Easton Stem: CRACKED!

[durianrider]

I break a lot of stuff so this isnt a surprise or direct fault of Easton. They have replaced it under warranty. Im a stickler for riding strong stuff and checking it often. I found this by just rubbing my finger nail under my stem and felt a notch. Further inspection revealed this hair line crack on my Easton EA 70 stem.

If you ride hard like I do, then check your stuff often. If you crash something and its lightweight, replace it. Another reason I ride alloy bars, stem, steerer and seat post. Alloy is stronger and can actually be recycled when your replace it.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Glad they replaced it for you.

However, I'm not so sure about Easton's acclaimed quality. About a year ago I bought an Easton EA50 wheelset. Not a top end model, but still should work. The front and rear wheel's bead seat diameter (BSD) were both out of specification. The rear wheel was the worst. This meant that a tire couldn't be mounted. The seller refunded my purchase as the measurements could not be refuted, but that tarnished my impression of Easton a little bit. I never got an explanation from Easton.

Here's a good description of wheel BSD: http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#iso, then scroll down a bit to "B.S.D.".

For 700C wheels, the International Standards Org. (ISO) specification for BSD is 622 mm (24.49 in), which is also shown in the Sheldon Brown link above. This BSD is equivalent to a circumference of 76.93 inches, which can be easily measured. A BSD greater than 622 mm will make tire mounting exceedingly difficult to impossible. The easiest way to check for correct BSD is to measure the circumference along the inner shelf where the tire bead should sit. You will probably need an extra set of hands. I used a non-stretching material like medium to small gage wire (e.g. something smaller than #12) to get the length and then just measured the length of wire on a flat surface. In my case, the front wheel's BS circumference measured 77-1/16 and the rear wheel measured 77-3/8 inches. These were manufacturer defects. Because the bead seats of the rim were too far apart I could not get the tire beads over the rim's outer edge to mount the tires.

In case you ever run into something like this with a new rim you just purchased, check the rim with the procedure above. Don't just trust the quality because of the reuptation of the manufacturer.

sorry if I shoulda put this in a different thread... but this one was about Easton. So there it is.

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

I break a lot of stuff so this isnt a surprise or direct fault of Easton. They have replaced it under warranty. Im a stickler for riding strong stuff and checking it often. I found this by just rubbing my finger nail under my stem and felt a notch. Further inspection revealed this hair line crack on my Easton EA 70 stem.

If you ride hard like I do, then check your stuff often. If you crash something and its lightweight, replace it. Another reason I ride alloy bars, stem, steerer and seat post. Alloy is stronger and can actually be recycled when your replace it.

Here's your solution. You won't break a Thompson.

 

[doxter]

laid up just now with injuries due to a failed set of aluminium handlebars - so yes learned a big lesson

 

[richwagmn]

Here's your solution. You won't break a Thompson.

Yea, nice stuff. Miss my old thomson seatpost but the current frame uses a proprietary one.

 

[richwagmn]

I break a lot of stuff so this isnt a surprise or direct fault of Easton. They have replaced it under warranty. Im a stickler for riding strong stuff and checking it often. I found this by just rubbing my finger nail under my stem and felt a notch. Further inspection revealed this hair line crack on my Easton EA 70 stem.

If you ride hard like I do, then check your stuff often. If you crash something and its lightweight, replace it. Another reason I ride alloy bars, stem, steerer and seat post. Alloy is stronger and can actually be recycled when your replace it.

Never seen that before. Must have been a defect.

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

That stem looks beat up enough that it should have been replaced a long time ago.

 

[Martin318is]

That stem looks beat up enough that it should have been replaced a long time ago.

Depends - some of that scuffing looks like it was probably from mounting light kits etc rather than impacts or scrapes. Not all of it though, it does look like it has taken a hit or two

 

[simo1733]

Aluminium is very notch sensitive.If you get any scratches, they should be carefully blended out.If you blend at a 50:1 ratio and a high surface finish,then up to 10% of the gauge can be blended in this way.

 

[dsut4392]

That stem looks beat up enough that it should have been replaced a long time ago.

Wow, your x-ray crystallography eyes even work on low-res web-forum images

FYI there's no evidence that impacts which are not severe enough to cause permanent structural defects (i.e. dents, bends) significantly affect strength of aluminium alloy components. All that's visible on this image is some scuffing of the anodising.

The regular nature of the crack (as far as anything is visible in the picture) looks very much like a manufacturing defect where the seam of the tube has not been properly formed.

Yes, I rock-climb with old alloy carabiners that have been dropped multiple times too.

 

[Martin318is]

Yes, I rock-climb with old alloy carabiners that have been dropped multiple times too.

I used to do the same when I was younger but moved on to buying new replacements wherever needed. My mate still happily re-uses old and damaged gear...

.....or at least, he used to

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

Wow, your x-ray crystallography eyes even work on low-res web-forum images

FYI there's no evidence that impacts which are not severe enough to cause permanent structural defects (i.e. dents, bends) significantly affect strength of aluminium alloy components. All that's visible on this image is some scuffing of the anodising.

The regular nature of the crack (as far as anything is visible in the picture) looks very much like a manufacturing defect where the seam of the tube has not been properly formed.

Yes, I rock-climb with old alloy carabiners that have been dropped multiple times too.

Cool story, bro.

A guy uses his cracked stem to brag about how hard he rides and how much stuff he breaks, and his broken gear looks like crap. I am sure there is no connection.

 

[42x16ss]

Cool story, bro.

A guy uses his cracked stem to brag about how hard he rides and how much stuff he breaks, and his broken gear looks like crap. I am sure there is no connection.

I don't see any bragging there, just advice. Most of us have been riding long enough to know when to swap out parts, but some of the members here haven't. Even if one person checks their kit because of this then how is it a bad thing?

BTW, reckon Durian's broken gear might look like crap because he rides it hard?

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

I don't see any bragging there, just advice. Most of us have been riding long enough to know when to swap out parts, but some of the members here haven't. Even if one person checks their kit because of this then how is it a bad thing?

You need to read more of his posts. The poorly cared for stem probably cracked under the weight of his huge ego.

 

[simo1733]

Wow, your x-ray crystallography eyes even work on low-res web-forum images

FYI there's no evidence that impacts which are not severe enough to cause permanent structural defects (i.e. dents, bends) significantly affect strength of aluminium alloy components. All that's visible on this image is some scuffing of the anodising.

The regular nature of the crack (as far as anything is visible in the picture) looks very much like a manufacturing defect where the seam of the tube has not been properly formed.

Yes, I rock-climb with old alloy carabiners that have been dropped multiple times too.

It does look like a manufacturing defect or sabotage,although I haven't seen any stems with a seam in them.Certainly the Thomson doesn't have one.

 

[fatandfast]

this is going to be the norm. With the prices of lots of cockpit parts being so high people just ride things until they fail. The new 35 all over set up from Deda is awesome but come on 160 bucks plus for a stem!! and 350 for handlebars wtf? The alloy 35 is still 200 plus..what gives? Fatter tubing and a jig in the bender is really worth all the extra cost? nfw. Used FSA, Ritchey crashed both brands really hard w no failures, no Easton for me

 

[Master50]

If you ride hard like I do, then check your stuff often. If you crash something and its lightweight, replace it. Another reason I ride alloy bars, stem, steerer and seat post. Alloy is stronger and can actually be recycled when your replace it.

Alloy is stronger than what? Pure aluminum? Yup. Bare iron? Yup
Well made carbon fibre? Not even close. The fatigue life of a good set of carbon bars is multiple times better than aluminum any alloy for fatigue and yield strength. Aluminum fails catastrophically too.
Some CF is currently recyclable but only 1 or two companies can, and the process is pretty much restricted to aerospace applications.

I might agree that if you break a lot of stuff you might chose aluminum for cost of replacement reasons but not for strength where CF is stronger.

I appreciate there is still a lot of mistrust about composites since not everyone gets the engineering or safety margins right but CF is by far stronger than any metal I know of. Even CF can add other materials or layers to deal with the desire for slow failure of structural parts.

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

I appreciate there is still a lot of mistrust about composites since not everyone gets the engineering or safety margins right but CF is by far stronger than any metal I know of. Even CF can add other materials or layers to deal with the desire for slow failure of structural parts.

more than titanium?

 

[Master50]

more than titanium?

Maybe a metal head needs to get into this discussion as it is not a straight forward answer. What about titanium makes you think it is so strong? it has some great properties but Ti cogs wear out as fast as steel ones. Pure titanium is brittle and can break if bent. Carbon fibre can be brittle too and can break pretty easily from some small forces if applied in the right manner. We like titanium because it is lighter than steel. We love Carbon fibre because it can also be much stronger than steel or ti and lighter too.
Lets just say I would rather hang from a cf rope of any diameter than one made of Ti, aluminum or steel. That is a loaded answer too. A polypropylene rope is stronger in water than steel but not out of the water? Why? in water poly rope is weightless so once a steel rope gets to a certain length it can not carry any weight. A poly rope can pretty much carry the same weight in water 10 or 1000 feet down.
Strength of a material has many variables but from the bike industry and I think might have been easton's research and testing. A good pair of aluminum bars is subject to a machine that applies a certain amount of force on a handlebar up and down over and over until the bar breaks
The same test is repeated with CF bars.
CF bars survive more than 200,000 cycles without failing.
All aluminum bars break before 50.000. Steel by 75.000 etc. My numbers are for illustration and frankly I am sure the research is published on line.

Without ever crashing I would use my carbon bars forever. I am not sure what I would do after a crash but I would trust the CF bars to survive at least as well as aluminum ones. Trouble is CF does not easily reveal it is damaged all the time. Ie if the force was catastrophic and cause a structural failure it may not be obvious. So post crash inspection is often a little specialized and some people won't see the problem.

That is a problem often cited for choosing metal over cf. I got my bike from a pro team. That is a guarantee it was crashed so I spent a lot of time examining every face and surface for signs of structural damage. Fortunately it is now 4 years in my care and no signs of weakness.
The bike came with aluminum bars and I asked why not CF ones. He said the mechanics find they change enough bars after crashes and that CF bars are hard to inspect that it just seems cheaper to use aluminum bars. No one had concern that CF bars are not strong enough in their normal function but post crash assurance, and that aluminum's strengths was better evaluated.

 

[avanti]

more than titanium?

Some titanium alloys are suscepible to cracking if contaminated by certain metals or cleaning fluids - that is why Ti aerospace fasteners often need different tools than steel fasteners.

 

[dsut4392]

I used to do the same when I was younger but moved on to buying new replacements wherever needed. My mate still happily re-uses old and damaged gear...

.....or at least, he used to

To be clear, if the gear is "damaged" I don't use it. What I'm trying to counter is that aluminium alloys can have "invisible" damage resulting from impacts or static forces below the elastic deformation limit. If your gear, (whether a carabiner or bike stem) is visibly dented, bent, or cracked, you would be wise not to use it. But if the anodising or paint is scuffed, who cares?

 

[FTWDC11]

Here's your solution. You won't break a Thompson.

I've cracked a Thomson faceplate before. They replaced it, no questions asked, but since then, I've switched over to forged and shot peened stems. Thomson seatposts, never a problem over many years.

 

[42x16ss]

You need to read more of his posts. The poorly cared for stem probably cracked under the weight of his huge ego.

I've read the vegan thread and I'd consider that a very real possibility.

However ATM I'm willing to give the benfit of the doubt with this one - this is something too many people ignore.

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

What about titanium makes you think it is so strong?

Nothing really. I honestly never paid close attention to materials. I've ridden aluminum, titanium, steel, and carbon. And there are different materials I prefer for different applications; for instance, aluminum MTB with carbon bars (for no other reason except vibration dampening), carbon road bike with alloy bars (save cost), steel fixie for getting around town. I don't own a titanium bike (have ridden several), but everyone I know that owns one has ridden it for years, and essentially rebuilt it with new components more than once. I guess that's what made me ask.

Some titanium alloys are suscepible to cracking if contaminated by certain metals or cleaning fluids - that is why Ti aerospace fasteners often need different tools than steel fasteners.

Really? That was another reason I asked. Based on what I've seen from friends that ride titanium, I thought it wasn't susceptible to cracking. Current carbon fiber is much stronger and much more resilient than the carbon of years past, but it still seems more susceptible to surface damage than titanium. I might be wrong on that though. It seems like you can just remove decals and polish up titanium for a brand new bike. However, I admittedly know very little about the materials, I just know what I prefer to ride in different types of riding.

 

[Polyarmour]

laid up just now with injuries due to a failed set of aluminium handlebars - so yes learned a big lesson

Sorry to hear my friend, but you got me thinking. I'm riding on a set of (crash) bent Alum handlebars at the moment. I didn't think it was a big enough deformation to warrant a changeover. I'd be interested in your view on this?