quill stem problems

[troy_e]

I wanted to lower my stem so I loosened the bolt and gave it a little tap to loosen the wedge as per Sheldon Brown's instructions. The stem is still immobile, and what's worse is that the bolt now just slides in and spins freely without threading on to anything.

Any heads up on what the problem might be and how to fix it will be much appreciated.

T

 

[hamster]

Reattaching the wedge is easy: push it back up from the bottom. What is more worrying is a stuck stem. I would attach the stem bolt from the bottom, pull out the wedge from the bottom. Then feed in plenty of PlusGas to help the stem to loosen. This can become an awful job next: use old steel bars in the stem to try and break the bond with the steerer. Brute force, boiling water and more brute force all have their place.

 

[troy_e]

cheers, it's all sorted now. brute force was indeed the answer.