Originally Posted by spambait11
Ouch! Good to hear you're ok. Don't know about a design flaw, but I've never been a fan of the alu handlebar post. Definitely post this in Dahon's forum as well.
Do you tend to pull back on the handlebars, by any chance?
I ride mostly on flat ground so there is not a whole lot of pulling on the handle bars going on. I didn't know the stem was made of aluminum until it broke. I thought it was steel. I contacted Dahon and they are interested in seeing the broken pieces but I didn't get a response like: "We'll give you a loaner until we repair and look into what happened." They told me to take it to a shop for a warranty repair.
I suppose when it gets repaired I will keep the handlepost as low as I'm comfortable in order to minimize lever effect on the joint. A good design feature would be to ensure that in case of separation there is some kind of semi-rigid connector inside the tube. Such device would minimize loss of balance so the rider would have a chance to apply breaks.
When my stem broke it felt that just a little connection between handle post and the frame would have improved my balance. I think the main thing is that when you find yourself holding detached handle bars your body has a tendency to straighten up and lose balance. You lose balance and that front wheel will turn to the side and you're toast.