Hi, posting again with some pictures this time. I had someone help adjusting my handlebars after I screwed out this bolt. It was hit hard with a hammer a few times, however the handlebars couldn’t be adjusted apparently due to rust or siezing of some sort.
The problem is that this won’t screw back in, and is sitting loose, rattling around as I ride the bike. The bike is still held together and works even without the bolt, presumably due to the rust?
After the bolt is completely removed, there is no rattling at all in the bike.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you.
iHaveBadIdeas on
The wedge probably dropped. Pull the stem so you can reach the threads of the wedge to pull it out, then reassemble off the bike.
You don’t have to fully unthread these style of stem. Just loosen it a good bit, then tap it down to break the clamping force.
Wolfy35 on
That type of stem should have what’s commonly called an expander wedge at the end of the long bolt that goes down through it that can fall down the steerer tube if you remove the bolt. If this is the case turning the bike upside down and screwing the bolt into the wedge from the bottom then gently tapping it with a hammer might free it up and allow it to drop out of the steerer.
Just a word of caution though the expander wedge is usually steel and so is the fork so you may encounter rust issues unless it was greased before assembly if this is the case resist the temptation to hammer it harder you will instead need patience and some penetrating oil but no promises back in the days before threadless headsets I lost count of the number of forks I replaced because the expander wedge had rusted in place and couldn’t be freed.
3 Comments
Hi, posting again with some pictures this time. I had someone help adjusting my handlebars after I screwed out this bolt. It was hit hard with a hammer a few times, however the handlebars couldn’t be adjusted apparently due to rust or siezing of some sort.
The problem is that this won’t screw back in, and is sitting loose, rattling around as I ride the bike. The bike is still held together and works even without the bolt, presumably due to the rust?
After the bolt is completely removed, there is no rattling at all in the bike.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you.
The wedge probably dropped. Pull the stem so you can reach the threads of the wedge to pull it out, then reassemble off the bike.
You don’t have to fully unthread these style of stem. Just loosen it a good bit, then tap it down to break the clamping force.
That type of stem should have what’s commonly called an expander wedge at the end of the long bolt that goes down through it that can fall down the steerer tube if you remove the bolt. If this is the case turning the bike upside down and screwing the bolt into the wedge from the bottom then gently tapping it with a hammer might free it up and allow it to drop out of the steerer.
Just a word of caution though the expander wedge is usually steel and so is the fork so you may encounter rust issues unless it was greased before assembly if this is the case resist the temptation to hammer it harder you will instead need patience and some penetrating oil but no promises back in the days before threadless headsets I lost count of the number of forks I replaced because the expander wedge had rusted in place and couldn’t be freed.