Is this the infamous Ava stem that breaks?
http://picasaweb.google.com/
This was on my Paris Sport 500 that I posted about several months ago, tonight I got the bug to clean it up. When I took off the bars to clean them, it was a little easier than it should have been. :) Thankfully I hadn't ridden it yet. I see no evidence that it was ever involved in a crash. The rest of the stem is still in the steerer tube, I'll probably have to soak it in WD-40 or something else to get it out.
Only the top lock ring is French thread 22.0, a 22.2 stem fits in nicely so I'll probably grind a little off the top lock ring.
Eric Phillips
Southfield, MI
USA