- 4 / 5 Bee's Knees -
Making a great thing better. This is commonly the challenge faced by product designers. Directing our attention to bike lights, what needs improvement? Well, every year we get more and more output, occasional increases in run-time and generally a more compact package. What’s left to improve? Apparently the gear heads at Bontrager and I have come to the same conclusion: the mount! Using an exclamation mark regarding a new concept mount may be overkill for many but I’m always excited when I see mindful design in the products I use. It’s these people that deliver functional goods instead of mindless garbage.
Time to back up a bit because there is more than one item up for review here, not to mention the mount is not exclusive to lights. So, for this review, may I introduce the Bontrager Elite road stem with the Blendr Mount System. It is inevitable that I will glaze over the stem here and admire the great features of the Blendr portion, but first the stem.
Time to back up a bit because there is more than one item up for review here, not to mention the mount is not exclusive to lights. So, for this review, may I introduce the Bontrager Elite road stem with the Blendr Mount System. It is inevitable that I will glaze over the stem here and admire the great features of the Blendr portion, but first the stem.
To begin with, at the time of writing this article, it is difficult to find this product on Bontragers website to confirm options. However, what I have gathered through my research is that the Elite stem is available in white or black, numerous lengths but only accepts the most common/current road standards: 1 1/8” steer, 31.8mm bar and +/- 7 degree rise. The stem is milled from a single block of 6061-T6 Al for a balance of rigidity and lightness, while the faceplate utilizes a two-piece four-bolt construction offering compatibility with both carbon and aluminum bars and steers.
One feature that I immediately noticed was the hash marks to determine the orientation of the pitch of the handlebar. It was much easier than eyeballing, however some riders may prefer the naked look. Then again, this is a mid level stem, choosy folks might be more likely opt for the XXX model (not Blendr compatible).
Right, the stem has been covered, onto Blendr. So what is Blendr exactly? Well, it is a system that is clearly designed as a solution to declutter your cockpit all while having the flexibility to change mount types for various products…and hopefully more to come. Again, as of this writing, there are two main uses for the Blendr system, mounting a computer or light. Both a light and computer mount are included in this package (the light mount being the smaller of the two).
As for computers, this guy interfaces with select Bontrager computers as well as an iPhone case mount. For this purpose, the mount achieves some appeal. While this mount is arguably bulkier than many (say Garmin or Cateye) it none-the-less achieves a great position over the stem and offers taught adjustability. Certainly the security of this mount is greater than most. It wouldn’t take much for someone to swipe your Garmin mount, but the Blendr systems design eliminates any quick thefts.
On to lighting, aww yes! In a basic sense, using the Blendr mount for any Bontrager Ion light is quite similar to using it with a computer. There is however a major difference in one necessary feature: adjustability. First off, with this setup, your light cannot be adjusted left or right (who cares right?) but there is limited vertical adjustment…and I must stress limited. Though adjustment is possible, the notched design only gave two usable positions for the light. One was a touch low but decent for lower speeds or in town, the other was a touch high yet still good for quicker/darker riding. That being said, the vertical adjustment is not a true success…I’m tempted to shave off the nubs to achieve infinite adjustability. Why did Bontrager not do this? It very well could be that it simply was not stable without the ribs and certainly once you torque down the allen bolt, this is the most secure mount I’ve tested, although Cateye does come close. One additional bit here, forget on-the-fly adjustment. If the mount is loose enough to allow you to change the angle, a moderate bump will knock the light to a different pitch. This means that a secure fit can only be achieved by finding your favorite pitch and locking it down.
In general for both computers and lights, the Blendr system offers a clean, semi-adjustable and highly secure fit, not to mention a great central position. Under a strict microscope, the mount begs for more vertical adjustability in the application of lights but is by no means paralyzed. Were it not for this deficiency, I would have no hesitations throwing out a five star review, but it isn’t quite perfect as I’ve described. It should be interesting to see where Bontrager goes with this accessory and whether it will make its way into premium road stems as well as MTB stems. And really, this product is in such an infant stage, I can be nothing but impressed and look forward to its development.
12/09/14 NOTE: I spoke again with the marketing rep for Trek/Bontrager and was informed that an XXX stem with Blendr compatibility is in the works. Additionally their site is undergoing updates and these new models will be shown soon!
12/09/14 NOTE: I spoke again with the marketing rep for Trek/Bontrager and was informed that an XXX stem with Blendr compatibility is in the works. Additionally their site is undergoing updates and these new models will be shown soon!