JohnnyDM

Good Morning all,


I was wondering if you could help me at all, I'm pretty useless at maintenance I won't lie I've been looking for a course to learn first hand but COVID has blocked my progress in this area a little!


I've got a condition called hyper mobility which affects my shoulders so I can't fully extend without potentially going out of my sockets as I get going, it's a little painful! My solution was to lower the length of my stem which has helped to no end in terms of being comfortable on the bike, however in the process of doing so I've made something lose and the bike feels like it's going to snap in half if I don't fix it!


The stem is protruding a little over the top which I've read is a no-no but the it seems it's not fully secure or something - I can move this section and it clanks, what am I missing here do I need something to go inside the stem or do I just need something on the top to fix the protruding bit? Any help would be much appreciated I need to get some of this lockdown weight off and to improve my mobility for my shoulders!


I tried to post some pics but it keeps coming up alert so I can't show you unfortunately.


Kind Regards

Jonathan

shelbyfv

Start here https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair...eadset-service

JohnnyDM

Yeah that's just reinforced that I definitely can't do that. That's literally another language and a lot of kit I don't have!

andrewclaus

Did you remove a spacer to lower the stem? If so, stack that spacer on top of the stem, then follow the adjustment procedure above.

Koyote

https://www.google.com/search?q=mr+roper+putting+up+shelves&rlz=1CAZJXP_enUS899&oq=mr+roper+put&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57.4001j0 j7&s ourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#kpvalbx=_4I0VX7XNBsXbtQav2pmYBw22

JohnnyDM

Hi Andrew,

No I kept everything exactly the same I just unscrewed the 4 screws to remove the current Stem and then placed it in and re-tightened. The movement is coming in the bottom like there should be something holding it together , I just followed the top youtube link when you search for "Road bike stem change" it seemed pretty simple but now I'm in a mess!

The Stem is a different brand than the previous one could this be my issue? I've gone from a 10 to a 6..

Thanks for the reply, appreciate it.

JohnnyDM

Hahaha it won't let me quote that but top video Koyote

shelbyfv

Take it to the shop. You will bugger it up if you keep riding with a loose headset.

JohnnyDM

Good shout Shelby, I've not been riding it since I changed it and realised it wasn't right so I'm hoping I haven't caused much damage.

Halfords are doing free bike checks with 30 min slots so they said they should be able to sort it for free if that's all that's wrong with it.

Thanks for your help all.

jgwilliams

I think I can guess what's happened. It's the stem that holds everything tight but you have to do everything in the right order. If the new stem is not as tall as the old one then you'll need some more washers to hold it in place. Otherwise loosen the stem bolts, tighten down the cap at the top until everything stops rattling around and then tighten the stem bolts again - I hope that makes sense. With the stem snugly in place you don't need the cap, in theory - although I wouldn't remove it. But when you're assembling it then the top cap is what holds everything in place until the stem is fixed. That is why it isn't going to work if your new stem is less tall than the old one.

If that doesn't make sense then definitely take it to Halfords.