BikeYoke Launches the Barkeeper, Topper, and Aimy

Fresh out of Germany - it's a trio of cockpit items from BikeYoke. Their Barkeeper is their stem, designed for 35mm handlebars only. The Topper is an all-in-one topcap/headset preload adjuster, and the Aimy is a nifty retention ring for when you want to pull your stem, and not have your fork fall out of your frame. Read on below for details, and look for a review in the future.

We would have loved to describe it as "sustainable“ or "e-bike ready“ or whatever is currently trending in marketing speech. So, no, it’s not particularly sustainable - as is nothing in our oh so glamorous world of high-end mountain biking. We’re talking about luxury goods here. Not a single person on this planet needs a mountain bike (not even a cheap one) in the first place. So, at BikeYoke we find it strange that companies feel the need to market paper packaging instead of plastic as sustainable. It should be natural for any company to design proper, enduring products, using as little packaging and waste as possible. That’s nothing that should be worth advertising and nothing that we should have just discovered recently.

So, our Barkeeper is a stem – well, okay, it‘s a very nice looking stem, we think. It’s a stem for 35mm handlebars. It’s a stem that comes in 3 lengths: 35, 45, 55mm. It’s a stem that’s very light: 80g @ 35mm length with Ti-Bolts It’s a fairly strong stem. In cooperation with industry leading German test laboratory EFBE, using their EFBE Gravity/DH Bike-standard (GR TRI-TEST®) as benchmark, the stems were tested and approved.

Each TRI-TEST® test program is based on three modules: Fatigue tests, maximum load tests and overload test in various load cases. All stem lengths were successfuly tested to exceed the requirements of the strongest possible category for mountain bike components (category 5) of DIN EN 17406:2021 and ASTM F2043-13. Tested with an 800mm width handlebar, the 45mm version was even tested for 500,000 cycles, before machines were stopped. In this test-setup, only 250,000 cycles were required to qualify for category 5.

It is a stem with an almost ridiculous attention to manufacturing quality and detail. For strength reasons, the stem body is firstly forged in a highly complex 3D-forging process. The critical surfaces are then precisely CNC-machined, then shot peened for additional surface strengthening. The logos and markings are then laser engraved into the raw aluminum and last but not least, the stem is anodized, giving its black-in-black exquisite looks. The attention to detail in manufacturing – even on the inside – is marvelous.

Nevertheless – it remains a simple stem, it‘s main purpose being holding a handlebar in place, and BikeYoke knows that the benefits of a one piece design (strength/weight ratio, unique looks) does come with a limitation in handlebar choice. Some handlebars may not fit but it is expected that most handlebars up to 30mm rise should work. Race Face SixC in 35mm rise is an easy fit. One Up’s popular Riser bar (20mm rise) was a rather easy fit as well. On the other hand, there may be handlebar, also with lower rise, which do not fit. It greatly depends on the shape of the bend, not mainly on the rise.

That’s also why the stem comes with a simple but effective installation aid, a wedge, which allows to widen the clamp opening to 9mm, for even more installation clearance. Oh, did we mention it comes in a really simple carboard/paper packaging? How green of us.

Prices: $89 / 89€ / Ti-bolts kit (additonal to the included steel bolts): +$25/25€

Topper – a hat for your Barkeeper

Not much to say about a simple top cap, I guess. Even with it is one-piece aluminum design (no steel bolt) and super-light weight (maybe a tad over 5g), it’s mainly there to help adjust your headset play and then just look really good. It’s finely machined all the way from top to bottom, then laser engraved and then black anodized for a very nice touch. It will fit any standard (M6-threaded) star nut in your fork steerer.

Price: $14/14€

Aimy – won’t let your fork down

Aimy is a small but neat little gadget, that is particularly interesting for everyone who likes to wrench on his bike. Taking off the stem and handdebar unit usually makes you wish you had more than just two hands to do whatever you need to do and at the same time keep the fork from slipping down, all the way through your headtube. Rather than just slide onto the steerer tube, like an ordinary headset spacer, Aimy is clamped onto the steerer tube, not allowing the steerer tube to fall through your headset, once you take off your stem. Handy, right? Other than that, Aimy serves as a regular headset spacer, measuring 8mm tall and weighing in at 8g.

Additionally, you can use Aimy as a refernce to easily re-adjust your handlebar for perfectly straight alignment in case your twisted your stem for whatever unfortunate reason. Aimy is clamped, and won’t budge, even if your stem does and as long as you had previosuly aligned Aimy’s clamping slot with the one of your stem, you have a simple but effective indicator for the straight handlebar position.

Aimy is machined from aluminum, featuring a stainless steel clamping bolt and will fit any standard 1 1/8“ standard steerer tube.

Preis $16/16€