Weight 262g / Extruded and CNC’ed 6061 aluminium / Four-bolt clamp / 1 1/8 in steerer / 25.4 bar diameter only / 35mm, 50mm, 65mm lengths / Black only / Mountain Road Imports 01933 672170 www.extrauk.co.uk

The deep side fluting on the Aircorp stem does more than keep the unit looking pretty — it effectively creates a wider, stiffer unit without the full weight penalty. Heavy-duty 6mm Allen bolts are used all round so you only need to use one Allen key to adjust, and they can be torqued up more easily than the usual 5mm jobs; just be careful not to overtighten them. The Aircorp has a wider than average bar clamp, so although it will only accept 25.4 diameter bars, we never had a problem with flex. Having said that, if you’re planning on using ultra-wide (27in +) bars, an oversize set-up would make more sense. Steerer-clamp depth is 35mm — much shallower than most of the opposition — so it’ll fit a fork that’s been trimmed to within an inch of its life, and knee clearance is good thanks to chamfers on either side. At around half the price of a Thomson or Race Face Diabolus, but with similarly distinctive styling, the Aircorp offers good value.

MBR rating: 9/10