New Cinelli 1A stem bought on ebay a fake?

[janus77]

So my new 70mm 1A stem just arrived. The Cinelli logo stamped on the top is half arsed, basicall the side of the "C" is missing, and the two L's have kinda fudged together.

Also, the vertical part of the stem has a weird abnormality, in that about 1/4 of the way down from the top, there are some slight lumps in the length of it, not totally straight.

Other than that it looks ok..

Is this normal?

J

[janus77]

upside down, bit hard to see..

[Mulger bill]

I don't know Cinelli well enough for a definitive answer Janus, but I'd guess their QC blokes wouldn't put that dodgy stamping in a box

Maybe they sell their factory seconds to Asian resellers but it wouldn't be good advertising for the brand.

Shaun

[kukamunga]

Uh.... where's the quill?

[familyguy]

Uh.... where's the quill?

Wedge stem??

Jim

[kukamunga]

Uh.... where's the quill?

Wedge stem??

Jim

And wedge they certainly do....

[munga]

they're ok if you remember to grease them before you fit them up the first time. I bought an old frame with a cinelli wedge stem and it came out first go, no dramas at all. the thing was covered in nice thick white grease tho

[kukamunga]

It looks like a 'expander' stem. According to Sheldon, expander type stems:-

"Are less likely to damage the steerer if overtightened"

Surely this statement is incorrect, isn't it? I've seen numerous steerers damaged by overtightened expander nuts, but not by wedges. Anyone else care to comment? (Sorry Janus, for hijacking your thread)(By the way, your first name isn't Hugh is it?)

[singletracking]

I'll check my 1As - I don't think that they have the length cast in the little circle like your picture shows? I could be totally wrong though.

[singlespeedscott]

That 1A looks fine to me. It is definitely a newer one with the newer stamping and the length stamped on the stem. As for the letters missing on the top of the quill, you have to remember they where made in Italy and Italian ideals of quality assurance are not as high as those of the Japanese. The Italians are more about style than substance .

[janus77]

thanks All.. just have to get it on the bike now

[rogerrabbit]

It looks genuine to me. The quality of the Cinelli stamping is "variable" at best.

Cheers
Roger

[janus77]

Few more interesting points of difference on this stem.

1. the Bolt for the bar clamp didn't fit in front on, (there was not enough diameter drilled out of the hole for the outer part of the bolt to slide into, so it's sitting in backwards now..

2. There are no filings on the inside of the clamp, it is smooth all the way around.

3. The bar clamp part looks different to the other 1a, in that the 2 sides come together parallel, whereas my other 1a they are slightly angled..

hmmm.. bike shop guy reckoned it could be a dodgy too.. interesting.

[familyguy]

Few more interesting points of difference on this stem.

1. the Bolt for the bar clamp didn't fit in front on, (there was not enough diameter drilled out of the hole for the outer part of the bolt to slide into, so it's sitting in backwards now..

I thought that was to hide the bolt head from view and clean the look of it up? In your pic the head is facing the back. Is it still like this?

2. There are no filings on the inside of the clamp, it is smooth all the way around.

I cant vouch for all Cinelli's, but most of my quill stems are smooth inside the clamp area. Only one is grooved.

EDIT: Just looked at three 1A's on the web. One is grooved. 2 are not. Maybe they didnt do them all? How many 'fakes' could there be otherwise?!

3. The bar clamp part looks different to the other 1a, in that the 2 sides come together parallel, whereas my other 1a they are slightly angled..

Maybe that just means your bars are larger and the faces dont close up as far when you tighten it?

hmmm.. bike shop guy reckoned it could be a dodgy too.. interesting.

Do you think he's right? If you paid bugger all for it, then dont worry.

Jim

[janus77]

Thanks Jim.. I'm not worried about it, just more interested.. for $40 plus delivery, I'm happy with the product.

On the bolt question, what I mean is that the allen key bolt part has to face forward (so the smooth head sits out of view), the other way around doesn't fit.

Bike's a bit more jumpy with the shorter stem, will take a ride to get used to it I think, then 3ks to work aint enough.

[rogerrabbit]

I recall having the allen key bolt on the front on some. Perhaps the bolt is not original?

Also, are the bars 26.0 or 26.4? run a tape around them and devide by pi.

You may have a 26mm bar in a 26.4 stem.

Cheers
Roger

[janus77]

well the bars are Cinelli Criterium, so I'd assume they're 26.4?