Hi everyone! I just bought my first road bike off some guy on craigslist and despite all the components being newish, it still has one major problem: the handlebar stem is stuck to the frame. I've loosened the threaded bolt, so I know that it nor the wedge is the problem. I took it to my lbs for their advice and all the could do it hit it with a hammer to loosen it and put some liquid wrench in it. Is there anything else I can do to help get them unstuck or am I stuck with my handlebars being too low? Thanks!
Road Cycling · Public discussion
New bike problems
This thread is locked and is currently read-only.
Thread navigation
Jump through the discussion
Go to the original post, the replies on this page, or the latest preserved contribution.
Thread details
What we know about this thread
- Original section
- Road Cycling
- Published
- 29 July 2012
- Last activity
- 30 July 2012
- Original author
- rower12
- Posts
- 7
- Discussion status
- Public discussion
- Total views
- 961
- Views / 30 days
- 0
The navigation and discussion metadata provide context. Posts remain in their original chronological order.
-
-
Are you looking to keep the stem or are you looking to upgrade?
If you are looking to upgrade and get a new stem, you might be able to heat up the stem with a butane torch and possibly heat up what is holding it still to the point of it breaking free.
I am new to cycling, so don't take this advice and run with it, but If I had two pieces stuck like that, I think that would be my way of trying to get them apart.
-
I have heard of the wedge getting stuck due to corrosion but never the stem getting stuck. I think that you are pretty much stuck with soaking it for a couple of days with a good penetrating oil like WD-40 and tapping it with a hammer. Beyond that, you can cut the knuckle of the stem off, remove the forks with the stem still stuck in the steerer tube, and then pop the stem out from the bottom with a bar. You can find a new stem on eBay fairly easily or purchase one of the threadless headset conversions. If none of these are viable options for you, then I guess that you are stuck with a bike with the handlebars too low. You could get used to riding in an extreme aero posistion.
Most bikes except for the cheapest big box store bikes had alloy stems in them with a steel wedge. It is very rare that the alloy stem would stick due to corrosion however the wedge often did. If the wedge is loose but the stem is still stuck, I think that you have more going on than a stem rusted into the steerer tube. If you do get it fixed, let us know what it was.
-
How about posting a pic so that we can see what kind of stem you have?
-
If it's possible, I would like to keep the same stem. Currently, the bike is soaking in a combination of vinegar and WD-40. Here's a few pictures of the stem area.[IMG]cyclingforums.com700Open ↗[/IMG]
[IMG]cyclingforums.com700Open ↗[/IMG]
-
I tried posting the pictures here directly but it didn't work, so here's a link to an album of them on Imgur. http://imgur.com/a/pHypS
If possible, I'd like to save the stem but if I have to destroy it; I will. Currently the bike is upside down with the stem filled with a mixture of vinegar and WD-40 with a hammer coming to it in a few days. Thanks for all the help! -
The stem's already pretty much bottomed out. I'd suggest putting a 2x4 under the stem and whacking the 2x4 from underneath with a BFH (big farkin' hammer.......maybe a 1 or 2 pound sledge, even). Where the stem is now, it's not going to help whacking down on the stem. Make sure the bolt at the back of the stem is completely loose before whacking starts.
Active in the last 60 minutes
Active in this thread
0 users · 0 guests ·0 bots ·0 total
No signed-in users are active right now.
No known search crawlers active right now.