I stopped by Storm Endurance Sports today to replace some worn out Magura brake rotors and pads when I got some bad news about my Thomson Elite X4 stem.  My ace mechanic found substantial cracks on both sides of the upper clamp section of my Elite X4 – see photos.

This shows how tuff our 29eronline testers are on the equipment.  I have broken a few frames in my time but this is my first stem.

I just browsed through Thomson’s web site – I could not find anything about a warrantee but they did say that their stems are the industry’s strongest and in fact they state that the X4 stem is so strong that it is rated for use on Free Ride & Downhill bikes.  We are not talking about a cheap Chinese made component here; this is supposed to be best available stuff.

So how the heck can a light weight 140 lbs cross country rider break it?  I don’t know but I will have to shell out some serious green to replace it.

This goes to show you that even the best stuff needs close inspections on a regular bases – you don’t want to be the guy in the TV commercial that is hammering down the mountain and his front wheel comes off and he has to ride downhill  on one wheel.  Make sure that you do a crack check several times a year and you might save yourself some serious pain!EDIT: Most manufacturers suggest checking before every ride! Please be safe.