Hope OS stem review

Hope’s well proven CNC-machined beauty is a great balance of strength, stiffness, weight and price for every rider and riding situation.

The gradual evolution of the stem through finite element stress analysis (FEA) and real-world use can be clearly seen in all the little pockets and curves machined out of the 2014 alloy block. 

We’ve certainly never had any issues, whatever bike we’ve used them on, from years of epics to a year in Whistler, and they’re within a whisker of the biggest block stems in terms of stiffness. The shorter downhill versions have slightly thicker walls for even more strength and stiffness. 

Two well-buried opposed bolts close the ‘shallow S’ split at the back to reduce stress on lightweight steerer tubes. The four-bolt front plate can be switched to the super-cunning Hope light-mount one and there are loads of colour options.

Machining from billet and anodising (in black, red, blue, silver, gold or gunsmoke) is all done in-house in Lancashire for ultimate quality control. Add bonus features like colour-matched Hed Doctor steerer plugs, and you’ve got yourself the most versatile, high value stem around.