USE Vybe GR review: lightweight gravel stem that performs best when you're in the drops

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USE’s Vybe GR stem is a lightweight and highly tuneable alternative to traditional suspension options. It's best suited to off-road duties and works best when riding in the drops.

The stem is made from 6063 aluminium with a 1-1/8in steerer clamp that has a pivot anchor.

The front section houses a compression-damping elastomer sandwiched underneath the pivot bolt. The elastomer sits between two plates, which, via 3mm Allen bolts, provide some adjustment to both rebound and compression.

The bolt underneath the stem adjusts the damping and the top bolt handles the compression. Changing these also alters the angle of the stem slightly – an inherent quality of the design.

The stem comes with four elastomers, enabling you to choose between super-soft, medium and hard to set the feel of your stem to suit.

The stem is available in 70 and 90mm lengths (I tested the 90mm size) and a single +6-degree angle, although this is affected slightly by the elastomers you choose to run.

USE is well known for its lightweight components and the Vybe stem follows suit, with a machined design. The 205.9g weight is more than 50g lighter than Redshift’s ShockStop in the same length.

USE Vybe GR stem setup

Swapping elastomers involves removing the pivot bolt and separating the stem, then simply switching out the elastomer for your preferred one and reassembling.

Using the pivot bolt as the key component to hold the two sections of the stem together means you'll need a torque wrench for reassembly. Under-tightening will leave play in the pivot and over-tightening could result in failure.

The design means elastomers can be switched with the stem in place, so there’s no need to remove the handlebar as you have to with the Redshift ShockStop.

The Vybe has both compression and rebound adjustment, which will require plenty of on-bike adjustments via the 3mm Allen bolts on top and underneath the stem's main body. You’ll need a multi-tool when getting the stem set up to suit you.

USE Vybe GR stem performance

The Vybe stem has a lighter action and feels much more active than the Redshift, but balancing the compression and rebound involves a lot of trial and error.

However, once you get to the sweet spot for both elements, you are rewarded with a stem that takes the sting out of poor surfaces very well.

On bigger hits, such as exposed roots or pothole-style depressions, the stem dives quickly, which can be somewhat disconcerting. In the drops, this is much less intrusive compared to riding up on the hoods, where the sudden dip rotates your wrists.

Riding fast, down in the hook of the drop, the Vybe stem worked smoothly, helping me maintain speed on twisting technical singletrack woodland trails.

The Vybe doesn’t feel quite as stiff laterally as the Redshift, although it certainly isn’t in any way flexible like early suspension stems from the golden era of mountain biking, such as the Girvin Flex Stem and its many imitators.

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USE Vybe GR stem bottom line

The USE Vybe GR stem delivers active suspension that works brilliantly when riding in the drops, where your weight distribution is less loaded forward.

Up on the hoods, the Vybe tends to dive more when it hits bigger obstacles or under hard braking, which takes a little getting used to.

Compared to the Redshift stem, the Vybe is more active and tuneable, though. It takes more adjustment to optimise, but overall, it offers a little more off-road flexibility.

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