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review

Mythos Elix Stem

7
£500.00

VERDICT:

7
10
High-end price with the looks and technology to match, even if it doesn't outperform traditional offerings
Impressive stiffness
Interesting looks
Price is prohibitive for most
No noticeable weight saving over standard stems
Weight: 
170g
Contact: 

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The Mythos Elix stem may look quirky, but it certainly has all of the stiffness and strength required to do the job. At a cool £500 it's not going to suit everyone's budget, but this technology doesn't come cheap – so if you want a show-stopping component for your bike, you're going to need to fork out for it.

Before we all kick off about the price, let's get the Elix in context – or for what I take it to be, at least. It's a showcase for the type of engineering, manufacturing and development that is possible. It's highlighting what we can do... not necessarily what we need to do.

The Elix isn't machined, cast or created from any of the usual methods. Instead, it has been 'printed'.

> Buy now: Mythos Elix Stem from Mythos for £500

You may have heard of 3D printing. Instead of machining material away like a CNC mill does, it's an additive process where products are built up in layers, line by line. The printers can build extremely complex shapes this way from 3D models created in CAD (computer aided design) software – including shapes that are potentially impossible to cast or mill in one piece otherwise.

3D printed plastic is common, but the Elix stem is metal. Mythos uses SLM Additive Manufacturing, with SLM standing for Selective Laser Melting, which involves accurately fusing metallic powders to create the layers.

The metal in question is Scalmalloy, an alloy created by Airbus, and it's a mix of zirconium, manganese, aluminium, magnesium and scandium. It's considered one of the strongest aluminium alloys suitable for additive manufacture, and it's also extremely expensive.

I spent quite a few years as a draughtsman for an engineering company, and my main role was creating 3D prototypes of new products via an in-house 3D printer. From this I know the actual printing process isn't necessarily quick, at all – something which only adds to the overall price.

Yes, but is it good?

In terms of performance the Elix can't be faulted. Then again, most stems can't really be faulted, regardless of cost...

The lattice design here gives the look of a lot less material than usual, but Mythos says it's actually 15% stiffer under torsion than an equivalent alloy stem, while matching its bending stiffness for comfort.

2022 MYTHOS ELIX Stem - front.jpg

To be honest, away from a jig that is hard to judge, but hard efforts out of the saddle pushing down hard on either side of the handlebar showed no flex, and it coped with fast paced gravel rides too. If you are a larger or powerful rider (or both) you won't be left wanting.

2022 MYTHOS ELIX Stem Fitted 1.JPG

Mythos is also keen to point out the Elix design has gone through fatigue testing to ISO 4210-5, with each stem having full traceability through its manufacture.

> How to choose the best stem length

Weight-wise the 120mm stem here tips our scales at 170g, which is light enough but not exactly groundbreaking. For example, the £285.99 carbon fibre Zipp SL Sprint stem is 173g in its 110mm guise (read our review here), and the £54.99 aluminium Easton EA70 is just 140g for a 100mm (review here). 

Schmolke's TLO carbon stem is said to be just 81g in a 100mm length. That costs between €498.99 and €645 though (it depends on your chosen colour scheme and internal routing option) – which, at the time of writing, was £424-£548.

The Elix is available in three colours – silver, gloss black or denim black – and lengths of 100mm to 130mm in 10mm increments. They all have a +/-8 degree angle.

Overall

So that's the deal. It isn't really lighter than any other stem on the market, and in the real world it's not noticeably stiffer than many either. However, it doesn't disappoint in terms of performance, and the quality is excellent with smooth finishes throughout and super tight tolerances.

It's a niche product created in small quantities, and with that comes a high price tag. If you can justify the cost and like the looks, you won't regret the investment.

Verdict

High-end price with the looks and technology to match, even if it doesn't outperform traditional offerings

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Mythos Elix Stem

Size tested: 120 mm

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Mythos says, "Made in Scalmalloy using state-of-the-art SLM Additive Manufacturing, a material and a manufacturing process typically reserved for the very top level of the aerospace and motorsport industries, the MYTHOS ELIX stem is the first in a line of cycling products like no other.

Having been designed specifically around the most extreme load-paths experienced by a stem, the Elix stem is 15% stiffer in torsion than an equivalent alloy stem while maintaining the same bending stiffness, so you can put more power down when you need to and still stay comfy on the rough stuff."

It's a cool looking stem exploiting the materials and manufacturing processes available today.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Mythos lists:

Lengths: 100-130mm

Angle: +/- 8 degrees

Weight: From 150g (Including hardware)

Stack height: 45mm

Clamp Diameter: 31.8mm

Material: Scalmalloy

Hardware: Titanium M5x0.8 x 16 mm

Compatible with FSA ACR Integrated Cockpit System

Designed and manufactured in Great Britain by METRON Advanced Equipment

Tested using the fatigue test methods outlined in ISO 4210-5

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
7/10
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
3/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

It offers great stiffness and the tolerances are tight.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

It looks cool.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

No obvious real world advantages over a standard stem design.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

This is probably the most expensive stem on the market, and nothing else is really created in the same way, so it's difficult to compare. For the extra money you aren't really saving any weight over even the cheapest of stems, though.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes, if I was building my ultimate dream bike.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

The cost is high but the Elix is a showcase of what can be done with the latest technology. Performance-wise it offers great stiffness, and it's finished to a very high quality.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 44  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

As part of the Tech Hub here at F-At Digital, our senior product reviewer Stu uses the knowledge gained from putting well over a 1,000 products through their paces (including hundreds of bikes) to write in-depth reviews of a huge range of kit. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 160,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. Although, as he spends a fair bit of his time reviewing ebikes these days he's becoming an expert in letting the motor take the strain. He's also waiting for 23mm race tyres to make a comeback!

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10 comments

Avatar
OnYerBike | 1 year ago
0 likes

Can't say I'm a fan of the looks personally. By itself, as a paperweight, arguably it is funky looking (in a good way) compared to the average stem. But once attached to a bike as far as I can tell it will always look completely out of place, especially on an "ultimate dream bike" that would no doubt be otherwise liberally scattered with carbon components. 

I would also be curious to know what effect it has on aerodynamics - I can't imagine the lattice structure encourages a nice smooth air flow. I'm sure any impact would be marginal, but potentially significant enough to offset the (also marginal) benefit from the reviewer's nice aero handlebar? 

Avatar
the badger | 1 year ago
0 likes

Really suprised at the score this stem got i'll be honest. Its no better than lots of other stems - in stiffness and ride performance at least, but its heavy and many times more expensive. It looks a bit funky (to some eyes) 7/10 ? really ?

3/10 average performance, a bit heavy, stupid expensive..... mended it for you.

Avatar
Sriracha replied to the badger | 1 year ago
1 like

Pretty sure its price is its USP. Why else would you pay so much?

Avatar
Nixster | 1 year ago
0 likes

Hey I've got that Merlin gravel frame! Cost me quite a bit less than that stupid looking stem too 

Avatar
billymansell | 1 year ago
4 likes

At last! A stem to go with my Delta 7 Arantix open lattice frame.

Just need a pair of open lattice wheel rims and I'll have the coolest bike in 2007.

Avatar
IanMSpencer | 1 year ago
2 likes

Does the laggy band Garmin mount fit it?

It seems to me that it uses excessive resources to create something that works no better and looks no better than alternatives (it actually looks a bit rough and shoddy in the pictures), and may have downsides.

Could you recycle it? (a mix of zirconium, manganese, aluminium, magnesium and scandium).

Avatar
ktache replied to IanMSpencer | 1 year ago
0 likes

I always have a Hope 4cell battery strapped to mine.

Though without, it is something always in your view.

When funds and availability coincide I will get myself a Nitto Rhonda. Steel.

Always wanted a X-lite I beam for my good bike.

And a syncros hinged cattleprod for the quill stemmed getting to work bike, did manage to source a non hinged, good and retro.

 

Avatar
joules1975 | 1 year ago
1 like

'No noticeable weight saving over standard stems' seems a strange statement - when something is said to have 'no noticable #insert characteristic here# ' it's not normally a characteristic that is very clearly and easily measurable or the difference is small enough not to really matter. Last time I checked weight was and is very easily measurable, and 170g is very noticiably heavier compared to many stems out there.

Avatar
majikstone replied to joules1975 | 1 year ago
1 like

I don't think I've ever owned a modern, A-Head stem that weighed more than 150g, and the list includes some cheap no-name ones. Moreover, my current Kalloy Uno weighs 105 g (at 90 mm) and I paid 24€ for it.

But hey, it's never too late to start spending ridiculous amounts of money on heavier bike parts that bring questionable if not imaginary benefits.

Avatar
Griff500 | 1 year ago
1 like

Without doubt the most ugly stem I have ever seen, and looks like a pig to keep clean. Presumably one's butler will clean it up after polishing the family silver.

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