Direct Mount Components from Hit N Run Designs

Last weekend Ahrens Bicycles shared a booth at Biketoberfest with Hit N Run Designs out of Scotts Valley, CA. Travis Kaschalk is the owner of HNR and he is responsible for CNC machining thousands of WiseCracker LITE bottle openers for me. I've been on some great shuttle runs in the Santa Cruz mountains with Travis and developing a line of gravity components is right up his alley.

In addition to Fox 40 Upper Crowns and the D-VISE seat clamp, Travis has been working on a unique direct-mount stem system for single-crown forks. After many months of testing, he is now releasing the AXIS Direct Mount system into the market (patent pending). I saw these parts first hand last weekend and was very impressed with the design and execution.

The stack height of the AXIS direct mount is only 19mm! This is less than half of most 1-1/8" stems on the market. For example, all Thomson X4 stems have 40.64mm stack height. For long travel forks and big wheels, lowering the stack height is always of key importance to keep the front end low. This is one of the main reasons I can't wait to install the system on my 650B hardtail since running larger wheels automatically lifts the front end of the bike.

The design is straightforward, very light (187 grams combined) and extremely stiff. By spreading the handlebar clamps further apart, the loads are spread over a wide area to minimize flex. If you like to run wide bars, you will love this setup.

Installation is easy and the system uses (1) M8 primary pinch bolt to secure the AXIS Direct Mount to the 1-1/8" steer tube. The Direct Mount stem clamps are then attached using (4) M6 stainless steel mounting bolts at all corners. One added bonus is that the real estate in the exact center of the bar is now open for your night light, GPS, etc.

The stem clamps work with 31.8mm bars and are offered in 45mm length (measured from the center of the steer tube to the center of the handlebar) to keep things as flex-free as possible. If you already own a direct-mount stem, it will fit right into the standard Boxxer bolt pattern these parts utilize. I'm pushing for Travis to offer 35.0mm clamps to accommodate that emerging standard.

Weight Breakdown:

AXIS Direct Mount = 76.5 grams
Direct Mount Stem Clamp, 45mm = 110.5 grams

Total System Weight = 187.0 grams

Introductory pricing is shown below and act soon because prices will increase next January 1st! All components are CNC machined in the USA, with pride, using domestically sourced 6061-T6 aluminum. After machining, each part runs through a detailed inspection procedure, is anodized and then laser marked with the HNR logo.

AXIS Direct Mount MSRP: $120 PROMO: $90

Direct Mount Stem Clamp 45mm MSRP: $100 PROMO: $70

FOX 40 upper crown MSRP: $150 PROMO: $110

D-VISE seat collar clamp MSRP: $40 PROMO: $25

Contact Travis at hitnrundesigns@hotmail.com for more info.