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Today on my 2018 Pegasus Solero the adjustable stem broke. Probably due to overtightening of the righthand screw the nut at the left side of the stem tore free (see images).

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enter image description here

The question is, whether I need to replace the whole stem or if there's a chance to buy only the nut somewhere. Also, how can I prevent this from happening again?

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  • Have you tried contacting Pegasus or the bike shop to find out if its covered by warranty ?
    – Criggie ♦
    Feb 11, 2020 at 19:09
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    @Criggie I am planning to do so, but I don't expect much beyond "yeah, happens, sorry, we don't cover it".
    – Erik
    Feb 11, 2020 at 19:40
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    Depends on how elegant you want to be. You should be able to find a replacement bolt at a hardware store, if you don't care how ugly it is.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Feb 11, 2020 at 21:16
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    I wouldn't really expect them to cover you either. Many components have a max torque specification but a) I doubt you used a torque wrench, b) even if you did, the store has no way to know that you stayed within the torque limit, and c) maybe there isn't even a torque specification for this stem! In any case, I agree with @Criggie that you should switch to a traditional stem. The adjustment mechanism is one more point where the stem could fail.
    – Weiwen Ng
    Feb 11, 2020 at 21:16

1 Answer 1

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I'd call that part garbage, sorry. You've overtightened it enough to tear apart the metal, and that toothed flange is probably custom.

I would suggest replacing the whole unit with a different brand. The one pictured APPEARS to be a threadless stem, but with the steerer clamp down below and the hinge/knuckle up on top somehow. This is quite unusual.

Now that you know what kind of angle/length you prefer on your stem, consider purchasing one that fits those specs.

A conventional non-adjustable stem might look more like this:

enter image description here

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    Btw, using a non-adjustable stem is a really, really good idea. It's just so much less likely to fail you. The stem is both a part that's under a lot of changing stress, and that can lead to bad accidents when it fails you. Better safe than sorry.
    – cmaster - reinstate monica
    Feb 11, 2020 at 21:30
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    My stem is pointing downwards because the screw doesn't fixate it anymore. Normally it looked "as usual". Since this is the second adjustable stem (on different bikes) which broke, I guess I should follow your advice and get a non-adjustable one.
    – Erik
    Feb 12, 2020 at 8:35
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    Also in case people have trouble finding stems with such big angles, you can look for trials biking stems. They're pretty standard for such lengths.
    – abdnChap
    Feb 12, 2020 at 11:51
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    @abdnChap good point. I've also made use of a tandem stoker's stem for odd uses, they are length adjustable but not angle.
    – Criggie ♦
    Feb 12, 2020 at 18:37
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    So, via my local bikestore I ordered a new, non-adjustable stem. Let's hope the riding position wont change that much. Oh, and that they have those caps which come on top of the stem in storage, forgot to order one of these.
    – Erik
    Feb 17, 2020 at 9:15

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