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This why I hate threaded headsets

Old 06-07-21, 12:55 PM
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grizzly907la
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This why I hate threaded headsets

This is why I hate threaded headsets. Granted it would've came out if the previous owner had maintained it, though I am sure that there are some who had similar experiences with threadless headsets. Sprayed it down with PB blaster, used the heat gun but to avail, it was completely rusted on. Ended up using the dremel tool, cut it to the point where I can knock it off with my mallet. Hammer mechanics for the win!


The cut off stem

The fork
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Old 06-07-21, 01:03 PM
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The winner and still champion!
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Old 06-07-21, 01:04 PM
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If you had been a grouchy old man before this, I cringe to imagine how grouchy you've become as a result...
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Old 06-07-21, 01:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Phil_gretz
If you had been a grouchy old man before this, I cringe to imagine how grouchy you've become as a result...
At this point I am used to it, and I almost expect when working on older bikes. Not a big deal in the greater scheme of things. I am grouchier about the fact that many people neglect their things, don't appreciate them and are wasteful. To be fair I was a grouchy old man when I 10. Working in IT has exacerbated my grouchiness. I've been described as a lovable grouch. It's all part of my stately charm.
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Old 06-07-21, 01:13 PM
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Originally Posted by rsbob
The winner and still champion!
The surgery was a success put the patient didn't make it.
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Old 06-07-21, 01:24 PM
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If brute force doesn't work, you need a bigger hammer!
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Old 06-07-21, 01:53 PM
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Originally Posted by pdlamb
If brute force doesn't work, you need a bigger hammer!
I also add "give me a big enough level, and I could move the world." The rest of the bike was relatively pain free to disassemble. I had to take the heat gun to the pedals, but they came out, and the BB was almost hand tight...maybe the heat on the pedals got to the bb. There's a little surface rust on the brakes, and the chainrings need to come off, and be replaced. Par for the course.
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Old 06-07-21, 07:58 PM
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Me thinks they probably didn't bother using grease from the BD factory originally which can be quite common. Shame they couldn't just spend an extra 10¢ on a squirt of grease.
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Old 06-07-21, 08:06 PM
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Easy part's done. Now you have to get the stub out of the steerer.
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Old 06-08-21, 02:47 AM
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I've had more quill stems than I can remember and only one was frozen. I have a racing jack (for cars) with a long aluminum hollow handle. I put a rod through the stem, heated it with my heat gun, attached my jack handle to it as a long breaker bar and popped it pretty easily.

So really you needed a long breaker bar.
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Old 06-08-21, 07:07 AM
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What you hate is bad maintenance, not a particular headset style.

I once removed a stuck bottom bracket---I used a breaker bar long enough to bend the handle on my ratchet. Eventually I won .... I took out the bottom bracket and the threads from the shell, but I got that BB out.

I'd have hated the idiot who let the BB get stuck .... if it hadn't had been me, many years earlier, before I knew better.
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Old 06-08-21, 07:29 AM
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Originally Posted by Maelochs
What you hate is bad maintenance, not a particular headset style.
A product that seizes up from corrosion is the product of poor design

The threadless headset-quill stem combination is a poor design.
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Old 06-08-21, 09:40 AM
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Originally Posted by terrymorse
A product that seizes up from corrosion is the product of poor design

The threadless headset-quill stem combination is a poor design.
What moving or bolted parts dont have the potential to seize up from corrosion though? Hubs, bottom bracket, chain, m5 mounting bolts, etc all can seize up from corrosion.
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Old 06-08-21, 09:44 AM
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Galvanic welding, I think they call it ...... who hasn't wondered if the seat post was ever coming out of the frame?
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Old 06-08-21, 11:32 AM
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
What moving or bolted parts dont have the potential to seize up from corrosion though? Hubs, bottom bracket, chain, m5 mounting bolts, etc all can seize up from corrosion.
Those parts may seize up, but they:

1. do not have salty water collection and holding built into their design
2. are not a huge hassle* to remove and replace in the rare case where they do seize up

(*) - A seized threaded bottom bracket can be a hassle (use press fit). As can a seat post (avoid metal post in metal frame).
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Old 06-08-21, 12:52 PM
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Old 06-08-21, 01:39 PM
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Originally Posted by terrymorse
A product that seizes up from corrosion is the product of poor design
Or poor maintenance.
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Old 06-08-21, 01:41 PM
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Originally Posted by JohnDThompson
Or poor maintenance.
A well designed product continues to function with poor maintenance.
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Old 06-08-21, 02:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Maelochs
What you hate is bad maintenance, not a particular headset style.

I once removed a stuck bottom bracket---I used a breaker bar long enough to bend the handle on my ratchet. Eventually I won .... I took out the bottom bracket and the threads from the shell, but I got that BB out.

I'd have hated the idiot who let the BB get stuck .... if it hadn't had been me, many years earlier, before I knew better.
A man of honesty.

Been there done that with a French BB for cottered cranks. Not sure which bugged me the most, the BB issues or the PITA cotters. I succeeded with the BB after using ever swear work I knew and some I invented, all to forever banish the cottered crank. Hint: The solution for the BB was patience for me, not a strong point as a young man.
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Old 06-08-21, 03:14 PM
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Originally Posted by terrymorse
A well designed product continues to function with poor maintenance.
A stuck stem will continue to perform its function. It's only if you want to remove it that it becomes an issue.
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Old 06-08-21, 03:23 PM
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Originally Posted by JohnDThompson
A stuck stem will continue to perform its function.
Only for a limited definition of function.

Arguably, ability to raise or lower a stem, and to replace it with a stem of a different length, are functional requirements.

Arguably also, the ability to remove and replace a component is an essential feature.
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Old 06-08-21, 04:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Maelochs
What you hate is bad maintenance, not a particular headset style.

I once removed a stuck bottom bracket---I used a breaker bar long enough to bend the handle on my ratchet. Eventually I won .... I took out the bottom bracket and the threads from the shell, but I got that BB out.

I'd have hated the idiot who let the BB get stuck .... if it hadn't had been me, many years earlier, before I knew better.

Fortunately had enough thread to install the new one but told him it was the LAST BB that was going into this frame.
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Old 06-08-21, 05:28 PM
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Oddly enough I'm surprised that a painted stem would corrode to the point of seizing. I'd almost place my bets on the stem being slightly oversized, and "persuaded" into the steering tube.

I'm with Terry here, consumer designs that are more forgiving to neglect are better, all other things equal. For one thing, neglect could start at the factory. Does it mean getting rid of the old stuff, or merely treating it with the knowledge and respect for its failure modes? That's an individual judgment call. I'm willing to keep some old bikes despite needing a bit of TLC and care in reassembly, not others. I grease everything.
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Old 06-08-21, 06:04 PM
  #24  
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Originally Posted by veganbikes
Me thinks they probably didn't bother using grease from the BD factory originally which can be quite common. Shame they couldn't just spend an extra 10¢ on a squirt of grease.
TBH I don't think it's that. The bike is 2009 model, and the person I bought it from, didn't seem very bright...then again most people don't work on their bikes or have them serviced. I event didn't think it was that big of a deal, but then I start doing amputations on bike parts, and that changed my mind very fast. Galvanic corrosion is real. They think that a bike will never break down. It goes the same for computers. They don't expect a PC to break down or have software problems, that just come out of the blue.
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Old 06-08-21, 06:06 PM
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Originally Posted by dedhed
Easy part's done. Now you have to get the stub out of the steerer.
HAHAHA!!!! I wouldn't even know where to start on that one.
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