Stem Snap!
01-16-05, 11:38 PM
#1
totally louche
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Stem Snap!
Snapped a stem on the ride home from work Friday night. Second one in two decades, so I guess that's not so bad. One of the bolt wings sheared off the main part of the stem, it sounded like a rock hit my fork, then the steering went loose. Good thing traffic wasn't any worse as I was paceriding in the middle of a four lane one way.
Aside from a slight flexing in the 'bars for the last week ( that I now remember noticing only in hindsight) Is there some schedule or recommendation on replacing stems? I Read in Zinn's guides he recommends once every four years, but that seems excessive.
Aside from a slight flexing in the 'bars for the last week ( that I now remember noticing only in hindsight) Is there some schedule or recommendation on replacing stems? I Read in Zinn's guides he recommends once every four years, but that seems excessive.
01-17-05, 12:09 AM
#2
hello
That happened to me once during a fast descent. I heard my quill stem bolt suddenly snap without warning and I lost my steering and I was all over the road. Almost like riding no hands but I had to use my rear brake. I was able to come to a gradual stop after what seemed like a quarter mile of no control. Actually what happened was that the stem bolt partially pulled thru the threads of the wedge causing the wedge to break free. That was one of the scariest moments while riding I've ever experienced. I believe I overtorqued that stem bolt...... learned my lesson...
In that regard I think threadless stems are much safer..... the ones with double pinch bolts.
In that regard I think threadless stems are much safer..... the ones with double pinch bolts.
Last edited by roadfix; 01-17-05 at 12:29 AM.
01-17-05, 12:31 AM
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Any noise in the stem during the last week? I had a Cinelli I loved dearly (may it rest in peace) that creaked like an SOB. Luckily I was smart enough to sus that it was cracked and managed to locate said crack just outboard the flying C emblem.
I took the bars off and put the stem in the trash and told my wife that if she saw me digging it out that there was a very good reason it was in there and I was crazy.
I took the bars off and put the stem in the trash and told my wife that if she saw me digging it out that there was a very good reason it was in there and I was crazy.
01-17-05, 12:42 AM
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Mine was alu XA with the crack developing as a result of the recessed hole for the logo, I think. Stress risers and all that garbage.
Some day I'll find another 26.4 stem, almost certainly a Cinelli, and my deep road drops will ride again.
Some day I'll find another 26.4 stem, almost certainly a Cinelli, and my deep road drops will ride again.
01-17-05, 12:01 PM
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You guys are scaring me! I'm going to check my Cinelli stem out when I get home. 
01-17-05, 12:25 PM
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Originally Posted by The Fixer
I believe I overtorqued that stem bolt...... learned my lesson...
In that regard I think threadless stems are much safer..... the ones with double pinch bolts.
In that regard I think threadless stems are much safer..... the ones with double pinch bolts.
01-17-05, 02:37 PM
#9
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The idea of breaking a stem always scares me. I have broken pedal axles, too many frames to list, cranks and seatposts, but never a stem, or bar for that matter. I can imagine a stem or even bar failure would probably result in a serious crash. I usually use a little bit heavier stuff, and I've had good luck with tubular cro-mo stems (quill type). Never the less, my stem is probably 8 years old, maybe I will replace it-although finding a -10 degree 150mm mtb stem may be challenging.
01-17-05, 04:33 PM
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Originally Posted by bostontrevor
Mine was alu XA with the crack developing as a result of the recessed hole for the logo, I think. Stress risers and all that garbage.
Some day I'll find another 26.4 stem, almost certainly a Cinelli, and my deep road drops will ride again.
Some day I'll find another 26.4 stem, almost certainly a Cinelli, and my deep road drops will ride again.
01-18-05, 03:20 AM
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Ouch!
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Just your average club rider... :)
Just your average club rider... :)
01-18-05, 02:47 PM
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THAT WAS ..... AWSOME! my friend did that a while back but got to keep the tip of his finger, it was just a bit chewed. thanks for those pics
01-18-05, 03:29 PM
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01-19-05, 09:47 AM
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Man, that is pretty wild. I can completely understand how that could happen.
01-22-05, 08:34 PM
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I had a stem face plate crack on me this last fall at a critical time. It was a Selcof stem and it was only less than a year old. I always use a torque wrench with all the aluminum these days. I proved that it was torqued to the bike shop when I took it in because they checked it with their fancey electronic torque wench and warrantied the face plate. The weired thing was that they had more of these face plates in stock. Who does that? I figured that there were some problems with this stem and it wasn't going to happen to me again so I sold it on ebay and got a Ritchey WCS. Anyway, back to what happened, I hit a crack in the blacktop as I was cornering through a busy intersection. The bar spun down and I almost lost my grip but someone up above was watching out for me that day and I was able to come to a stop without incident. I don't know what the life of a stem is but I know it has to be more than a year.
