Weight: 132g (90mm) / White £54.99 / Lengths: 90 / 100 / 110 / 120mm / One-year warranty — no crash replacement / Clamp size: 31.8mm
Contact: www.jungle.co.uk

You don’t need to be clever to know what FL stands for, but this stem isn’t that f***ing light. It’s around the same weight as an Easton EA70, and 20g heavier than a Ritchey WCS, although it is slightly cheaper than both. It’s made in a similar way to the Ritchey, using a net-forged manufacturing process and getting a 4Axis bolt pattern on the faceplate to eliminate peak loading on thin-walled/carbon handlebars. A bias-cut slot does the same job at the rear as well as providing greater knee clearance.
For some strange reason the powder coat version of this stem is £5 more expensive and, while we agree that any manufacturing cost should be reflected in the recommended retail, it’s a bit like charging more for longer stems because they use more material — which, by the way, is all you’ll be able to buy in the UK because Jungle isn’t importing the two shorter 70 and 80mm stems. Jungle says this is because XC riders don’t use stems that short. Maybe if you’re six foot tall, but what if you’re a short fella or a woman? This decision is even more short-sighted when you consider that the bi-oval extension tube and oversized clamp make the FL a pretty stiff and solid unit and thus, in our opinion, ideal for all-mountain/trail use

MBR RATING: 7/10