From: BOB HANSON, Stronglight49(AT)aol.com
"Many French stems, apparently the ones bored through from the back of the extension, have been cited as dangerous - prone to sudden failure.
But, what of this one in which the extension was bored out through the front of the clamp section. It is hollowed out all the way to intersect with the quill tube, but does not exit out the back. Might this too be considered yet another "Death Stem" variant?
Or, was it really more a matter of specific potentially defective models rather than the thin "lightened" alloy which put them at risk?
[And, yes... the clamp bolt seen here is actually a Campagnolo binder bolt. The original bolt and nut were poorly cadmium plated and had rusted and corroded. This bolt happens to fit well and is much easier to use, anyway.]
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/
hi Bob and the rest of the CR gang,
I've got an AVA stem with a hollow extension stashed safely away in a parts box labeled "HAZMAT". :-) The extension isn't bored out, though. It's more oval-ish, I believe. This, plus the general finish, makes me suspect that the stem is made of cast aluminum instead of the stronger forged aluminum.
I don't know how deadly the stem really is, but I do know that it is surprisingly flexible! Compared to a conventional Cinelli, 3TTT, or Nitto forged stem, I'd guesstimate that the AVA will deflect at least twice as much for a given force applied to the handlebar. It might survive many miles of riding, but the large amount of flex just gives me the heebie-jeebies (sp?), so it stays in the HAZMAT box.
Can anyone comment on the relative stiffness of the Cinelli 1A stem to the Cinelli 1R (which has a mostly hollow extension)?
Steve Kurt definitely not living on the edge in Peoria, IL USA