jyl

A friend bought a used Santana tandem and discovered the expander wedge from the quill stem is stuck at the bottom of the fork steerer tube. The stem can be removed, but the wedge remains jammed in the tube. The fork crown does not have a hole in the bottom, through which the wedge might be tapped out.

The bike is at a bike shop getting an overhaul and having this issue dealt with. I was chatting with one of the mechanics about how they were going to extract the wedge. My suggestion was: remove the stem, place a wood block on top of the headset lock nut, drill a hole in that block to fit a quill stem expander bolt, place some fender washers over the hole, put a suitable length expander bolt through the block, thread it into the wedge, and tighten the bolt to extract the wedge.

Make sense? Any chance of damaging something? Would it be better to first remove the fork from the frame, as they'll do to overhaul the headset bearings anyway?

CliffordK

I'd probably go ahead and remove the fork.

The first attempt might be to simply invert the fork, and try to fish the wedge out with a spoke.

You could try to thread a bolt onto the wedge, but you might need a longer than average stem bolt. Still, something could be improvised.

Probably not a lot you can damage as long as you resist the urge to do a lot of pounding.

jyl

Thanks. It is a small frame, about a 52 cm, so the head tube is short. The previous owner installed an extremely tall stem, pushed it all the way down into the steerer, got the wedge stuck in the butted part of the steerer . . . and there is still at least 6" of stem exposed above the locknut. So, the shop will be able to find a suitable quill bolt. If fishing doesn't work.

drstack

Could you obtain a long piece of threaded rod (allthread) of the proper size, thread it into the wedge, and on the long exposed length, slip a length of slightly larger inner-diameter pipe on, then put a large outer diameter washer and a nut on the top of the rod? I'm envisioning a home-made slide hammer that could be used to pull the wedge up and out of the steerer tube...


r/
Dave

wschruba

As above. If it is stuck, thread a long bolt into it, and use a slide hammer.

There are even attachments for slide hammers that allow you to replace the threaded portion of a vise-grip, for strange cases like this.

Andrew R Stewart 

That the steerer has a closed up bottom is a strong reason the wedge is corroded in place, no drain for water to go so it just puddles in the steerer. Really bad design IMO.


If this were my bike (and knowing that I have a lot of experience in frame work) I would consider doing something about this block steerer bottom. Maybe drill a hole through the steerer's plug (it sounds like a round plate of steel was brazed over the almost always open steerer bottom) and through this use a punch to impact the wedge.


But if the OP were to be (and I know that's not the case) the original owner might want to contact Santana for their help before anything was done to void a warranty.


The more info I'd want to have before I decided what to do is if the wedge threading is still in good shape. Is the wedge jammed against the steerer's butt. Is the wedge AL and the fork steel (in which case chemical dissolving of the wedge is the least harmful method). Andy.

dsbrantjr

Best not to repeat the mistake, since if the wedge is expanded in the tapered portion of the steerer it can come loose without warning; having the bars come off in your hands is only funny in cartoons.

gsa103

See Sheldon (near the bottom) for a detailed explanation of what happened.
Hands Up (Or Down)! Adjusting Handlebar Stem Height on Your Bicycle

You could thread the stem back in loosely, just enough to get a few threads engaged, but not actually expanded. Then turn the bike upside down and give the stem a firm whack to knock it out.
Beyond that use some threaded rod, some washers, and a nut to pull it out.

richart

If any rust is involved, I would sure soak it a day or two in Kroil before doing anything else. Jyl's idea of using a bolt and block of wood is a good start. Instead of wood I have a 1/4" thick piece of aluminum plate with a hole drilled in it to pass the bolt. I have found wood to be too soft to deal with the pressures involved.

On really stuck ones I have also used heat from a propane torch (ONLY on steel steerers) to help after removing the fork from the bike.

And if there is no drain hole in the bottom...I would certainly drill a small one.

dedhed

That's what I would do - drill a 1/4 or 3/8 hole in the bottom of the fork crown and use a piece of round bar stock to drive the wedge out with plenty of PB or Kroil

dsbrantjr

Don't neglect to paint the raw edges of the hole to help prevent rusting.

CliffordK

Can you get the stem bolt threaded back in?
It sounds like it is plenty long, but the wedge may be quite stuck.

If you have enough threads on the stem bolt, you could tighten it down against the bottom of the steerer, although expect to damage a few threads.

With a lot of extra bolt sticking out, you could also come up with numerous possible slide hammers. Maybe a large adjustable wrench. Or simply make a small one out of a piece of heavy plate steel or bar stock, and drill for your stem bolt.

Yan 

Bringing back an old thread to add some information for future reference:

This worked for me. Did not need to purchase a slide hammer.

Moe Zhoost

If it's jammed at the bottom of the steerer tube, is there enough room to install another stem with a new wedge?

fietsbob

+ there is a butt at the bottom of the steerer ? it may have jammed into that ID reduction, being cut short..

once the fork is out put the quill bolt back in, without the stem , screw it in , to the wedge, again

put a fender-washer or 2 across the end of the fork steerer*, for the bolt to pull against..

*Add a sawn off piece of steel tube, etc.. then lots of pulling force can be applied..
as you continue to turn the bolt.. with greased threads..








...

mixteup

Another way, if you don't have an actual slide hammer, is to thread the bolt back into the wedge, clamp a big adjustable wrench tightly on the bolt shank, under the bolt head, and give the wrench a good upward / outward belt with a hammer, close to the bolt - That should pull it .

velojym

When I mounted my quill/threadless adapter today, the old wedge stayed stuck down in the bottom of the steerer. As the adapter is considerably shorter, I was able to bottom it out and tighten it without pulling the old wedge out.
I figure it makes the bike a few grams heavier, but at the moment, not worth the effort to remove... just yet.
If I do anything to 'improve' this bike, a new fork might be in order anyway. (C'dale M500)