Stuck Stem - opinions sought

[Ian Raleigh]

leave it all undone and loose, then ride down lots of winding big hills
guaranteed to work loose.....

Coffee all over me laptop

But that gives me a thought :!: :idea:

Why not fit a set of wheels - stick some bars in the stem - attach a front brake & lever and brake hard on & off whilst pushing the bike!

Might jar it loose!

 

[FINNEY1973]

Re:

yep, it's ali on ali and i'd summise that the stem was installed 30 years ago and hasn't been removed since. It really is unmarked, which is a bit of a wounder as it looks i'll be slicing it open and it'll be a sorry end for it.

It's been soaking in plusgas for 20 hours. It ain't budging, in fact the forks creak when put under load from twisting the handlebars. It's had a beating with a plank and a hammer, it just laughed at me!

As much as I would like to try more hardcore 'freezing' products, I think it's easier to just bite the bullet & sacrifice the stem. I am mindful of having 30 year old glue holding this all together - such a product could seriously undermine the integrity of the glue if the two do somehow come into contact with each other.

Bit of a sissy way out, but if I can have the frame / fork & save the headset for a different frame then i'll be happy. The stem wasn't a deal breaker when I bought the frame, just feels like sacrilage to destroy a component.

If this was a steel frame, or to be honest a standard ali frame, I'd be willing to open a can of whoopass on it, but this bonded tube arrangement doesn't feel like it can be abused to the same degree, it just feels more fragile if that makes sense?

 

[Ian Raleigh]

sell it and find another frame!

I'll get my coat................

Here's dangerous thought! What if you chop away the old stem and then you start cutting away
at the knackered stem and you saw into the alloy steerer tube and **** that up too, you got to be careful mate.

 

[FINNEY1973]

Could sell it but seriously, it is mint, it's not seen much of the road since it left the factory. I could just go full SR, it's the easiest option. Just need to put new rims on some hubs / polish out some scratched cranks and it would be done.

quandary- that leaves me with this box full of SSC stuff and Vitus / SSC just works - that would mean finding another frame and having two 979's. I suppose I could get a MK11?

Your right about fecking it up - that would be insult to bloody injury!!

 

[carlrh]

Try pouring coke down and leave it to soak for a couple of days may need to top it up. got a few seatpost and stems out this way.

 

[Ian Raleigh]

Try pouring coke down and leave it to soak for a couple of days may need to top it up. got a few seatpost and stems out this way.

Condom tie-wrapped around the headset should keep it in place and stop it coming off & leaking

Honest!

 

[FINNEY1973]

read about the coke option on a few internet sites, amazing a fizzy drink can do that to metal, even more amazing that people drink it in such quantities.

worth the 75p to give it a go, just need a bung for the stem bolt hole. A cut-down chop-stick should do the job.

Is that a whisky flavoured condom to go with the coke???

 

[mattr]

Coke, in an aluminium frame/steerer.

Hmmmmmm.

 

[keithglos]

Re:

When I was a retailer back in the 60/70s i used to clamp the suitably protected fork crown in a large wood working vice, to eliminate twisting the fork blades.

Keith

 

[Ian Raleigh]

Coke, in an aluminium frame/steerer. Hmmmmmm.

Coke only eats away at soft stuff! Coke is in an ally can so it can't be that bad :facepalm: