Opinions on Pivo/ Atax stems?
06-16-18, 01:36 PM
#1
Opinions on Pivo/ Atax stems?
Hey Everybody,
Does anyone have any thoughts to share regarding Pivo or Atax stems? They had kind of an interesting design, but some odd features; frankly, I'm not really sure what to make of them, whether using one would be a good idea, or whether it would be better to maybe use a similar modern stem (say, like a V.O. Gand Cru).
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Does anyone have any thoughts to share regarding Pivo or Atax stems? They had kind of an interesting design, but some odd features; frankly, I'm not really sure what to make of them, whether using one would be a good idea, or whether it would be better to maybe use a similar modern stem (say, like a V.O. Gand Cru).
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06-16-18, 01:50 PM
#2
Never heard anything wrong with Atax stems, I've owned and used a lot of Atax stems (Both aero and non-aero clamp styles) through the years and all of them had been strong and reliable. Never owned a Pivo, but I think it is not the one that was called the "death stem" from the 70's, (because of tendency to crack at the quill wedge split area.) I think that reputation was owned by the AVA stems....
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72 Line Seeker
83 Davidson Signature
84 Peugeot PSV
84 Peugeot PY10FC
84 Gitane Tour de France.
85 Vitus Plus Carbone 7
86 ALAN Record Carbonio
86 Medici Aerodynamic (Project)
88 Pinarello Montello
89 Bottecchia Professional Chorus SL
95 Trek 5500 OCLV (Project)
06-16-18, 02:09 PM
#3
Bad example
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I have found Pivo stems with cracks. The problem can happen any time the split in the stem has a square end. If you drill it so that the split ends in a circle, it will be much less likely to crack.
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06-16-18, 02:19 PM
#4
Hmmm... After reading this post on another forum:
https://www.gitaneusa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3346&sid=713f5cdb266082c0393d67ff15b58d1c
... I think I'll go with a more modern look-alike. I get the impression it would save a lot of (potentially dangerous) trouble.
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https://www.gitaneusa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3346&sid=713f5cdb266082c0393d67ff15b58d1c
... I think I'll go with a more modern look-alike. I get the impression it would save a lot of (potentially dangerous) trouble.
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Last edited by DIMcyclist; 06-16-18 at 03:23 PM.
06-16-18, 03:26 PM
#5
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Pivo is Russian, and other Slavic languages, for beer, so they have that going for it.
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06-16-18, 03:36 PM
#6
Polymultiplié
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Best to get a modern copy. And to be sure no one gets hurt, best send all those PIVOs and Philippes to me for proper disposal. 
06-17-18, 12:40 AM
#7
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I've owned both AVA and Pivo stems over the years and never had either break on me, but I've seen a few AVA stems that did fail. Never a Pivo though. Most I've run across were on Motobecane and Gitane bikes from the early to mid 70's. The two AVA stems I saw that failed broke off between the stem bolt and the bars, not at the usual point where it enters the fork tube.
06-17-18, 07:29 AM
#8
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Gonna do that with mine.
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06-17-18, 01:59 PM
#9
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Thats one thing I like about old Motobecane donor bikes. Often they will come with nice, forged, SR stems in French size.
