Funn Equalizer Stem Long Term Test Review

New Equalizer MTB Stem from Funn

Funn recently sent us their new MTB Stem the Equalizer.  The Equalizer stem is an “Enduro World Series-ready” stem that Funn says “guarantees perfect cockpit setup for any bike in any terrain”.

The Stem enables you to fit the Equalizer stem one way up for 10mm rise. Flip it over and run it the other for 10mm drop. This allows you to fine-tune your cockpit further which comes in very handy if you’re unable to adjust the stack height or change the bar rise.

The Equalizer is precision CNC’d from lightweight and tough AL6061 and built with a wide clamping area for a stiff, secure connection between bar and stem.

It is available for 31.8 and 35mm bars and with 35mm and 50mm extensions. It comes in Black, Grey, Red, Blue, Orange and Green.
35mm length weighs 135g, 50mm length weighs 155g. So there is plenty of options to match your bike and fit.

First Impressions

First impressions are that this is a really nicely machined bit of kit. All the useful and important information has been laser cut directly onto the stem and it definitely doesn’t spoil the aesthetics of the product in my opinion.

Having the ability to fine-tune your handlebars with +/- 10mm is also a really nice touch. Often bike steerers come pre-cut from the factory and these can be too short for certain people. Being able to raise the bars 10mm can make a big difference in ergonomics and bike position.

The Stem Funn sent through is black but other colours are available. The black stem instantly looked great on my bike and as the clamps are in two sections this gives plenty of room to show off your handlebars.

The Equalizer was easy to fit with all the adjustment markings and as is the case with most stems once set up correctly you can forget it there and get down to shredding the trails.

I will be keeping this on my bike for a while longer to do a long-term test review.

Funn Equalizer Stem Review

I’ve now been using the Equalizer Stem for a few months. I’ve used it on multiple bikes with different stack heights and handlebars with different amounts of rise. What is great about the Equalizer is that because it has 10mm +/- you can customise your cockpit to work for you.

I found this especially useful on test bikes that came through with the steerer cut short which meant I wasn’t able to adjust the stack height. I used the Equalizer stem to give me an extra 10mm rise. Another example is when I had some bars on test that had a 35mm rise which was too much for the bike I was testing at the time so being able to drop the rise by 10mm equaling 25mm rise total was a big help.

The stem has a really nice finish and even though I’ve fitted and removed it multiple times the bolts and thread have remained durable and consistent.

With more and more people opting to use steering storage tools such as the One Up EDC, Specialized SWAT and the Granite Stash to name a few it’s important that the stem is compatible. I tested this stem with both the S.W.A.T and Stash and can confirm these work. I assume the OneUp EDC will too as it’s very similar to the stash.

I haven’t seen any other stems offering a similar solution. This relatively low-cost stem could be a great way to fine-tune your cockpit without breaking the bank.

All in all, it is a great stem but it does look a little bit odd when in the -10mm configuration. The additional rise does offer some nice fine-tuning but this could also be achieved by getting handlebars with different amounts of rise. The product is durable and has a great finish.

What do you think of Funn’s new Equalizer stem? Would you make use of the 10mm adjustment? Personally I really like the additional 10mm height as my fork steerer was cut quite short from the factory.

Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below and keep an eye out in the near future for a product review.

You can order Funn products here