If you have a bike with an AVA or a PIVO death stem ....
- you're a hypocrite if you ride with a helmet. - you're a hypocrite if you ride on sidewalks to avoid traffic. - you're a hypocrite if you have a reflector on your bike. - you're a hypocrite if you modulate your bakes on long down-hills. - you're a hypocrite if you omit the valve ring on your tubular tires. - you're a hypocrite if you use more than 1 coat of tubular tire glue.
I'm a hypocrite in most respects, on one of my bikes.
I fall off my bike once a year for no reason at all. That's human error and I plan for it. If I make that type of human error once a year, then I will probably forget to inspect a death stem before a ride once a year. If you take some of the other measures above to live "fail-safe", how would you feel getting killed by a death stem? If you don't care about your own life, how do you think it would affect others who know you on the CR list ??
Don't let your love of on-topic CR bikes cause you to ignore safety.
There are several vintage stems that look just like the hollow AVA death stem, but aren't hollow and aren't failure-prone. I have a period Weinmann stem with a steel shaft and the exact same look, but it's not hollow, it's sealed at the back. Upon reflection, I will swap out my death stem for the Weinmann stem as soon as possible.
I think Raleigh/Carlton in 1970 used a death stem stem for only half a year, before switching to Weinmann. Many other makers might have supplied a mid-year replacement, too. Don't restore your bike as stock-unsafe, when there is a stock-safe alternative...
- Don "consistency counts" Gillies
San Diego, CA, USA