Biullsykesdog

I have removed original head badge as it was damaged beyond repair.
I drilled out the original fixings using a 2.5mm drill bit.
I now have two holes that line up correctly with the replacement badge.
I was planning to use drive screws but the depth of the handlebar stem makes this impossible.
I am going to use pop rivets instead and file down the bit on the inside of the head tube so it doesn't interfere with the stem.
Has anybody done this and what was the length of the rivets they used?

(The head badge cost £25 and there is no way I am going to use adhesive).

IthaDan 

The stem or the fork steerer?

I think you're on the right track with the screws to be honest. You can't really file that much off the business end of a pop rivet before it gives up riveting and popping. Of course you'll have to tap the holes in the headtube to match the thread, but that's not... THAT hard.

if you really wanted to be sneaky about it, something like a tiny flat head and an acorn nut (flat head on the inside of the headtube) could do this without it looking too bodged.

HillRider

By "drive screws" I presume you mean self-tapping. You could start them to form the first thread and then shorten them enough clear the steerer when fully seated.

Andrew R Stewart 

I've used tiny pop rivets to secure head badges before and would crush the inside the head tube part down to clear the steerer. I would also suggest tiny screws instead. Or use an adhesive approach. Andy

davidad

I used a small tap and regular brass screws on my Herons. The badges were glued on and fell off.

speedy25

SO why didnt your new badge come with the right rivets to attach it? Get a couple of them instead of an ugly pop rivet.

-SP

_ForceD_

Another idea would be to glue (something like JB Weld) to glue a small nut on the inside of the holes. Hold them in place with the screws attached from the outside and then apply the glue/JB around the nut on the inside. Once the JBWeld sets remove the screws and mount the badge. FWIW, like others have suggested...I'd use brass screws and nuts, or some other metal that won't rust.

Dan

Biullsykesdog

Sorry. I meant steerer not stem. I have seen something on ebay called Hammer Drive Rivet Scews which should do the trick. I may use a bit of glue as well for good measure. Bike is a 1932 Peugeot Cyrus GT so new (old) badge did not come with fixings. Will let you know how I get on.

3alarmer 

.
....find another crappy old junk frame and do some experiments before you take a chance on your old bike and pricey headbadge.

If you can't find a junk frame somewhere, get a piece of tubing with similar diameter and wall thickness for practice.

Retro Grouch 

I've used pop rivets in the past without any problems.

If I were doing it today, I'd use "3M Badge and Trim Cement" It's designed for use is to hold all of those trim bits on cars.

WizardOfBoz

+1

Drive rivet's holding power are due to their field-formed head. They are poor in tensile strength to begin with. Grinding down the field-formed head end up with you leaving your £25 (what the hell!?) head badge on the road. They also must be precisely sized for grip length, and the right size may have too much stuff hanging off inside your bike.

Ideally, your screw holes in the frame are much smaller than the screw. The standard arrangement for fastening to thin sheet or tube would be for you to dimple the undersized hole to give more gripping power. You could then grind off the tip of the screw (much like what you proposed for the pop rivet) but without weakening the joint. The dimpling is shown below, on the right.

If you could get a good enough dimple with enough meat, I'd actually tap the thing for very fine thread and use a machine screw. Fine thread. With red loctite.

If the hole is already drilled out to the same diameter as the badge, your options are more limited. A fine thread machine screw, with a bolt on the inside, epoxied in and ground down to clear the steer tube may be your only option. Actually, thinking about this, I like Ithadan's idea better: Get a flat head screw, insert from the inside of the tube, and put a nice acorn nut on the outside. Again: Loctite!

I think drive rivets have been used for this app. I wouldn't use them, as I'm not sure of their durability (that is, I'm not sure that I could install them to be durable). If you do use them, and can make a dimple, I'd do so.

On edit, I found a pic of the badge. No wonder it was £25! Very attractive.

scott967

Glue it on, and also some rivet heads that look authentic.

scott s.
.

dedhed

2.5mm is approx 3/32" which is the tap drill size for 4-40 threads. Get some short 4-40 brass machine screws, a 4-40 tap, and some loctite. Tap the holes, screw the headbadge down with the brass screws using loctite. You'd have to determine the length of screw to get by the thickness of the badge, thickness of the headtube and how much clearance you have for the steerer. Test fit and if they are a little long file/sand the screws to what you need. A good hardware store around here would have both the tap and screws. A machine shop would probably tap the holes for the price you would pay for a tap.

I've installed headbadges on a number of vintage bikes this way. 4-48 uses the same size drill and would give you more threads into the tube wall but the screws are harder to find.

https://www.boltdepot.com/Machine_sc...rass_4-40.aspx

bradtx

The hammer drive rivet screws should work, I had them on a Schwinn.

Brad

Slightspeed

I used small drive screws to secure my Raleigh headbadge. The ebay seller included them as well as small pop rivets. I've seen Raleigh badges done both ways, and thought these looked better than pop rivets. I used tweezers to hold them and a small hammer to drive them in. Kind of fiddley, but it works. They look a little too shiny compared to the badge, but they should weather in. Looking back, a strip of double sided tape would be a good insurance, but the drive screws seem pretty solid.

SkyDog75

When I reattached the head badge on my daughter's Fuji after powder coating the frame, I used the heads of some extra stainless steel spokes as faux rivets. I cut off the heads with enough spoke length to protrude through the badge and head tube, and I epoxied those spoke heads into the frame's original rivet holes. I also fixed the badge into place with contact cement as a 'belt and suspenders' tactic, and to keep the badge from potentially rattling if the 'faux rivets' didn't hold it tight enough. The end result looks a lot like Slightspeed's image above, but my 'rivet' heads are slightly smaller.

I personally wouldn't use pop rivets. They'd probably work, but they won't be pretty. Your bike deserves better.

xiaoman1 

+1 only change would be to use a dab of silicone instead of contact cement, then if you ever need to remove the badge dental floss at the rear to "cut" the badge off. Ben

WizardOfBoz

Just thought of one other option: real rivets! Use brass ones, to match the cool badge. The bucking bar could just be a solid bar of nondescript steel. A real (e.g. solid) rivet won't protrude into the steering tube as far as a pop rivet or a drive screw.

I'd probably use badge adhesive AND the rivet, btw. I wouldn't want to loose that badge!

SquidPuppet

Self tapping screws. Three cents each at ACE.

fietsbob

remove the fork & headset cups, back up the inside with a heavy steel pipe, then you can set proper rivets..

the pipe is your anvil ... split rivets will spread out inside .. the leaving the headset cups in may not let the

split tips flatten enough, when you bang on the rivet head from outside.. Maybe drag on the fork , perhaps..

a punch with a indent matching the rivet head will leave that head shape un deformed..