# Badabings and Thomson Elite - opinions.



## A Grove (Nov 12, 2006)

Hey all...

So, I'm re-doing my frame to be VERY street oriented.. Super short stays, rigid 20mm thru, cromo cranks, you know.. the works. Well! I'm trying to lighten things up (without sacrificing my face, mind you) anndd I need a new bar and stem. I want to try something with around 3" of rise and found the badabings. ~350g's per 3" bar seems nice to me  So I have pretty much been set on these bars.. They look awesome and they seems to be fairly popular... At that, what do you think of them. Yes, they are alum. 25.4 Clamp... the works. But give me some honest opinions. 

NEXT! Well, considering I'm running a heavy 31.8 hussefelt now, I need a new one. Thomson seems to have come to my rescue. My requirements are simple... Sexxy, black, 25.4 clamp, and 50mm reach. What does Thomson have... All of the above, IMO. Most people rave over thomson stuff... Anyone with a bad experience?

I will also need to get a new chainwheel... 23t methinks. Running a 11t driver, dont want MUCH more than 2:1. do they make 24t chainwheels? AT that.. I'm getting a new seatpost (thomson), and POSSIBLY a pike.

So if anyone would like to give me any opinions on any, or all of the above products... I might sell myself to you. 

THANKS!


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

Bada Bings look kinda weird to me because of how they're bent.

Thomson - awesome. Some people say they don't clamp down hard enough. Whatever. If you wait, I'm pretty excited to see the Deity Fantom v2 stem. Supposed to be pretty outrageously light.

Pike... been running one with no issues.

Yes, they do make 24t chainwheels. I know for a fact that Animal has one, I'm sure many others do too.


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## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

The hussefelt stem isn't all that heavy, I think it is about 230g if I remember right. The thomson X4 is what, 190? not a big big saving.


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## A Grove (Nov 12, 2006)

The Elite (not x4, thats for a 31.8 clamp) 50mm is 159g... Well, either way, I still need a new stem because I dont want to make a spacer to go from 31.8 to a 25.4 clamp....

I LOVE how the badabings are bent.. Thats honestly one of the selling points for me, they look so rad. I like them a lot... who knows how they'll feel though. 

Chainwheels wise... Whats good for the money? I dont need a real blingy sproket, the bikes going to be fairly plain... But I want something that'll hold up


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

Thomson is lighter than that. Comparing the same lengths... you're probably looking at around 60g savings? The exact weights confuse me though... seem to be some conflicting data... BTI lists the Holzfeller at 190g and the Hussefelt at 203g. But... other sources have the Holzfeller listed at 290g. Very confused.

Fantom Rev2 is supposed to be sub200g. That would put it in about the Thomson range.

I used to run an Animal Lite v2. Worked fine for me.


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## A Grove (Nov 12, 2006)

I honestly feel like diety stuff is rather overrated.. I never took to them really. Not my cup-o-tea. I LOVE thomson stuff though. So clean, and so pretty....


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## snaky69 (Mar 8, 2005)

The thomsom sure does look purdy, all machined and a low-key black.


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## Demo-9 (Mar 24, 2006)

Huge fan of the Thomson X4 stem. I have one on my park/DJ and my Gran Mal. I have no issues with the stem slipping ever. If you torque it correctly, you will have no issues. I run 31.8mm on all of my bikes.

There are plenty of 23t and 24t chainwheels out there. If you have a Profile 48-splined 19mm spindle, I recommend any Tree splined chainwheel. I found that they are MUCH better with rounding and have far less tight spots on the chain. They too make a 24 as I am getting mine in tomorrow. Going to run 24-12t up from 22-12.


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## A Grove (Nov 12, 2006)

Demo-9 said:


> Huge fan of the Thomson X4 stem. I have one on my park/DJ and my Gran Mal. I have no issues with the stem slipping ever. If you torque it correctly, you will have no issues. I run 31.8mm on all of my bikes.
> 
> There are plenty of 23t and 24t chainwheels out there. If you have a Profile 48-splined 19mm spindle, I recommend any Tree splined chainwheel. I found that they are MUCH better with rounding and have far less tight spots on the chain. They too make a 24 as I am getting mine in tomorrow. Going to run 24-12t up from 22-12.


The cranks will be amoungst something you've never seen before...  No splines for me... 24mm spindle though. As far as I know, there shouldn't be any clearance issues with normal bolt-on chainrings.

I'm fairly positive I'll end up with a thomson stem. But only time will tell....


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## sittingduck (Apr 26, 2005)

I'm really liking the Azonic DW bars. They have quite a bit of upsweep which is really comfortable once you get used to it. 
The Azonic shorty deluxe (plain shorty sux) is really sweet too. I scored the bars for 20 and the stem for 30 on ebay. 
As a bonus, and as you can see in the second picture - chicks dig azonic stuff.

















The Shorty Deluxe Stem is an oversized version of our world famous Shorty Stem. Unparalleled by any other stem on the market using the latest in CAD technology, this stem is CNC machined from the highest quality aircraft aluminum and features a four-bolt removable faceplate and completely redesigned fork clamp mechanism. The Shorty Deluxe is easily installed on any kind of threadless fork application with handle bar mounting that is rock solid.
Anodized Black or Polished
Sizes: 50mm, 62.5mm, and 75mm


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## euroford (Sep 10, 2006)

i love that stem, have one on my bottlerocket, and i'll be putting one on my mob.

lite, burly, and no, when properly tourqed it will not slip.


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## BikeSATORI (Mar 20, 2004)

I love the Thomson Elites, have had over a handful count, but.... never a 50mm one... IMO, the 50mm Elite looks WEIRD. How it still has the tiny amount of taper between the bar clamp and steerer clamp... just like they didn't want to alter their cnc program for a short specific stem design (until X4 50), only shorten the length dimension... wierd.
The X4 OS probably had a better steerer clamping force too with its more traditional pinch bolts, over the little single bolt-collet on the Elite...

Badabings are weird looking to me too, haha... Odd to combine a steel rigid fork with an alu. bar, but I'm not hating.




Sounds like you got a lot on your plate right now as far as mods and upgrades go, looking forward to seeing what you have planned.



oh yeah, and are you getting ready to rock some new wave Hot-Rods or something like that? 24mm spindle? hmmm, interesting.


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## Tracerboy (Oct 13, 2002)

if you really want to go with alum. bars then i think that you should also check out the Azonic DW's sittingduck mentioned. i have a pair that are now cut down to around 23-24" for my fixie, but when i rode them uncut they were some of the most comfortable bars ever. they are also really strong and took tons of abuse on my DH bike and then to my HT briefly. they are 2" rise.

badabings are nice but i have heard a few people say they are flexy, although if i were in the market for alum. bars they would be somewhere at the top of the list for me as well.


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## Axis (Mar 11, 2004)

I have been ring the 3" badabings for about 4 months now. I really like it.

I had that thompson stem. It wouldn't hold onto the steerer and would slip if I railed berms too hard or hit square edge wallrides too hard.


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## blahwtf? (Aug 6, 2005)

just fyi, pike stanctions are AL, if youre setting up for HC street, you might look at something with chromo pipes. but fwiw, i have a pike too, 3 years, no worries. but im a ds'ser.


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## sittingduck (Apr 26, 2005)

ebfreerider510 said:


> if you really want to go with alum. bars then i think that you should also check out the Azonic DW's sittingduck mentioned. i have a pair that are now cut down to around 23-24" for my fixie, but when i rode them uncut they were some of the most comfortable bars ever. they are also really strong and took tons of abuse on my DH bike and then to my HT briefly. they are 2" rise.


I have the 2.5" rise bars. They also make them with 1.5" rise. (as well as 2") The double wall and high-quality aluminum make them burly AND light.


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## A Grove (Nov 12, 2006)

Axis said:


> I have been ring the 3" badabings for about 4 months now. I really like it.
> 
> I had that thompson stem. It wouldn't hold onto the steerer and would slip if I railed berms too hard or hit square edge wallrides too hard.


This is SO depressing to hear.. Honestly. I am fairly in-love with that stems charm.


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## A Grove (Nov 12, 2006)

Sorry for the doublepost... But this will bump it and I gots an other question... Are there any bars out there that work on a 25.4 clamp? Also... I've heard the elite is slipping, and people say the 22.2 does as well... My question, people on the 22.2 clamp thomson, are you running actual BMX bars where the leverage is much higher, or are you running a lower rise, say 2-3" cromo bar?


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## BikeSATORI (Mar 20, 2004)

A Grove said:


> Sorry for the doublepost... But this will bump it and I gots an other question... Are there any bars out there that work on a 25.4 clamp? Also... I've heard the elite is slipping, and people say the 22.2 does as well... My question, people on the 22.2 clamp thomson, are you running actual BMX bars where the leverage is much higher, or are you running a lower rise, say 2-3" cromo bar?


Yeah, there are tons of bars out there the work on a 25.4 clamp. It's the standard mtb size. 
For example... Answer Pro-taper, Sunline V-one, Badabings, Deity, NS bikes, etc. all come in a 25.4 version. As well as 75% of all the other bars out there!

Bmx bars shouldn't really put much extra stress or leverage to make the steerer clamp slip or spin, over wide mtb bars anyway. Bmx bars will be more likely make the bar clamp slip on a typical stem...
The 22.2 version of the 50mm Thomson has a 6-bolt face-plate... so even Thomson must have seen slippage problems there originally, with the taller bmx bars, so they added 2 more bolts.

But the slipping being discussed here I think results from the single bolt collet clamp on the steerer not having as much clamping force as the more traditional dual pinch bolts. Which they have on the X4 versions to create a more rigid stem.

Seriously though, if you're that obsessed with running this stem, just do it.  I mean c'mon, you were stubborn enough to go against what everyone here and there said about running a bmx pull lever with a linear pull mtb BB7, why start reading these posts now.


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## BIKESerFUN (Sep 5, 2007)

Its kinda silly how bars get discussed like they do. Thats what u use to hold on to your bike!! everyone is gonna have such different opinions. Just like grips. I love lizard skin grips. My buddys think they are from satan. My buddy runs badabings that I got for him and I say they are ugly and useless cuz hes stuck with three inches of rise and he cant just drop a spacer to lower the bars. If someone reads this. especially someone wondering about stems. wait for the new phantom stem. It will decimate all.


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## A Grove (Nov 12, 2006)

BikeSATORI said:


> Yeah, there are tons of bars out there the work on a 25.4 clamp. It's the standard mtb size.
> For example... Answer Pro-taper, Sunline V-one, Badabings, Deity, NS bikes, etc. all come in a 25.4 version. As well as 75% of all the other bars out there!
> 
> Bmx bars shouldn't really put much extra stress or leverage to make the steerer clamp slip or spin, over wide mtb bars anyway. Bmx bars will be more likely make the bar clamp slip on a typical stem...
> ...


WELL IT SEEMED LIKE THE COOL THING TO DO AT THE TIME!! PLUS! me and another guy on ridemonkey say the shorty monolever feels nice with the mtnbb7. dont knock it till you've tried it  all the other monolevers feel like poop... I will not deny that.

but honestly.. I just made an ass of myself. I wanted to say any CROMO bars that came in 25.4...thats embarrassing!

I'm not SET on that stem persay.. Its just sexxy, light, and CNC'd.  I need to narrow down bars... See if badabings are really what I want.


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## Tracerboy (Oct 13, 2002)

i just remembered that i actually have a thompson elite 50mm on my heckler. i also ran it on my atomlab for a few weeks. it has never slipped...ever. very nice stem.


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## A Grove (Nov 12, 2006)

ebfreerider510 said:


> i just remembered that i actually have a thompson elite 50mm on my heckler. i also ran it on my atomlab for a few weeks. it has never slipped...ever. very nice stem.


I'm still debating what I'm going to do with a stem.. let alone bars. Does anyone here think 3" rise on a fork sitting at around 460mm a2c would be rediculously high? I'm around 5'10"-5'11"


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## Axis (Mar 11, 2004)

I was running the thompson with the two bolts behind (rider's side) the steerer tube.

Hey if you want that stem just get it. If it slips on you sell it... thompson stuff sells so fast and for top dollar on eBay.


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## euroford (Sep 10, 2006)

i tell ya, if your stem slipped, thats pilot error, you didn't tighten it good enough.


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## Axis (Mar 11, 2004)

euroford said:


> i tell ya, if your stem slipped, thats pilot error, you didn't tighten it good enough.


Not in my case. I even used a tourque wrench to the specs listed right on the stem.

Also if you crank 'em down beyond that you will stretch the alu and it will clamp against itself so therefore you wind up with less clamping force in the long run.


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## gwillywish (Jul 1, 2005)

i was the one that liked he monolevers with the mx2, i say go for the stem, ebay it if it don't work


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