I’ve been riding 2 different Velo Orange threadless 25.4 clamp stems for a while now and recently noticed hairline cracks adjacent to some of the face plate bolts. The shorter of the stems (90mm) only has 1 bolt with the mark, while my longer 120mm stem has a couple. I’m going to swap the two face plates since I’m not currently riding the 90 l but wanted to gauge how vulnerable my teeth are given this tiny crack. Upon inspection of the back of the face plate the crack doesn’t seem to be penetrating very deep. Could even maybe be just a manufacturing blemish? More pics in comments.
by Legitimate_Spinach_9
3 Comments
https://preview.redd.it/vr7wv9h8epgf1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3af3ee2ee77e0ac07847ecd377262e3c9a4863e3
Oh and yes I should buy a torque wrench or not be hulking on these things so hard.
5 Nm doesn’t feel like much, but multiplied across four bolts, it’s plenty.
That’s not a manufacturing blemish. That crack will continue to propagate with use, the risk being that your bars start slipping or break free. There’s no great way to forecast how much life is left, but I’d retire those face plates to be safe.