Mythos Elix stem

THIS UNUSUAL-LOOKING STEM

comes from Dimitris Katsanis’ company Metron Advanced Equipment. Dimitris was part of the original British Cycling Secret Squirrel Club that brought tech marginal gains to Team GB’s track cycling team (see right).

According to Metron, using 3D printing has enabled it to make components that wouldn’t be possible using traditional manufacturing methods. The material used is Scalmalloy, an alloy of scandium, aluminium and magnesium that’s designed for 3D printing and mostly used for aerospace. Metron has used this to work out the areas of the Mythos that require more, or less, material and has greatly increased the torsional stiffness of the stem without affecting on bending stiffness.

My test stem is 110mm long with a +/8˚ angle. The clamp for both bar and steerer is standard, with a four-bolt, 31.8mm- diameter bar clamp and twin bolt steerer clamp with a stack height of 45mm. It weighs in at a svelte 166g. I’m a fan of its looks, but how did it perform? When riding out of the saddle, either pulling on the hoods while attacking a climb or down in the drops sprinting for fun, the stem feels rock solid. It’s up with Zipp’s SL Sprint stem for torsional stiffness.

It’s when you’re not going full pelt, however, that the Mythos makes a big difference. The stem adorns the front end of my S-Works Tarmac, replacing its S-Works SL stem. Metron’s design reduces road buzz and vibration impressively well and has smoothed the ride of the front end of my bike hugely. This is one very clever piece of equipment.

The downside, of course, is the prohibitive price, plus the stack of 45mm is taller than most modern stems, so could be tricky to fit aftermarket. If you’ve already slammed your existing stem as low as you can go, you may not have room to safely fit the Mythos.