Stem repair question

ChiefBroom

Member
I'm wondering if it would be a bad idea to attempt repair of a cracked Ringle stem. See attached photo; the last guy I had do a tune-up apparently over-torqued the bolts. I'd definitely replace the face plate, which is also cracked on the bottom side. But notions I've had for salvaging the stem include:

-- having someone with proper skill carefully weld the crack (probably tough to do without messing up the bolt-hole);

-- injecting some king-hell bonding agent; and/or

-- tapping holes for small screws on both side of the crack to allow attachment of a thin but sturdy metal strap spanning the crack (i.e., farmer-style, band-aid & bailing-wire fix along the lines of Zen and the Art of Motorcylce Maintenance).

My '94 Yo Eddy doesn't get hard use anymore, but I'm a little uneasy at the prospect of suddently finding myself with dangling handlebars (although I guess the brakes would still work).

Any thoughts?
 

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ChiefBroom

Member
Thanks for the reply. I know you're right. Just haven't found quite the right fit (130mm w/ 10 degree rise), and I have a near-term need. Do have a line on a couple of 120mm stems with 10 degree rise that surfaced in a PM from another post here and will pick up one of them in any case. I probably won't notice 10mm shorter. Just the same, I like to fix and use stuff that can be fixed and was curious to learn if anyone else might fool around with something like this.
 

ChiefBroom

Member
Come to think of it, at my age and with the help of a couple of bad endos, several hard tail and head plants on a snowboard, and decades worth of piggy-back rides to my kids, I'm probably more than 10mm shorter than I was 17 years ago when I bought my Yo Eddy!
 

tvcreative

New member
Ringle stems are beautiful to look at but require proper torque...

if you over crank them they will fail at the faceplate every time...

I have had two that have gone the way of the dodo...based on my brawny boo boos....

Personally, I think syncros is good, or salsa for that matter to keep it period correct. I have seen a few controltechs here and there. I have yet to have any one of those fail.

I am sure others can add to this, with more experience...

I have Thomsons, Ritcheys, and Race Faces on my other more modern bikes...

I hope this helps...

Jim
 

ChiefBroom

Member
Thanks, Jim. You should have a PM from me. My Yo Eddy! has a 1" headset. It was made in Mass before the switch 1 1/8". If you -- or anyone else -- has something that would make a suitable replacement for the Ringle, let me know. It's 130mm with a 10 degree rise. The bike used to fit me like a glove, but like I said, at 58 I'm a little shorter than I was in '94 and probably wouldn't notice the difference if it were 120". As for Ringle vs. anything else, I'm partial to the Ringle aesthetically, I only weigh 145, and don't ride nearly as much or as hard as I used to when we lived in CO, so if someone hadn't over-torqued the one my Yo Eddy! came with, it probably would have outlasted me. That said, it's broken and I need to replace it with whatever is best than I can find.

I'm going on a roadtrip with my son and mtbs to SD for some camping and riding in the Badlands and Black Hills in a few weeks, so want to have my Fat in good condition. I'm watching Ebay, but haven't seen anything that would be a perfect match yet.

Thanks again for the replies.
 
I love my Ringle stems as well, but is seems they are only good to look at! I have broken 2 face plates already...still have stem bodies sitting around with no plates. Neither of these were over torqued either. I think the cnc'd aluminum just gets brittle over the years. Unless I can track down another black face plate I am probably switching to Syncros.
 
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