Originally Posted by ridelugs
h bars dont flex that much, if they did they would break. the stem is at fault. i've seen the same thing happen on various fisher bikes. if you cant get your local shop to give you a non adjustable stem for free, at least they can order you one. dimension stems come in lots of angles and lengths, and are cheap, about 20-25 dollars. salsa stems are marginally nicer, at 35 dollars or so. neither will ever have issues under normal usage.
*My* handlebars flex up to 1/4 inch sometimes... furthermore flexible things are generally less likely to break, no more. It's possible that it's the stems, but it's also possible that the handlebars are the source of the problem.