photos by Jordan Villella
Cooper had asked Darimo to make him a -40° stem to race the Olympics. And instead of developing a different mold for each possible size Darimo refined a CNC-machined design made of aluminum that they could make one at a time, at weights surprisingly close to their ultralight carbon. After getting it through full ISO testing, Darimo says a -17° x 100mm stem weighs just 85g.
-17° x 100mm at 85g
So in the end, the IX2AL aluminum stem developed into a solution for pros looking to dial in their fit without sacrificing weight or stiffness AND a user-customizable option for consumers, too. Darimo offers the light alloy stem in 37 standard sizes (with weights ranging from just 52g-99g across the wide range). But they can also make you a fully-custom stem as well – in custom length, angle, clamp size, heavier rider reinforcement, anodized color, and even carve your name into it!
Tech Details
The Darimo ultralight custom IX2AL alloy stem uses a one-piece integrated faceplate design for carbon-safe clamping, secured with two M4 titanium faceplate bolts. The design has a natural hinge built into the 48mm wide 31.8mm clamping area to ease getting a bar in & out. Darimo even says it works well with lightweight road handlebars too like their Ellipse in either road or gravel variants, just no large aero section bars, though.
The IX2AL comes standard in -6°, -12°, -17° & -25° angles and lengths in ten-millimeter increments from 40-130mm. They even have a handy dimension spreadsheet link that will help you determine the reach Bar Stack & Reach impacts of stem sizes on your bike. And of course, if you need something outside of that wide range, they can custom make almost any size you can imagine.
Darimo IX2AL alloy stem – Pricing & Availability
Stock sizes of the Darimo IX2AL alloy stem sell for 200€, including your choice of gloss black anodized, matte black ano (a bit more grey-ish), or natural ano silver finishes. Custom length & custom angle stems sell for just 240€.
Standard sizes are kept in stock, but Darimo also machines-to-order in Spain, so you can even get your name engraved on a standard-sized stem if you want. Standard ultralight alloy stems are recommended for up to 90kg (198lb) riders, but Darimo also offers reinforced versions for riders of any weight.
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