........

It's all relative as the stem in question proves.

I wouldn't hesitate to ride/race the random damage posted here over the controlled and planned design feature of the pantographed Somec stem I posted.

Stress points are stress points, the nature of such, whether created "randomly" or "purposely" hardly matters and need to be considered on a individual basis.

So no, I won't rethink my position ...

That Somec stem may never fail. It is just I would have that fear in the back of my mind, so it might limit my effort. There probably is enough material left to avoid a problem, it is perception for sure on my part.

An allied example would be a few years ago at the World Cup races held at the carson velodrome, during the sprint competitions you could hear the creaking of the bar/stem/steerer connection often, that would just give me pause if I was the rider. True, nothing broke while I was watching save carbon in a crash but I always wanted utmost confidence in my equipment. Way back when I exchanged an alloy bar/stem set for Cinelli Steel on my track bike, I was very happy, it just felt more secure, with that gives the confidence that one can throw all one's effort into the acceleration.

My archaic view would probably have had me a laggard to switch to alloy bars and stem on the road if I was riding in that era too. I liked sleeved bars instead of bulge formed clamping area types when I raced. Perception is a strong factor.

Having now seen the "damage"; it is moot........

I agree...

But the listing is ended: Did you buy it?

Brent

Yeah, I figured for $20, I'd take a look at it in person and see what it really looks like. If it's just that little nick, I'll probably put it on the bike . If it's something more than that, I'll either post better picture, or toss it in the garbage (potentially after practicing my polishing skills - I'm not very good and have a couple of stems for upcoming builds that could use a good polish).

Ha!!! Here's one that I'd worry about.........

wow, that thing is hideous.