Looking for a Particular Stem and Bar

[Jay]

I currently have a quill stem adaptor and Whisky 12d flair bars on my Roadini.  The stem is -17 degree, 70mm length.  It works, but I don't like the look of the stem and want something sleeker.  Also, I was thinking of trying a different bar...

Option 1 (keep bars, new stem)

If I were to keep these bars, I would like a faceplate quill stem, 31.8, at least -17d, 70mm length, polished silver.  Closest I found was Nitto UI-12SSB (which has a dull appearance).  So many of these faceplate stems are positive rise

Option 2 (new bars and stem, perhaps 25.4)

I see plenty of quill stems that are -17d or more, 60mm, 70mm and longer.  Problem is I cannot find a bar that is: 

a) short reach (75mm or less, BTW 75mm reach would mean I go down to 60mm stem, I don't want a noodle bar that is longer reach)

b) medium flare, like 10+ degrees

c) shallow drop (115-130mm)

d) polished silver

[Franco Rinaldi]

I have this on my Sam and contemplating putting it on my roadini 

Franco Rinaldi 

c:  646.403.0661 

-Pardon any typos, Siri typed this message-

On Sep 4, 2025, at 8:50 PM, Jay <jason....@gmail.com> wrote:

I currently have a quill stem adaptor and Whisky 12d flair bars on my Roadini.  The stem is -17 degree, 70mm length.  It works, but I don't like the look of the stem and want something sleeker.  Also, I was thinking of trying a different bar...

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[Ben Miller]

Jay wrote: "faceplate quill stem, 31.8, at least -17d, 70mm length, polished silver.  Closest I found was Nitto UI-12SSB (which has a dull appearance)." 

I'm not 100% sure what you mean by "polished silver?" Polished aluminum? If you are looking for that, I don't think you are ever going to find such a stem. Every version of quill faceplaters I've ever seen is steel. Nitto's are steel with nickel plating that they call "dull bright." It is indeed shinier than anodized aluminum, but duller than polished aluminum. The Analog Discord fingerling stem that Franco mentioned is either raw steel with clear coat or black cerakote. 

I have both stems (Raw Fingerling and UI-12 31.8 Clamp) Both are nice, but I feel like the raw really needs to fit the rest of your build aesthetic (mine is on a Crust Lightening Bolt in a brown-tinted clear coat that works so well together). Obviously the black stem pairs well with black handlebars. The UI-12 31.8 is beautiful, but the quill is fairly short, so not great if you need alot of height from your stem.

As for a short reach (<75mm) drop bar in 25.4mm clamp. I also doubt that exists. Short reach drop bar like you are describing are fairly modern and therefore are likely to be designed around the more modern clamp diameter of 31.8 mm. I could be wrong, but I doubt you'll find a drop bar with less than 110mm reach with a 25.4 or 26 mm clamp. 

[Elisabeth Sherwood]

Re. a short-ish-reach (75mm reach) silver handlebar with a 26.0 clam diameter, the Soma Hwy One is wonderful.  It has saved many a classic bicycle for many, many more riding years!

https://www.somafabshop.com/shop/soma-handlebar-hwy-one-road-bar-4369?category=783#attr=3003,1855,2365

(If the width you're looking for is out of stock at Soma, it's probably available elsewhere.)

Liz

Washington, DC 

[Elisabeth Sherwood]

(Didn't mention it before because there's no flare.  But, damn, it's comfortable!)

[Ben Miller]

Whelp, Liz immediately proves me wrong! Haha. And of course it's Merry Sales with the short reach/26 bars.

If you do want the Highway One's, you could always flare them out yourself in a bench vise. Pretty easy to get a 10 degree flare.

[Eric Karnes]

There is indeed a 25.4 short-reach drop bar. Leave it to Blue Lug! It's basically a short-reach (75mm) Noodle and is also made by Nitto. 

https://global.bluelug.com/fairweather-m174aa-all-road-bar-silver.html

The silver seem to go pretty fast. Looks like at the moment they only have the 440mm width in stock.

Eric

[Jay]

Ben - yeah, sorry I didn't describe very clearly.  I'll try and put it a different way: you go to buy a stem, can select 'black' or 'silver'.  I want 'silver'.  When you look at them, some are dull and some are shiny/polished (I want the latter, as it goes with existing bars).

Eric - I came across those bars, didn't see any 400mm in stock anywhere, and apparently stock isn't frequently replenished.

I ended up getting the Nitto UI-12SSB.  It's on the way!  I'll appreciate the cleaner look and this will be 10mm less reach, so hopefully a positive change to my bike fit (I'm looking for bars a little closer, and lower; this fits the bill).

I do like the bars I have, with the 12d flare.  I also like the 31.8 size beside the clamp area as I have a garmin/k-edge mount that holds my computer and most importantly, my headlight attached to the underside of this mount (clean, simple).  If that came in silver...ooo that would be nice, but I prioritize function over style most of the time ;-)

[Zachary Cannon]

In 26 your options seem limited with a Soma Hwy One as closest perhaps.

In 31.8, the Zipp Ergo 70 or XPLR 70 bars come in silver and the EXPLR seems to check all your boxes. I'm a fan of the XPLR. About to out a pair of Ergo's on my wife's road bike.

Also, the Velo Orange Nouveau Rando bars are quite close.

Good luck, Zach in ABQ

[Zachary Cannon]

I just faced this with a new to me Romulus. I found the Noodle to have too much reach and drop. I thought about going back to the Soma Hwy One, a go to for me and my wife.

But I decided to go with a 31.8 Velo Orange Quill stem to give me more options.

For now I'm going with a Velo Orange Nouveau Randoneaur, I've used in the past. With newly added Redshift Control Tops, they felt perfect.

I also like the Zipp XPLR 70s in Silver which check every box for the OP except 26.0. Worth a look.

I just swapped my 5'1.5" wife to Zipp Ergo 70 with the Redshift Control Tops. We road 50 miles yesterday and they got a big thumbs up. That bike is threadless so it was easy. 

It's too bad there's such limited 31.8 face plate quill options as they do open up a lot of options.

[Zachary Cannon]

Also, Soma just announced the Nitto Griterium, a 26mm bar flared 15 degrees.78mm reach and 128mm drop. I thinking this will be worth a try. Hits the OPs wish list too!

On Saturday, September 6, 2025 at 7:39:15 PM UTC-6 Ben Miller wrote:

[Jay]

I received the Nitto faceplate stem as noted above.  Looks great on the bike (cleaner lines and slimmer than quill adapter and bulky stem I had on there), and up against the bars (that are only a touch more shiny).  When installed and with the hoods same height and rotation as before, then reach is about 5mm shorter and that's perfect for me as I wanted a little less reach.  I think I'm set!

[Ben Miller]

Jay, glad to hear it worked out! I just my Nitto/Sim Works drop bar to go into a Nitto faceplater. I think it looks great.

I'm assuming you meant 5 cm or 50 mm shorter reach though?

[Jay]

That's the same stem I have.  I love the quality and details.  Enjoy!

I did mean 5mm.  I'm really sensitive to fit changes and notice small differences.