Industry Nine A35 Stem Rider Review

Introduction

I ride Industry Nine A35 stems on both my Santa Cruz Nomad 4 and 5010 3. The first one I purchased was to replace the stock stem that came on my complete Nomad. After riding it on that bike I knew it was the stem I wanted for my frame-up build of the 5010.

When searching for a new stem, I wanted something high quality, functional, stylish, and with a small rise to allow for a slightly lower profile steerer tube stack while maintaining equivalent geometry. Browsing stems online, the Industry Nine A35 fit the bill perfectly. This stem has a slightly higher price point than most stems in its bracket, and in my case came with a few weeks lead time. In my opinion, the piece that holds your bars to the steerer tube is not something to skimp on (both for functionality and style), being that it is placed dead center on the front of the bike. I also have had positive experiences with I9’s hubs, so I trust the quality of their components. For the carbon colored Nomad frame, I went with a black stem and orange faceplate to match other orange accents I put on the bike, livening up the black a bit without going overboard. On the 5010 I went with an all black stem to match the all black accents on the bike, allowing the subtle purple color of the frame to stand out.

Installation

The stem is easy to install, it is a stem. I9 idiot proofed the installation by laser etching torque values for the steerer tube and faceplate bolts directly on the stem. I might add that the laser etching is flawless, indicating the quality level of the stem in general.

Performance

The stem performs as it should. I don’t feel it flex at all and it transmits leverage from the bars to the fork perfectly. The machining on the stem is top notch, the curved faces of the faceplate and body mate to the curvature of the handlebar perfectly, leaving a tiny gap between the faceplate and body when the faceplate bolts are evenly torqued. The stem is pretty beefy, and probably not the lightest, but it is clear that it is strong in the places it needs to be.

Final Thoughts

The bottom line is that this is a high-quality stem that does its job very well while also being very stylish. It does have a high price point, so there are many more affordable stems that will also function well. If you own an expensive bike, the price of the stem is a small fraction in comparison, so I recommend getting a nice one like this.