Azonic has a slew of tidy-looking stems available, the Rock being its broad-faced, cold-forged 6061 aluminium model designed for 35mm bars.

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It’s slightly heavy compared to the competition but comes with a huge 60mm-wide front clamp that is one of the broadest on test.

Inside, machining work is pretty minimal, so the body retains chunky walls and dimensions throughout.

The 40mm stack height is average, but we struggled to squeeze the Rock down onto the steerer in the first place, as the neon paint was poorly finished, so installation meant scraping it off with the fork steerer.

The Rock is slightly unusual in how the bar clamps point in towards the main body at an angle — this creates a ‘v’ shape when viewed from above.

The design proved stiff enough though, and the unusual 45mm reach may also be useful if you’re between lengths.

Solidity and steering response is good, but it’s let down by poor finishing.

Aside from the paintjob being substandard, one of the bar-clamp bolts was tough to thread, and several shiny Allen heads started to corrode after only a handful of wet rides.