I recently discovered stress fractures in the armrest plate of my FSA clip-on aerobars (2-3 yrs old) and ordered an unused pair from a seller here in the classified ads. They arrived in factory-new condition. I noticed immediately that the plate (specifically where the screw holes are bored out) is noticably thicker in the newer armrests, possibly due to stress fractures being a recurring issue. When I mounted the armrests to the bars, the screws that came with the rests were identical in length to the old version (which was 2-3mm thinner), which made me wonder how secure the hold would be, considering the discrepancy between old and new screw depth.
I secured them tightly and took it out around the block to work the chain oil in before leaving for my ride. 2 minutes later, "SNAP" - off goes my left armrest, tumbling down the road. The two mounting screws pulled completely loose from the extension mounts, damaging the internal threads. Luckily I was at low speed & my forearm landed on the basebar, so no crash, but now I'm left with partially stripped screw holes that may require complete aerobar replacement.
I don't know if this is a factory problem that has been corrected, or an innocent error in the shipper sending me new rests with old screws not realizing there's a difference (although they both look unused, so I doubt they didn't accompany the rests). Either way, if you are replacing the armrests on your FSA aerobars and the screws -in either the 25mm or 12.5mm configuration- and the depth of the screw setting raises concerns, DO NOT assume it's secure enough: It's not, and it's extremely dangerous.
I'll contact FSA and see if this is a known problem that needs correction & pass along any information I receive.
The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W
I secured them tightly and took it out around the block to work the chain oil in before leaving for my ride. 2 minutes later, "SNAP" - off goes my left armrest, tumbling down the road. The two mounting screws pulled completely loose from the extension mounts, damaging the internal threads. Luckily I was at low speed & my forearm landed on the basebar, so no crash, but now I'm left with partially stripped screw holes that may require complete aerobar replacement.
I don't know if this is a factory problem that has been corrected, or an innocent error in the shipper sending me new rests with old screws not realizing there's a difference (although they both look unused, so I doubt they didn't accompany the rests). Either way, if you are replacing the armrests on your FSA aerobars and the screws -in either the 25mm or 12.5mm configuration- and the depth of the screw setting raises concerns, DO NOT assume it's secure enough: It's not, and it's extremely dangerous.
I'll contact FSA and see if this is a known problem that needs correction & pass along any information I receive.
The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W