Redshift Switch Aero System and ShockStop stem review: Odd on their own, but transformative together

Redshift has carved out a niche for itself making, generally speaking, quite niche products. There are riser drop bars for those who need a taller stack than can be achieved normally, pedals with inbuilt lights, flared gravel bars with an inbuilt snack pouch, and extra long bar tape for those who like their bars wiiiiiiide. Here, though, I have three products that individually bring something to the table but collectively add up to something much greater. It all started as I was curating a ‘bikes of the Transcontinental Race’ tech gallery, and noticed a lot of the bikes were running a Redshift suspension stem, presumably to add comfort but also control while in aero bars over broken road and gravel.

To test out how effective this actually is as a system I called in a ShockStop suspension stem (the normal, non ‘pro’ version), as well as a set of the brand’s quick-release aero bars and a dual-position seatpost, which allows one to shift one’s saddle forward and upward on the fly to more comfortably use aero bars without being too stretched out.