03/09/2026
This steerer tube had suffered some nasty damage because the stem was positioned too high and wasn’t clamping along its full intended length.
Instead of distributing the load evenly, the lower front edge of the stem was digging directly into the carbon steerer. Under braking and front-end loading, this concentrated pressure caused a deep horizontal crack through the underlying carbon laminate.
The next stage from here would not have been pretty.
Fortunately, we caught the damage while the frame was in our workshop for an unrelated repair. Thoroughly checking these critical areas is simply part of the service we provide—and part of what sets Carbon Bike Doctor apart.
This timely inspection may have prevented a catastrophic failure.