Originally Posted by
rm -rf
Around 2014, there was a page on BianchiUSA.com, about steerer damage from incorrectly installed stems. It appears to be gone from the internet, but a couple of the images are in this old post I did:
https://www.bikeforums.net/21006763-post22.html
There's a "not damaged" photo, and a "steerer tube damaged" one, and an extremely crushed image, too.
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Steerers are quite strong. Even the short, cutoff end after I shortened my steerer was sturdy.
I wouldn't worry about surface damage, but I'd be concerned about crushing extending farther into the layers, especially if it's been ridden at lot over rough surfaces with an incorrectly tightened stem. I could expect the damage to get worse over time.
Those green arrow scrapes seem to be on the surface?
The green arrows point to the issue in question. In fact, it's the bottom arrow that's most concerning, as there's definitely a ridge that can be felt.
This particular stem is new to the bike, as I decided to go a little more stretched out and aero. More saddle time in CA means more flexibility, and the 100mm stem was starting to feel a little cramped. I'll take a picture of the old stem when I go out to the garage later. Not exactly the same, but still a two bolt clamp with opposed bolts.
The frame and fork have just over 5.1k miles on them (about 1.6k between July and Dec of last year). Definitely getting a lot of use recently.