... I think lugs and paint on stems is fucking naff.
Agreed.
As for Thomsons, I like these ones in a beefy-weapon-kind-way, but other than that, the £20 Deda ones are much better aethetically.
altho when I searched for Deda, I found this one which is quite tastey and follows the Anne Summers theme:
My 2p if you want a really 'nice' stem you have 2 options;
1) Custom;
2) ebay and find an old random one - search for Scotts BMW. Theres a really nice 90s mtb stem on that.
EDIT: seriously tho, I'm looking at the bottom Deda one again... and if you stripped and polished that, you'd have something with a much smoother look and closer to a quill than any off the ott lugged ones.
Agreed.
As for Thomsons, I like these ones in a beefy-weapon-kind-way, but other than that, the £20 Deda ones are much better aethetically.
altho when I searched for Deda, I found this one which is quite tastey and follows the Anne Summers theme:
My 2p if you want a really 'nice' stem you have 2 options;
1) Custom;
2) ebay and find an old random one - search for Scotts BMW. Theres a really nice 90s mtb stem on that.
EDIT: seriously tho, I'm looking at the bottom Deda one again... and if you stripped and polished that, you'd have something with a much smoother look and closer to a quill than any off the ott lugged ones.