Let me preface this by saying I know very little about bikes. The other night, someone unscrewed and stole the front basket from my bike, after they did this the steering wheel was completely loose (horizontally). I tried tightening things up, but this long screw doesnt seem to be attached to anything. I tried looking down the hole and turning the bike upside down to see if something would fall out. Am I missing a piece here or something, does anyone know what it might be?
Dropbars59 on
Take it to the shop.
azbod2 on
take the stem out, use the bolt to fish around in the fork to screw into the expander bolt that has come out. Assemble the stem/bolt/expander bolt loosely before refitting.
it probably looks like this, it could have fallen out but is likely still in the fork/
psychopastry on
Remove the front wheel & mudguard; then turn the bike upside down and look inside the fork – the cone/wedge that the quill bolt (that’s the name of the long threaded bolt you have there) threads into has likely dropped down into the fork and gotten stuck out of reach/at an angle. If you see it in there just gently tap it loose using the quill bolt and a mallet.
Once it’s free it may be a bit of a fiddle but if you can manoeuvre the cone/wedge back into position and keep it there you’ll be able to thread the quill bolt back in – if you haven’t got a stand then having an extra pair of hands will make things a lot easier
PianistPopular6877 on
There is a threaded wedge which should be on the bottom of the bolt. You wouldn’t usually unscrew the bolt from it completely, so now the wedge has dropped beyond the reach of the screw. I doubt it’s fallen out the bottom, I think your front fender would obstruct it’s exit. Pull out the quill stem and handle bar combo. Turn the bike upside down and hopefully it will fall out with a shake, or tap. Screw it back onto the bolt, don’t tighten it at all until the stem and bars are back into position. Then tighten it down. Hope this helps!
Invasive-farmer on
I would try dropping the stem down as far as could be in hopes that the bolt could then reach the part that fell down.
Maybe I’m wrong but I’m surprised it wasn’t mentioned.
I guess I’ll find out if I’m downvoted for this thinking
PianistPopular6877 on
When I come to power, the penalty for bike thievery will be severe, garden tool induced genital mutilation.
bbiker3 on
I only see that this bike is equipped with a handle bar.
8 Comments
Let me preface this by saying I know very little about bikes. The other night, someone unscrewed and stole the front basket from my bike, after they did this the steering wheel was completely loose (horizontally). I tried tightening things up, but this long screw doesnt seem to be attached to anything. I tried looking down the hole and turning the bike upside down to see if something would fall out. Am I missing a piece here or something, does anyone know what it might be?
Take it to the shop.
take the stem out, use the bolt to fish around in the fork to screw into the expander bolt that has come out. Assemble the stem/bolt/expander bolt loosely before refitting.
[https://citybikegear.com/en/headsets/7632-expander-bolt-bike-handlebar-stem-222mm.html](https://citybikegear.com/en/headsets/7632-expander-bolt-bike-handlebar-stem-222mm.html)
it probably looks like this, it could have fallen out but is likely still in the fork/
Remove the front wheel & mudguard; then turn the bike upside down and look inside the fork – the cone/wedge that the quill bolt (that’s the name of the long threaded bolt you have there) threads into has likely dropped down into the fork and gotten stuck out of reach/at an angle. If you see it in there just gently tap it loose using the quill bolt and a mallet.
Once it’s free it may be a bit of a fiddle but if you can manoeuvre the cone/wedge back into position and keep it there you’ll be able to thread the quill bolt back in – if you haven’t got a stand then having an extra pair of hands will make things a lot easier
There is a threaded wedge which should be on the bottom of the bolt. You wouldn’t usually unscrew the bolt from it completely, so now the wedge has dropped beyond the reach of the screw. I doubt it’s fallen out the bottom, I think your front fender would obstruct it’s exit. Pull out the quill stem and handle bar combo. Turn the bike upside down and hopefully it will fall out with a shake, or tap. Screw it back onto the bolt, don’t tighten it at all until the stem and bars are back into position. Then tighten it down. Hope this helps!
I would try dropping the stem down as far as could be in hopes that the bolt could then reach the part that fell down.
Maybe I’m wrong but I’m surprised it wasn’t mentioned.
I guess I’ll find out if I’m downvoted for this thinking
When I come to power, the penalty for bike thievery will be severe, garden tool induced genital mutilation.
I only see that this bike is equipped with a handle bar.