I do appreciate I've messed up a bit here, so would appreciate any help
Essentially, I found myself with a rounded top cap bolt. It's a light weight climbing bike so I presume it was made out of something soft and light. I don't recall over torq-ing it but here we are.
Tried better hex keys, hammering in a torx bit (couldn't seem to get it to grip/stay) and even an easy out. It all just seemed to round it even further.
Finally went with nuclear option and drilled out out thinking I could grab the remaining bolt with some fine grips and unthread it.
Unfortunately I've now found myself with the remainder of the bolt in the carbon steerer expanding system and no way to get any purchase to unthread. I know these can be released but would need access to the threaded hole in the middle. Genuinely don't know what to do …
Thanks for any help … (yes, I know I'm an idiot)
by j3ffdoran
2 Comments
You’re alright! We’ve all done it. Just go to your local hardware store and pick up a bolt extractor bit and follow the instructions. They’re designed to bite into the metal as you twist left.
As someone else said, you could try a bolt extractor, but if that doesn’t work, I’d say drill out the entire centre of the expansion plug, bolt and all, and then just buy a new plug. That’s a last resort, of course. Hopefully the extractor works or someone else can suggest other things to try.