Just trying to lower my seat but I don’t have a single Allen wrench or screwdriver that fit well, and it’s almost too flush to grip and turn with pliers.
by cartoonboobs
Just trying to lower my seat but I don’t have a single Allen wrench or screwdriver that fit well, and it’s almost too flush to grip and turn with pliers.
by cartoonboobs
27 Comments
A screw extractor. Thing is stripped
6mm Allen wrench.
5mm Allen/hex key most likely! Looks quite rounded though. Probs best to got to your local bike shop, they should be able to help you
That looks super rounded to me. Unless someone more clever than me has a trick for removing rounded bolts, you might have to drill it out and replace it.
Gently hammer in a 6 mm hex Allen key. Just enough to get it in there a bit
A torx bit and a hammer
Should normally be a #5 Allen key but also it looks stripped as all get out so I’d either take it to a bike shop or pull out an extractor bit if you got it
Try 5mm hex and some tough plastic wrapper. Insert hex through plastic.
A drill..
Seriously though, if you can’t find an Allen key to fit because it’s rounded too much, you could try finding a torx bit that’s fractuonally large and hammering it in there.
Otherwise, drill time.
A rounded hex socket takes a rounded hex key… although it usually does not work…
You need a sacrificial Torx bit that’s slightly too large to fit that screw head. T30 or T35 should do the trick. I’d recommend a 1/4” hex bit that you can turn with a wrench or socket
Tap the bit into the head with a hammer and then turn to loosen
A drill, for starters.
Screw extractor
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M2-Steel-Screw-Extractor-Set-4-Piece-49-57-9001/325254980
It’s so perfectly damaged. Wonder what they were using as a tool. Thought this post was sarcasm @1st
You obviously need a round ballhead driver
It’s a 5mm Allen that’s stripped. You’ll need to drill it out and rethread it. You might be able to get it out with a really nice 5mm Allen key but it looks too late for that.
time machine
Maybe if its extruding out enough some needle nose pliers could get a good grip on it.
Lay the bike over flat. Give the outside of it a shot of WD-40, GT-85 – any sort of penetrant. Leave it for 30-60 mins. Another shot of WD-40. Get the pliers and see if it budges.
That bolt is cooked. If you have a Dremel or something similar, fix a cutting wheel and carve a line across the bolt’s head. That effectively turns the bolt into a flathead screw, so you can then use a flathead screwdriver turned counterclockwise to extract it.
That bolt/screw won’t be useable after making that cut, but it’s already stripped beyond repair so no big loss there. You can get a replacement for that bolt at any bike shop or hardware store. If you’re unsure of the threading or size, take the spent part with you when you go, but it’s most likely an M6 or M8: it’s a very common piece for all sorts of projects. You ought to be able to find a replacement in any number of sizes: since you already have the cutting wheel fitted, trimming the part down should be trivial.
The comments suggesting extracting the bolt using a torx bit are also totally valid, especially if you already have those bits and some kind of driver, but taking that route is not going to change the fact that the bolt is stripped and requires replacing.
Sometimes this works. Take a small piece of sandpaper, scrunch it up a few times so its flexible. Put sandpaper over the hole and insert the Alan wrench, don’t poke a hole in it you want it to take up the space in the stripped out hole.
Give it a turn. YMMV
hacksaw
a hacksaw, I think
Try the rubber band technique and see if you can grab it before anything else. Rubberband in the hole, stuff the wrench in and turn it. Youtube it also.
A drill w a sharp titanium but and drill that mfkr out
Left handed flat head turner
This is why you always use metric in your bike, not SAE tools.
Duct tape