Dirty Dog MTB, Reaper Stem: First Impressions

The folks at Dirty Dog MTB kindly sent us a Red Reaper Stem after seeing the KHS DJ300 build. If you saw it at Interbike last year you’ll recognize it quickly. Let’s be serious, how many stems like this are there?Answer? Zero.

The first thing I noticed was the weight of the skull…err stem. This is a 3 piece setup(4 if you count the top cap) that has 9 bolts. The 31.8 handlebar of your choice goes right through the skull’s temple. This is the red anodized version but it comes in black too. I notice the stem seems like it’s going to drop the bars even below the mount point so a handlebar with a 2″ rise will probably be needed to keep the bars at the same height. On the positive, there are no sharp edges on the backside(happy knees).

This will be going on the DJ300 build and, let’s face it, this is going to be one hell of an attention getter. This is, by far, the strangest piece of equipment I’ve had on a bike. The amount of customization in mountain biking, nowadays, is simply amazing.

One thing is for certain. This stem will not move once it’s on the stem. And if you’re a weight weenie, stop reading right now. This is made for burly bikes, or at least an all mountain setup. I’m pretty curious to see what the front end of the DJ300 will feel like with this stem on there. Then again it shouldn’t make too much of a difference with the weight of the Tag FRX5 wheels. Check back in for the test ride on the DJ300 to see how this stem holds up.