On Friday we announced that our gear is now being distributed to bike shops here in the US through our partnership with BTI. To kick things off we are throwing a little promotion for the month of February. Any bike shop that purchases Fyxation components through BTI will be entered into a drawing to win [...]

We don’t really have a “press release” section of our website but we wanted to share a release that went out this morning. All our gear is now in stock at BTI! BTI is the US distributor for great brands like Charge Bikes, Halo and Cinelli. We’re in good company. Milwaukee, WI – January 27, [...]

I love it when a product makes you sit back and say, what a great idea! That’s definitely the case with Retroshift’s combined braking and shifting system. Designed around the tough conditions cyclocross riders face, Retroshift combines the simplicity, reliability and light weight of bar end or downtube shifters with their brake levers to bring [...]

To an outsider our blog posts must look like a random series of unrelated stories but there’s always some method to our madness. This post is no different. I was just reading on the BRaIN website (Bicycle Retailer or http://www.bicyclretailer.com) that Clif Bar founder Gary Erickson’s venture capital fund made an investment in Public Bikes, [...]

We’re excited to announce the release of our Rodeo line of bullhorn bars. Handlebars are one place where personal preference rules, so when we put together our Rodeo line up we added two bars with distinct bends in two widths to dial in your ride. Our Rodeo bars are built from 6061-T6 aluminum and use [...]

Just saw this over at Pedal Consumption. 14 Bike Co. in London just launched a pretty slick online bicycle builder and to kick things off they’re throwing a pretty cool contest where you can win a free bike. Check out more details here at their facebook page. Must have cost a few Quid to get [...]

San Francisco based Boombotix is known for its hard hitting portable audio. With the introduction of the BB1 and more recently the blue tooth enabled BB2, Boombotix let’s you wear your music and stream your favorite playlist no matter what you’re doing. Continuing their mission of letting you jam wherever you are, Boombotix just released [...]

How many times have you tripped over your bike in the living room and thought, there must be a better way. With a number of bike shelves out there now, you already know the answer. While the Cycloc may be one of the initial inovators in this space, here is another clever design from a [...]

All City is steadily building their line of bikes and components and today announced a nice addition to their bikes with vertical drops, the All City custom dropout. Clean, with subtle branding like their other urban cycling products, All City nailed it with this new dropout. Tweet

We just got an update on our latest shipment and it looks like things will arrive on January 26th. T-minus 10 days until our new Accela tires and handlebars are in stock! We wanted to post this quick update here because we have had a ton of interest in our new Comet Track drop bar [...]

LDG has steadily been growing their line of components and frames, and now they have announced the release of the LDG 700c complete bikes. Their 700c fixed gear build is available in black and white. The LDG complete is set up with CNC cranks, 6-bolt hubs, Easton stem and LDG’s alloy rise bar. The complete [...]

Katie King Rumford put together a terrific book on urban cycling and posted it for us all to enjoy on Issuu. Her images, facts and content are inspirational and fun to read. The book covers everything from the history of the bicycle to bicycle advocacy. I particularly like the section (their)Story, where different riders discuss [...]

Vandeyk’s latest creation the Nightstream road is handbuilt from Columbus XCR stainless tubing, run’s Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 electronic shifting and has a paint job that pretty much makes your jaw drop. For more detail visit Cycleexif Tweet

Ciel Bikes in New York is a one stop shop for all the latest Fyxation gear. They carry a wide assortment of our products and can help you dial in your ride. From tires to saddles and pedals to straps, Ciel has a large selection of the latest Fyxation products. 360 E 65th St Manhattan, [...]

January 19th COG Magazine and Chrome Bags are throwing a Gallery Exhibit featuring some of COG’s best work at Chrome’s downtown Chicago location. The exhibit and party were put together in part to introduce Chrome’s All City Sneaker collaboration with COG Mag. No cover, live music, drinks and a COG Mag photo exhibit; can’t think [...]

The Mesa pedal is one of those products that you can’t put down once you see it. It’s ultra thin profile and feathery weight are just too much to resist, and since the Mesa’s introduction riders have been finding a home for them on all types of rides; from polo bikes and winter commuters to [...]

When we were at Interbike this year we previewed 5 new handlebars that were going to be part of our 2012 line up. Of all the bars we introduced the Rodeo Pursuit Bullhorn bars were the biggest hit. Unlike a traditional bullhorn handlebar, our Rodeo Pursuit offers a subtle 40mm drop before the bar flares [...]

We signed up as sponsors for the latest Loops event hosted by State Bike Co. State Bicycle Co. is throwing a Loops ride in a bunch of cities this year with the goal being to promote their brand but also to help raise money for the local cycling clubs in these cities. You should check [...]

photos by Cam Oden While browsing Cycle Exif today I was stopped by these images of summer. Maybe it’s the fresh snow on the ground or the 19 degree weather, but this collaboration from Linus Bikes and Almond Surf Boards just makes made me reminisce about a warm summer day. Linus is well known for [...]

Just saw that the latest issue of Urban Velo is out. As always, it’s a must read. Check out the link below. Oh yeah, check out the sweet ad on the back cover! http://www.urbanvelo.org/issue29/

Just before Christmas I headed to Chicago for the day to visit shops and my little bro. I spent quite a bit of time riding around the Wicker Park neighborhood. This area has a great vibe and is loaded with coffee shops, great eats, and some of Chicago’s best shops like Rapid Transit and Copenhagen [...]

Winter has arrived and in most parts of the country it’s dumping snow, sleet and rain. For those of you that commute to work, you know on days like this having the right gear is a must and it’s not simply a matter of staying warm or dry. Here at Fyxation we pride ourselves on [...]

On a recent trip to San Francisco we spent an evening having drinks at 16th and Valencia in The Mission. While our primary goal was to imbibe, we were able to spend a lot of time checking out people going about their business on their bicycles. One of the things we noticed was there were [...]

Over the last year we’ve had the opportunity to work with the guys at State Bicycle Co. a bit (we’ve actually been bugging them to carry our gear but we’ll save that for another post) and we are very impressed with their company, product and the things they are doing in the cycling community. This [...]

We all know that there are benefits to cycling; it saves money, reduces pollution and just makes you feel good. Fastcodesign.com took what is intuitive to cyclists and broke it down graphically. This is a great reminder of why it is better to pedal than to drive and just what a positive difference even a [...]

We’re launching a new advertising campaign for 2012 that tries to sum up what our overall vision is here at Fyxation. For the last few years we’ve been slowly growing our stable of products with the goal of building a complete line of bicycle components and accessories that are as unique as the people who [...]

Had to post this vid of Drew Bezanson just because it’s so sic… Tweet Drew Bezanson from Justen Soule on Vimeo.

Leader Bikes just released some sneak pics of their 722 track frame. I have to say, I can’t get that emerald green out of my mind; I dig the Session 700 tire cameo too! I wonder if that green will be a stock color? More details at Leader Bike’s blog. Tweet

How often are you making your way around town and you see the skeleton of a bike locked to parking meter or bike rack, and wonder “how did that happen?” As a cyclist you can’t pass this scene and not pause for the loss of someone’s bike. I know when we were in Philly recently, [...]

Fyxation is glad to announce a new handlebar to our growing line of components–the Steely Rise Bar. Built from 4130 chromoly and heat treated for strength, the Steely’s 3″ rise and super wide 29″ profile is designed around riders pushing their bikes hard. The Steely bar is available in matte black and is a great [...]

So, you’re returning from an epic ride–you open you’re garage door, and SMASH! Whether you blame your state of exhaustion or endorphin buzz you know you just got racked, and caused a whole lot of damage to your bike, probably your car and definitively you’re garage. Ok, while I’ve never done this (knock on wood), [...]

When we were at Interbike this year the guys from Detroit Bicycle Company came by our booth. We had never heard of them before and were interested in their story. They are based in Detroit, a city that’s been pretty hammered by the economy. The Fyxation brothers are originally from the Detroit area so we’re [...]

We wanted to make sure all the cyclists out there got a little love today so we are running a sale today only on all Fyxation gear on our web store. Head on over to the web store and use coupon code “cybermonday” to get 20% off at check out. Tweet

The post Thanksgiving shopping craze is on. People are sleeping outside all night in the freezing cold to save themselves $30 on random crap at Walmart. Sounds crazy to me but the herd often is. Instead of braving the cold, crowds and even pepper spray we recommend you check out a few savvy Fyxation dealers [...]

Our new Gates strap and strap kits are in stock now. The Gates strap is built from durable 2″ seat belt webbing and is made here in the U.S. Available in black or white they are designed to fit perfectly with our Gates pedals. The Gates straps alone are $43.95 or scoop them up in [...]

The crew at Mission Workshop just announced the release of their limited edition waxed canvas messenger bags. Their new bag is built from American-made waxed canvas, which is a durable waterproof fabric. With a choice of 3-colors and Mission’s made in the U.S.A quality–and lifetime warranty to back it up–you can’t go wrong. For more [...]

The creative group at Ziba set to task to create the ultimate utility bike as part of the Oregon Manifest competition. Built by Signal Cycles, the Fremont utility bike is well thought out to incorporate everything you need to use your bike to get around everyday. One of the most unique features is the stow-able [...]

John from www.prollyisnotprobably.com just put up a great collection of photos of the new Kissena complete build from Affinity Cycles. We posted this the other day but their completes will retail for $1500 and the proceeds will be donated to the Kissena Velo Fund. The Kissena complete comes fully stocked with Fyxation parts – Accela [...]

Momentum Magazine just released their 54th issue. If you’re not familiar with Momentum we highly recommend you check it out. They go to print 6 times a year and is available in print, online and is about to be available at the news stand. We’re pretty stoked that our new Accela tire and Loop bar [...]

Patrick over at Pedal Consumption just posted a nice review of our new Pilot Saddle. We posted the link to the review below but had to put up this photo of our Pilot on that nice Thomson seatpost. Great photo guys! Check out pedalconsumption.com for the full review: http://pedalconsumption.com/files/jason_finn_fyxation_pilot_saddle.html Tweet

Jason Gallacher, the man behind Brooklyn based Affinity Cycles, is embarking on a new mission to build a 250m velodrome and Olympic level training facility on the site of the aging Kissena velodrome. In order to spearhead this project, he launched the Kissena Velo Fund, a non-profit foundation tasked with raising funds for the redevelopment [...]

The crew at Pure Fix aims to capture cycling at it’s purist with simple, cost conscious builds that look and ride great. Their website is clean and simple to use with 12 standard builds available, all starting at $325. While Pure Fix has done a great job with their standard builds, you can still tweak [...]

Fat-Bike.com just announced a new contest, and Fyxation is happy to support this great site. It’s easy, sign up for their news letter and you are automatically entered into a drawing to win a set of Mesa pedals. You can find more details at Fat-Bike.com The wide-bodied, sealed bearing Mesa pedal has found many homes [...]

Last week when we announced that our new Loop bar tape was in stock we kicked things off with a little photo contest. We asked people to send in pictures of their current grips/tape and we would pick the three nastiest looking set ups and give them a free set of our Loop bar tape. [...]

The guys over at Road Holland Cycling Apparel put together a great little video of the Philly Bike Expo this last weekend. Fyxation gets a little love about 4 minutes in. Sorry that we weren’t wearing any Fyxation gear in the video. It was about 40 degrees inside the whole weekend and jackets were needed. [...]

Our new Loop bar tape is finally in stock and to kick things off we’re throwing a little contest. Available in cloth and EVA foam, the new Fyxation Loop bar tape is the perfect way to finish off your bars. Our foam Loop tape is made out of a supple material that is designed for [...]

The latest issue of Urban Velo just came and as always it’s a must read. Click the link below to check out the full page Accela spread. The Accela is coming soon and will be available in black and white in 700x23c and 700x28c. We’ve added our unique “Street Guard” puncture protection in the Accela [...]

The first time I spotted Jeff Williams’ artwork in person I said to myself “I’ve gotta pick up a piece.”, but I didn’t. After kicking myself for a couple months, I finally had a chance to make things right and picked up a few prints at the Philly Bike Expo. Jeff catches the spirit of [...]

Road Holland’s mission is clear from the first time you set eyes on their gear; they design and produce serious and stylish cycling gear. A great example is their Arnhem long sleeve fitted jersey. Made from a 39% Merino wool / 61% polyester blend, this jersey is fitted and stylish while designed to wick moisture [...]

Despite a cold and damp snowy October day, the first day of the Philly Bike Expo was well attended. One booth getting lots of attention was local bag manufacture R.E. Load Bags. R.E. Load bags can be found everywhere in Philly and it’s clear the have strong support in the local cycling community. Founded by [...]

We’re in Philadelphia PA for the Philly Bike Expo and we swung by Bicycle Revolutions this morning to check out their new space. Bicycle Revolutions recently moved from a small space to a new building that allows for loads of frames, bikes, components as well as a well earned expansion to the repair department. Owner [...]

When Dave Schlabowske, of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, was looking to build up his fat bike, he looked local. Wisconsin has a ton of bike talent so to complete his build he started with local builder Schlick Cycle’s Northpaw frame. For those of you that have never ridden a fat bike, they are a [...]

Stop the presses!! Our blue and red Gates platform pedals are in stock in our webstore. Alright, it’s not that big of a deal but we’re stoked to add to our pedal color options. The Gates pedal is a solid BMX style platform pedal that is made out of impact grade nylon and is built [...]

Ghabe from the Las Vegas bike polo crew just sent over this flyer. We’ve said this before but one of things we like best about sponsoring events is seeing how creative the flyers are. This one is especially good. This event is sponsored by us and Knog, Chrome, Eighth Inch, Hold Fast and more Check [...]

The 2012 Cycle EXIF calendar is now available for purchase and “features 13 of the most beautiful and popular bikes from 2011″. The 2012 calendar features Icarus Frames, Feather Cycles, Fast Boy Cycles, Bishop Bikes, Pereira Cycles, Stanridge Speed and more. Cycle EXIF is a blog run by Adam Leddin out of Sidney, Austalia and [...]

Just got this flyer from Mike in Indianapolis. Looks like the 4th installment of their Monster Mash Halloween alleycat race has a ton of sponsors on board. We donated some gear and so did the crews over at Cadence, Phil Wood, Velocity, Outlier, Nitto, All City and others. Check out their flyer below.

Just saw this posted over at Prolly is Not Probably and had to share. Looks like the guys over at Big Shot Bikes loaned out some of their “fixies” for a topless photo shoot for Treats Magazine. Can’t say I quite get the point of the shoot but I’m not complaining. Big Shot Bikes is [...]

We know that everything comes around again in fashion, but in fixed gear freestyle? Check out this post from Scientific American’s article on fixed gear freestyle’s finest from 1899! I know I’ve seen some of these moves in recent edits. “Trick riding became widely popular in the late 1880s and 1890s in Europe and America. [...]

Jeff from Urban Velo just sent this over to us. It’s that time of year again where the days get shorter, trails are muddier and cyclo-cross is in full effect. Jeff posted some nice pics of his new Bianchi Volpe that he’s using as his CX bike finished off with our Mesa slim pedals. The [...]

When we were at Interbike this year we introduced a ton of new product. Our new Loop bar tape will be in stock in the next 30 days. Available in a super comfortable EVA foam or a thin cloth version, our new Loop bar tape is the perfect way to finish off our new line [...]

We just got back from Interbike in Las Vegas and are pumped up about the response we received. In the next few months we plan on doubling our current offering and will be selling a complete line of handlebars, bar tape, saddles and pedal straps. We added a few of the items as back order [...]

Ever since we launched our Gates platform pedals earlier this year we’ve been working on building a pedal strap that was as durable as our pedals. After a long time in development and countless revisions we are stoked to announce the Fyxation Gates pedal strap is now in stock! Built for use with the Fyxation [...]

Anthony from Fyxation dealer Ride SFO showed us this picture at Interbike last week. This happened in a bike lane in the Bay Area. Turns out the tire is still in use and all is well. Talk about some bad ass tires!

With Interbike coming up next week we wanted to offer a sneak peak of 2 of the new products we plan to introduce at this year’s show. We have been meaning to expand our saddle offering for a while now and are excited to announce the release of the Fyxation Curve and Pilot Saddles. In [...]

Jeff from All City and Bike Jerks sent me over a recap of the 2011 All City Championships that were held this weekend in Minneapolis. For those who haven’t been there, Minneapolis is a great place to ride and has a huge cycling community. Anyway, we were one of the sponsors and it looks like [...]

People’s Bike just released the first issue of 48×15 Magazine. 48×15 is China’s first English fixed gear magazine and is written by a group of riders based in Shanghai and covers the growing community of urban cyclists in China. For the first issue they printed 2000 issues that are available at over 100 locations in [...]

Henri and the crew at Beers Instead of Gears are throwing a proper alleycat race in Perth, Australia on September, 24th. We are one of the sponsors as is Leader Bikes and Knog. More race info is below. “Myself (Henri) and fellow rider Marty from our ‘Beers Instead of Gears’ Crew are organising a monster [...]

We’re about a week away from the Heartland Velo Show and wanted to do a quick post to help spread the word about the show. The Heartland Velo Show is August 27th and 28th at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI. The show’s goal is to showcase the talents of custom frame builders from [...]

We are pleased to announce that the new Fyxation SEVENTY75 stem is now available! We’ve been looking to come out with a stem for a while and rather than re-invent the wheel, we partnered with Answer Products to launch a co-branded version of their DJ Stem. The SEVENTY75 stem has a 31.8mm clamp and is [...]

Still recuperating from a great weekend at the RW24. What can you say about a 24 hour alley cat that is as much a celebration of a great neighborhood and the love of riding, as it is a serious competition; the winning solo rider pumped out nearly 300 miles and completed dozens of bonus laps, [...]

We are stoked to announce that we are now working with La Finca Distribution in Germany. La Finca just got in their first shipment and will be a stocking Fyxation distributor for bike shops throughout Germany. La Finca has a diverse line up of products that includes some of the best names in BMX and [...]

The wire bead version of our Session 700 tire is now available through stocking Fyxation dealers for only $39.95. Available as a 700x23c, 28c and 35c in white, black and dual compound white, the wire bead Sessions offer the same aggressive tread pattern and construction as our foldable bead tires. By using a steel bead [...]

Just saw this over at Pedal Consumption. YNOT Cycle is based in Toronto and have been making pedal straps/foot retention systems for a while. The YNOT Pedal strap and Steven Jensen Signature Pedal Straps are their main offerings. They recently announced that their YNOT Pedal Strap is on sale now for only $49.99 and ships [...]

Ever since we launched the Session 700 people have been asking us when we’d come out with our next tire. We’ve been working on this for a while and just received our pre-production samples and we couldn’t wait until the fall to offer a quick preview of the Fyxation Accela. The Fyxation Accela is a [...]

The guys at Chrome Bags have sent us a few emails about their new Niko Camera Bag recently. It is basically a messenger style SLR bag designed to carry your bag, lenses, tripod and other photo taking necessities. To launch this camera they announced a sweet contest where you can win of their Niko Camera [...]

We’ve been hearing a lot about Sadio Parts recently (most recently on Prolly’s site). They’ve been adding a lot of product over the last few months and recently came out with a line of bars called the Hot Bar. The Sadio Hot Bar is a Cr-Mo riser bar with a 22.2 clamp diameter available in [...]

It’s hard to believe but it’s been 2 years to the day since we delivered our first tire (thanks Ben’s Cycle!). That may not seem that long to you but in dog years that’s 14, which means we’re almost old enough to drive and certainly old enough to have had our first beer. It’s been [...]

We just booked our space for the Philly Bike Expo. The show is in Philadelphia, PA this October and is the second year the show is being put on. Last year the show drew over 2000 attendees and had a sweet exhibitor list. This year’s list will be even better now that we’re coming (Hah!). [...]

Our boy Tom just forwarded this over to us. Looks like the guys over at SE Bikes continue to roll out new fixed gear bikes. They already have a pretty good line up of fixed gear complete bikes with the SE Draft, Lager and PK Ripper Fixed. The 2012 SE Quad Fix will be available [...]

There are two things I really love about Milwaukee; one is our cycling culture and the other is our brewing heritage. When one of our best local craft brewers decides to combine both, you can’t help but get excited. Inspired by the spirit of the fixed gear courier, Lake Front Brewery crafted a distinct American [...]

The guys at Chrome just sent us over an announcement about their new Salvage Series Bags. These bags are made out of reclaimed materials and put a cool spin on the concept of “reuse and recycle”. This first run of bags used re-purposed US Army tents as the materials for the external panels of their [...]

Just saw this over at Pedal Consumption. Looks like there’s another company entering the increasingly crowded pedal strap market. VAGX is a Korean based company known for their messenger bags, backpacks and other soft goods. They are selling their VAGX Locksta Pedal Strap for 56,000 South Korean Won (about $52.00 USD). It looks like they [...]

Just saw this video from Sofus Francisco over at Pedal Consumption. Sofus Francisco is based in Denmark and they’re known for their quality leather pedal straps for track bikes. They have a leather double strap designed for more of a track style pedal and a “freestyle pedal strap” that is more like a leather version [...]

BLB Bigmama has just released their 2011 catalog and it looks great. BLB is the distribution arm of Brick Lane Bikes, a well known track bike shop in London. BLB is the Fyxation distributor in the UK and Europe and if you scroll to page 105 you can check out our gear. When we started [...]

On May 4, 2011 we announced our Bikes Are Better soft good lines. Bikes Are Better is a way for us to give back to the cycling community by raising money for local and national bicycle advocacy groups through the sale of Bikes Are Better branded products. Currently we offer a T-shirt, a messenger bag [...]

We’ve had a few people hit us up recently about which pedal straps/foot retention systems work best with our Mesa and Gates pedals. One request came in yesterday for someone looking to our Mesa pedal with the Burro Bags Chronic pedal straps or Burro Reggie pedal straps. Unfortunately, the Burro pedal straps don’t fit with [...]

Have you ever sat there looking at your bike and wondered what the hell was missing? Look no further! We are stoked to introduce the new Fyxation Gates and Mesa Holdfast pedal/strap kits. These kits are available now in our webstore and offer two different ways for you to customize your ride by pairing up [...]

Just saw this post on the blog Modern Decay. They posted some images of a great build with all the right parts – All City Def Wish with a Stolen Bikes Headset, Eastern Pivotal seat, Profile drive, KMC BMX chain, Velocity Chukkers, and our Fyxation Mesa pedals. Check it out here: http://www.moderndecay.net/?p=941 Tweet

Just saw this over at All City. They’ve added a new color to their Big Block frame and it looks amazing! The Big Block is All City’s track frameset and features a traditional track geometry, tire clearance up to a 32c, affordable/durable steel tubing and signature drop outs. We posted some pics below and they’re [...]

We’ve wanted to do a pedal strap combo with our Gates pedals for a while now but just hadn’t found the right foot retention system that offered a quality pedal strap that was also affordable. Well we searched high and low and finally found what we were looking for from Velo City Bags based out [...]

Just saw this post on the site of Fyxation shop Superb Bicycle in Boston. The guys at Superb built up this Brooklyn Machine Works Glow in the Dark Gangsta Track with a bunch of great parts. To mention a few – Selle Italia Turbo Saddle, Volume Trickster bars, Shadow Conspiracy half link chain on a [...]

The second installation of Midwest Mayhem Trick Jam is coming to Milwaukee and will be hosted at the 4 Seasons Skate Park. Expect a big turnout and a great event. Cash prizes and tons of schwag from companies like Milwaukee Bicycle Co, Eighth Inch, The Grime, Unknown Bike Co and of course Fyxation. The event [...]

Just saw this post on Prolly Is Not Probably. Looks like Hold Fast is working on a new design of their popular foot retention system (FRS). We borrowed a photo from John’s post to show how great our new Mesa pedals look when paired with the Hold Fast strap. Check the following link for more [...]

Here is a flyer and link from the latest event we’re sponsoring. This is definitely the most creative alley cat race we’ve been involved with. It is a fully Harry Potter inspired race and it’s encouraged that you dress up like someone from the books. Looks like Fyxation, Knog and Chrome are a few of [...]

Was just checking out the All City blog and saw that their new All City Fuzzy Bar is now available. Named after Bryan from Fyxation shop Bicycle Revolutions in Philly, the All City Fuzzy Bar is a steel 3″ CroMo riser bar with a knurled clamp surface, 22.2 clamp diameter, gradual 3” rise resists bending [...]

The Beastie Boys have made their new album available in its entirety online, and I just can’t stop listening to the first track, so why not share. This is what’s playing at Fyxation today. From the Beastie Boys… Good people, unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control, the “clean” version of our new album, The [...]

We don’t normally like to tease new products but I feel like it’s Christmas Eve over here and I can’t wait to get under that tree. The new Fyxation 7075 Series Alloy stem (it’s a collaboration with another company) will be available in about 60 days. Modeled after dirt jump stems this stem is ideal [...]