Originally Posted by
cjenrick
looks like some tricky machining underneath that button head bolt,
seems like a better system than the tapped out hole in the stem, have seen some stems with what looks to be excessive bending/warpage along the front of the binder aluminum section, as that is where it bends when spreading it out for new bars,
i almost bought the stem on the right till i noticed an oblong shape in the handlebar hole, you can see that it was not making contact with the bars from the lack of grooves,
I have similar problems with old pressed steel clamps as well. They tend to make the handlebars go oval, and then you have the problem with an ovalised bar that is not going to do anything good for another stem clamp, and a stem clamp that is not going to do anything good for another handlebar. If you have chopper-style handlebars then it also becomes difficult to adjust them forward or backward to suit the rider.
I had much fewer issues with motorcycles, with beefier handlebars and a pair of cap-type clamps.