Originally Posted by evwxxx

As for this "death stem" theory, I have heard that for years. Other common notions include Cinelli bars should be changed out every few years or they will "fail", Campy NR road cranks are cracking and falling off, etc. From a practical standpoint, there are a lot of Cinelli bars, AVA stems and Campy Cranks still around after 20, 30 or even 40 years. I think it depends a great deal on what type of use the componenet recieves. If you are an out and out racer, particularly a sprinter, a tremendous amount of force is applied to these parts, and you would be concerned if one failed. And, of course, being subjected to lots of force will tend to separate out the top of the line components from lesser ones. I would say maybe AVA stems were made for lower end bikes which the manufacturers did not think would be used under the stressfull situations inherent in racing. For us "lower tier" riders that just like to get out and exercise and maybe ride up a long hill fast once in awhile I don't think we are going to exert the same force on our handlebars and cranks as Lance Armstrong in the French Alps. But, if we are charging up hills and sprinting to finish lines then we better be using the best equipment we can get, and not Peugeot UO8's with AVA stems! Of course, with ANY old componentry, we need to contantly be inspecting for cracks, fractures, loosness, etc etc that we may not need to worry about with a new modern bike just off the showroom floor. Thats my take and I'm sticking with it!