Recently revamped be sleeker and generally a little smaller all over than the previous version, the Elite X2 is machined from a length of extruded 7000 series aluminium alloy bar and is visually one of the most appealing stems around.
In our deflection test it makes the top five (we expected more considering the interlocking front cap design), and out on the road it behaved like a good stem should, which is what you’d expect considering the price tag.
The weight is quite good for a machined stem, and overall the Thomson X2 is a very nice bit of kit, albeit a little pricey. The stem angles are steeper than usual, with 10 or 17 degrees available.
Unusually for a very much road-styled stem, Thomson say it's robust enough for cross-country mountain bike riding too.