mystery syncros part.....

[syncrosfiend]

hello all,


these came my way in a lot of syncros stuff from a dealer in vancouver BC.

every single person who i've shown them to, who i'd thought might know what they are, said they were top caps. they are not.

the top cap theory seems silly as they are steel (why not use aluminium?) and on the heavy side. not very practical.

AND this is not stainless, so even IF syncros wanted to make a very long lasting cap, the conditions on the north shore would have rusted these up in a second.

the portion that would end up _inside_ of the steerer is a smaller diameter than the ID of a 1" and 1 1/8th" fork with either a steel or aluminium steerer.

also, consider that syncros made no stems (i'm talking the REAL syncros brand here) with a flat top. they were all slanted tops to accommodate the
bi-axially ovalized stem extension.

one last thing, there is no recess for the bolt. seems quite cheap and junky to have that bolt sticking up on there like that. one has marks showing that perhaps some genius already tried to use it as a top cap.

my best guess would be that they are a tool. for what, i can't be sure. the hole is too small for a crank bolt or crank-o-matic bolt.

if i had to guess, they are the tools to install the Syncros New Star Fangled Nut. a _very_ smart piece that was included with the hinged mountain stems. it replaced the traditional star nut and replaced it with a plug that could be removed and installed by hand. amazing bit of work by syncros.

here's pics of Syncros' New Star Fangled Nut.....

the core is a made of a keyed barrel that's tapered.

this fits inside of a fitting that is tapered internally to match the core.

these two than fit inside of rings that are sized to the inside diameter of an alu steerer that's either 1 inch or 1 and 1/8th.

the top cap bolt then pulls the center and the two rings expand and anchor the steerer to the top cap.



this is just a guess. anyone know what these are actually for?









.

 

[Kneedowndean]

Look a bit like bar end plugs to me....Syncros Butz Plugs? They are refered to in my 1994 Syncros Pro bars. Never actually seen them though, but they look real similar to my X Lite bar plugs.

 

[gump]

nope.

But I am thinking tool also.
How are they sized for BB bearings?

The knurl is odd too, why? suggests you need to turn it.

Good question.. :?

 

[syncrosfiend]

Kneedowndean....a bar plug with a bolt head sticking out like that? maybe not.




gump.....i've got a bottom bracket i put it too. it doesn't seem to fit anywhere.

even if it did fit the bearings, the hole is too small for the spindle.

if it's knurled for turning by hand, then it must be for something small.


the other thing is, look how deeply it's recessed on the back side. as if it' to draw something up inside? or clearance for something?

i wonder if there is a missing piece to the tool?


i'm trying to think about a component that would need something like this.....

 

[harryhood]

Starfangled nut driver?

 

[neilll]

The bottom ones were called 'Wedge Loc' and did indeed replace star fangled nuts

 

[development_cycle]

My guess would be that it is a tool related to that start fangled thing, afterall, it's design suggests that something goes up inside the tool, and is then turned, which would correspond with the design of the start fangled thingy, as one piece goes inside another, and then needs to be turned to locate the pin in the slot. It probably used the bolt that then went into the top cap.

Just supporting your original thoughts. I would expect that they might have come in the packaging with the actual product though??

 

[Corduroyboy]

They are for removing an already installed star-fangled nut**, so that the Syncros device can be installed. It goes in place of the top cap, a bolt is then screwed into the star-fangled nut and the bolt tightened until the s-f nut is drawn into the recess of the 'Star-fangled Trasher' (TM)* and then simply slips out of the steerer.

* Name made up

** In fact, this is all made up, but I'll put a fiver on it being true!

 

[one-eyed_jim]

if i had to guess, they are the tools to install the Syncros New Star Fangled Nut. a _very_ smart piece that was included with the hinged mountain stems. it replaced the traditional star nut and replaced it with a plug that could be removed and installed by hand.

Good guess. I've just dug out the documentation that came with an old Syncros Cattlehead stem, and that is indeed a "Wedge Lock Installation Tool". I didn't get one with my stem - I guess they were a shop item.

I'll try to scan the instruction sheet later when I have a moment. The gist of it is that you apply Loctite to the outer collar of the Wedge Lock, then use this tool to set it in the steerer. When the Loctite is dry you use it just like a conventional star-fangled nut.

 

[syncrosfiend]

harryhood.......but why make a driver if they already made their own replacements for the traditional star nut?



neilll....yeah......i've seen it listed as the wedge loc and in later catalogs the new start fangled nut.



development_cycle......you don't need to locate the pin in the slot as that part is a one piece design. i just took it apart for illustration.

in reality, flipping the part over reveals it's all held together by a spring steel plate. again, smart so that it doesn't come apart when trying to install or remove.

i'd suspect this was a tool available to shops.




Corduroyboy....i'd bet it's not the case. removing a star with this tool would do two things.....

1. mar the tool. as you can see one of them is already. it looks as syncros made no provision to have a bolt sit up there AND take on a huge load. the load required to extract a star nut from the top of the steerer is quite large.

2. i'd be the bolt would bind on this cap and cause the cap to spin. a knurled edge and a bare hand isn't hardly enough to retain such force.

syncros' designs never were never ham-fisted in their approach. i'd bet the other way on this one.



i hit the reply button about 7 hours ago......but in that time......


i looked through one of the original instruction manuals and found this.....check out step 4....i need to find the drawings but that seems to make some sense.

also...in the pic above....the middle one is smaller.....not for 1" but for removal.....


so.....here is the core once again.....

here's the core with one of the rings.....

the larger tool is sized to contact the ring and not the core. so it would make sense that this is for install.

the smaller one is sized to contact the core. this would require a push or tap with a mallet from the top of the tool that would both release the pressure from the wedge on the inner ring AND separate the inner from the outer ring.

and you can't use the smaller of the two for install since it only contacts the core.....the friction between the outer outer ring and the steerer would cause the outer ring to slip up off the core as you push down for install.....like this.....

this seems to make a decent amount of sense.......