Control Tech Newton Stem Review - BikeRadar

Control Tech are a top brand of the past intent on recapturing their glory days. This stem is going the right way about it.

For a start, the crisp machined back end with all the necessary torque and size details laser-etched on it looks quality. It all slides into place very cleanly too and it’s exactly what we’d expect in terms of stiffness for its medium weight. 

Control Tech use 3D forging to create the basic shape of the stem from 7075 scandium alloy. They then lob it into a CNC mill to sculpt the shape and carefully remove any excess material, resulting in a fairly traditional 'dog bone' appearance.

Look closely and you'll see a pair of 'spaghetti strap' 31.8mm (OS – oversize) bar clamps which cinch into position with four chromed stainless steel 5mm Allen bolts. Tightened correctly (a half turn on each of the bolts in succession as you would a four-bolt front plate), the twin-bar clamp hasn’t caused any problems while we’ve been using it, despite looking rather minimalist.

Two opposing chromed Allen bolts cinch the steerer clamp firmly. You can get the Newton in a wide number of lengths (90-130mm) and all have a five-degree rise. The best thing is that you shouldn't have any cause to think about it once it's fitted – just what you want from a stem.

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