in message <
[email protected]>, Richard Goodman
('
[email protected]') wrote:
> "Mark" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Attempted to raise the handlebars on my Galaxy last night, but didn't
>> do very well.
>>
>> Unscrewed the thread located in the stem until it was slack &
>> expected to
> be
>> able to just raise the handlebars, but they wouldn't move up or down.
> Wasn't
>> sure what else I could do, so gave up & put everything back as it
>> was.
>>
>> What was I doing wrong?
>
> Gave up too easily perhaps?
>
> The stem bolt pulls up a wedge that holds the stem in position -
> sometimes it needs a tap on the stem bolt to free it (don't unscrew
> the stem bolt
> completely). Also try squirting some WD40 or equivalent around the
> stem/steerer tube junction. A bit of tapping, squirting, twisting,
> and pulling should do it!
WARNING WARNING WARNING!
If it is a modern 'ahead' type stem this is _really_ bad advice!
An old style quill stem (which this will work with) comes out of the top
of the steerer tube and then has an acute angle to a near horizontal
section which goes forward to the bars. The bit that comes up out of
the steerer is the same piece of metal - usually the same casting - as
the bit that goes forward to the handlebars.
If you have a new style 'ahead' type stem - the stem clamps *around* the
top of the steerer tube - then normally you cannot adjust this for
height, unless there are spacers both below and above the stem. If
there are spacers, then you can remove the top-cap, remove the top
spacers, remove the stem, put them all back again in a suitable order,
tighten the top cap until there is no play in the headset bearing but
it still turns smoothly, then tighten the clamp bolts on the stem. It
is the clamp bolts, _not_ the top cap bolt, that hold this system
together so make sure you get them really tight. Some people even say
you should loosen the top cap bolt a bit once you have tightened the
clamp bolts.
If there are no spacers all you can do is fit a new stem with a
different angle. The fitting process is as outlined above, except that
you put the new stem on instead of the old one.
--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke)
http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
Ring of great evil
Small one casts it into flame
Bringing rise of Men ;; gonzoron
