This happened today at Seven Springs. My buddy went down on his side and it stripped the threads on his Sunline direct mount. He wasn't going fast or anything, so it;s strange that this happened. Has this happened to anyone else? He wants to call Sunline and see if they will send a replacement.
Broken Sunline Stem
- Thread starter eastcoastDH
- Start date
sorry for the bad pic. Yeah, the stem is bent where the faceplate attaches to the mount.
I have had the bolts seize in the stem before and destroy the threads on the way out but nothing like the bolts shearing off.
Based on your description, and the picture, you are saying that the right half of the stem was twisted clockwise as viewed from the top and at the same time the bolts holding the bar (lever) on that side were pulled from the stem?
The left side on the other hand did not bend, no bolts pulled out and it was actually attached to the crown...and this stem has a single faceplate completly tying the two halves of the stem together?
These two things are not possible concurrently so the pic or description must not be complete...
... so can you explain further what happened?
The left side on the other hand did not bend, no bolts pulled out and it was actually attached to the crown...and this stem has a single faceplate completly tying the two halves of the stem together?
These two things are not possible concurrently so the pic or description must not be complete...
... so can you explain further what happened?
Last edited:
So your saying your buddy crashed and something broke....that must be the manufactures fault....
Last edited:
Looks like the left side bent and the right bolt sheared. Did he use a torque wrench when he put it on?
What kind of crazy world do you live in where you use a torque wrench on your DH bike.
i really hope Sunline tell him to f*ck off! Seriously, you crash, you break stuff - SIUP
Quoted for truth. Often times, it seems riders have a sense of entitlement when they break something in regards to a replacement. Just because you broke it doesn't mean it was for sure a defect or design flaw.
hey man i was JRA and my stem broke
What bars are they? Did they bend?
Put your pitch forks away nubz, I've never seen a stem fail like that. If I were MR, I-Messed-Up-My-Stem I'd call Sunline too. You'd have to have torqued your bolts waaay out of spec for a stem failure of that kind to be expected.
I'm guessing the right side that attached to the crown folded inwards when he crashed in turn shearing the bolt. Strange the other size isn't mangled, but to say it's impossible with a pic right in front of you is taking the internet investigator role a bit too far.
I'm guessing the right side that attached to the crown folded inwards when he crashed in turn shearing the bolt. Strange the other size isn't mangled, but to say it's impossible with a pic right in front of you is taking the internet investigator role a bit too far.
With bars as wide as they are these days... That could be a lot of torque put on the stem in a crash.
But I crashed my KTM and bent a handlebar and the handlebar perches. Went to the store and bought new ones. I wonder how hard KTM would have laughed it I called them?
But I crashed my KTM and bent a handlebar and the handlebar perches. Went to the store and bought new ones. I wonder how hard KTM would have laughed it I called them?
I'd be inclined to chalk that up to the "It's a crash, stuff breaks" gods.
A JRA situation is one thing, but tilling the trails with 30"+ wide bars tends to result in part damage. It's one of the trade-offs with using a direct mount stem vs. a steerer mount.
A JRA situation is one thing, but tilling the trails with 30"+ wide bars tends to result in part damage. It's one of the trade-offs with using a direct mount stem vs. a steerer mount.
the bolt didnt shear, it pulled the threads out of the stem. Nothing else was broken, it just seemed kinda like a freak accident. If he called Sunline, the worst they could do is say no, so whats the harm in trying?
actually I think this happened to a guy at the ESC3 race a week ago. I think it was an answer stem though. Pulled the threads right out, bent his bar too.
stop buying disposable parts, specially for shock-load parts...
hussefelt stem ftw!
hussefelt stem ftw!
What's freak about having a crash on DH bike?
No harm in trying - it would however confirm your mate to be a bit of a d*ck though.
Now lets start a list of parts that you can call warranty on in a crash:
Frame
Fork
Bars
Stem
Rims
Hubs
Cranks
Pedals
Chain?
Spokes?
Anything else?
/crusade
Sunline stems are disposable parts?
everything on a DH bike is disposable
+1.
It's never the 4" drop off the curb that breaks your frame it's the big **** you hit on a regular basis. By the same token, it's probably not the easy digger that this guy took that wrecked his stem, it's all the other times he has crashed.
No one is at fault here - esp not Sunline IMO - hope your buddy is OK.
If you're not crashing, you're not trying hard enough.
I wonder how hard moto guys would laugh if they had to deal with some of the product failures DH-ers have to (don't make me make a list).
ALMOST everything.
They should design some kind of stem that mounts on the steerer tube so that it can rotate in a crash in order to avoid this problem. That would be sweet.
absolutely everything.
I don't know man, I've got some chainring bolts that have been kickin forever.
Rider included.
Saint cranks, hadley hubs aren't. 888's too....maybe. That's about it probably.
besides the owner´s bling-fetish, most of the time, parts in a downhill bike are replaced because they are worn/too expensive/not feasible to overhaul, rather than broken out of existance.
most frames most people i know, are replaced because the rider wants something new because the old frame is too scratched, or the bearings are shot, or the single-pivot/dw/vpp-flavor-of-the-month went out of fashion...
most frames, bars, stems, cranks, brakes... last well over 2 seasons for most riders (think how many 5yo bikes are still being ridden)
things like tires, brake pads, rims... and maybe shifters, derrailleurs and brake levers could be thought of as disposable, if you are a national-championship level rider, or a hack with a roling tab at the local hospital....
but stems, cranks, frames, shocks, seatposts certainly last, and should be designed and expected to last more than a few dozen of runs....
Last edited:
seen them all broken.
failure = any condition in which a part/component is non-functioning. so from a technical standpoint, wear & tear is a failure mode.
am not sold on that attitude.
people with too many mangled fingers and joints give the sport a bad name.
And? Broken /= disposable. Even a Honda civic engine will fail/break. That doesn't make them "disposable".
parts subject to replacement because of wear and tear over a few runs (tires, brake pads) = can be considered disposable.
parts subject to replacement to wear and tear over a few seasons = not disposable.
what? This is America. When stuff breaks we throw it out.
And a honda civic would get stolen before it had a chance to break.
nothing lasts a few seasons anymore. maybe profile cranks.
Many good points made. I guess its time for him to go shopping for a new stem.
My buddy just called. Sunline will give him 50% off on a new stem
There is no hurt in calling with a good attitiude. Ive sent lots of parts back to companies when I break them. Most of the time Im not looking for a replacement. Nothing bad can come from sending a broken part back. The said company sees the failure and can possible improve on the product. The only time I've demanded a new part was when my ****ty kingpin broke in half riding a berm on a bmx track.
Over half of their lineup doesnt live up to the hype. They were in the right place in the right moment but their bars used to bend, i know lots of people with destroyed stems (funny since nuke proof now orders the same catalog stem) and their reducer headset is the worst product I ever tried.