Thomson bicycles and bicycle parts

The reports, as CPSC published them

1. No one hurt

   Made Mar 13, 2019 · , sent to the company Mar 20, 2019 · , published by CPSC Apr 24, 2019

   The product, in the report: Thomson bicycle components Elite X2 bicycle handlebar stem

   I was riding my bicycle with a Thompson Elite X2 handlebar stem installed. While going downhill the stem cracked causing my handlebars to pitch downwards and almost sending me over the bars. It was obviously very scary but even worse was when I talked to three mechanics at two different bike shops and they all said it was a problem with this model of stem. This is a high end $100 part that is critical to bike safety and mechanics are telling me that failures are not that uncommon, as opposed to other brands which they almost never see failures on.

   Model

   Elite X2 stem

   Where

   Danville, California: Street or Highway

   Who was involved

   Age 56, Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Self

   As this report names them

   Brand Thompson, made or sold by THOMSON BIKE PRODUCTS, INC.

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Incident, No Injury

2. No one hurt

   Made Apr 30, 2015 · , sent to the company Jun 17, 2015 · , published by CPSC Jul 16, 2015

   The product, in the report: Thomson X@ Elite Aluminum Stem

   Thomson x2 Elite stem cracked. Caught before ride fortunately. Failure of stem can result in crash and inability to stop or control bike

   Model

   X2 Elite aluminum

   Bought from

   Bicycle Therapy

   Bought

   Jan 1, 2007

   Where

   West Chester, Pennsylvania: Street or Highway

   Who was involved

   Age 54, Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Self

   As this report names them

   Brand Thomson, made or sold by THOMSON BIKE PRODUCTS, INC.

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Incident, No Injury

3. No one hurt

   Made Apr 3, 2014 · , sent to the company Apr 11, 2014 · , published by CPSC Apr 25, 2014

   The product, in the report: Thompson x2 carbon fiber bicycle stem

   I was riding my bicycle on a country road at about 18mph and hit a small seam in the road as it transitioned onto a bridge. The stem on the bicycle broke and caused me to lose control of the bicycle. However, I did manage to avoid a crash. After the incident, I took the bicycle to a repair shop and replaced the carbon fiber stem with an aluminum one. The bicycle mechanic told me that he had heard several reports of Thompson carbon fiber stems breaking. I called Thompson and was told to send the stem back for analysis, which I did in late August of 2013. I have heard nothing from Thompson to date concerning the analysis which it was to perform. Reproduced below is my letter to the manufacturer, which was enclosed with the stem I returned for analysis.

   [REDACTED] [REDACTED]

   Thomson 7800 NE Industrial Boulevard Macon, Ga 31216

   Gentlemen:

   Enclosed is a Thomson Elite X2 bicycle stem which broke on a recent ride. Fortunately, I was able to avoid a serious wreck as one side of the stem remained attached. This stem was installed on a [REDACTED] bike I purchased a little over 3 years ago. The stem that came on it was too long and I had this one installed instead when I had the bike fitted at a bicycle shop. The shop provided me with the following torque settings in case I needed to adjust the stem in the future: Steerer Tube-40 inch pounds; bar clamp--45 inch pounds. I purchased a torque wrench at the time, but have not had occasion to adjust the stem.

   I do almost all of my training rides on an older steel [REDACTED]. The odometer on the [REDACTED], which I installed after the bike was fitted, reads just over 2,000 miles. I have not replaced the tires on the [REDACTED] since buying it. They appear to have a good deal of wear left in them, although I have bought new tires to install before going to Colorado next month to ride in the mountains. I replaced the stem with an aluminum one at a cost of $48.70. Having had this experience with a carbon fiber stem, I do not want to take any chance of a recurrance, especially as I will be riding in the mountains in Colorado and New Mexico in late August and early September.

   Please advise me of what you believe caused the failure of the enclosed stem. At a minimum, I hope that any problems with these stems will be corrected so that others will not have the same experience.

   When I called to report this problem, I was offered a replacement stem. As I said then, I do not want a replacement stem. I will not be using another carbon fiber stem from any manufacturer. I would like a refund of the $48.70 expense incurred solely because of the untimely failure of this stem. I can be contacted at [REDACTED].

   Model

   X2

   UPC

   Unknown

   Serial number

   Unknown

   Bought from

   B&B Bicycles

   Where

   Midlothian, Texas: Street or Highway

   Who was involved

   Age 69, Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Self

   As this report names them

   Brand Thompson, made or sold by THOMSON BIKE PRODUCTS, INC.

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Incident, No Injury

4. No one hurt

   Made Nov 21, 2011 · , sent to the company Nov 29, 2011 · , published by CPSC Dec 13, 2011

   The product, in the report: Bicycle stem

   Around a year and a half ago, I purchased a Thomson Elite X2 road stem from TreeFort Bikes in Michigan. This stem is made from CNC’d aluminum. About a year later, while I was out of town and the bike was sitting in my empty apartment on the stand, both handlebar retaining collars on the aluminum faceplate, cracked and broke. When I returned from my trip, I removed the bike from the stand to go for a ride. The aero bars flopped straight down, so I placed the bike back on the stand to have a look.

   I can provide pictures of the broken faceplate. Those handlebar retaining collars are too weak, have a and should be redesigned. Perhaps there was also a bad batch of aluminum, but this should never happen. Imagine the results of this if I had been descending a hill at 40+mph.

   I was disappointed in this stem, as I had believed in the reputation of Thomson to be very good in designing and building quality bike components that didn’t break.

   I was further disappointed in the fact that despite three attempts via e-mail to call this to the attention of someone at Thomson, I did not even receive a reply to my e-mail, although their contact webpage reaction indicated that my message had been received.

   I have since switched to a forged Origin8 stem with no problems.

   There are numerous other reports of the same thing happening to other people in various bike forums online. Some examples:

   http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-458531.html

   http://forums.roadbikereview.com/general-cycling-discussion/thomson-x2-stem-197085.html

   What is incredible in my case, is the unwillingness of the company to even acknowledge my e-mails. It seems as though they are building a case for deniability.

   Model

   Elite X2 Stem

   UPC

   unknown

   Serial number

   unknown

   Bought from

   Tree Fort Bikes

   Bought

   Feb 17, 2010

   Where

   New York, New York: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Unspecified

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Self

   As this report names them

   Brand Thomson, made or sold by THOMSON BIKE PRODUCTS, INC.

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Incident, No Injury

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources