Ilovemyride

Hello. I have a carbon aero bar on my triathlon bike that the left side bolt stripped out meaning it does not hold the arm rest pad as it just spins in the hole. Now a few things to bring you up to speed on the situation.
1. The handle bar company is long out of business,
2. The bar is carbon with what looks like a tiny aluminum insert where the bolt fits into the handlebar to hold the arm rest. .
3. Last year the original bolt snapped off inside the hole and I had to take the dremel and slice a thin grove in bar hole and bolt to then extract with tiny screwdriver.
4. I have tried some woven copper wire down the hole and that makes it hold but not even long enough for a full ride.
5. I just left the hardware store trying to see if I could find a way to rectify the issue. The guy there said the bolt was a m5 and the next up was m6 and was much larger, did not fit the carbon pad cup and way larger then the metal insert in the handlebar .

Soooo I would appreciate anyones ideas ..........what can I do ********************?

Andrew R Stewart 

Try to find retailers who sold these bars and thus might have replacement parts still stashed away. Find a fabricator who works with this kind of stuff for "repairs". If you provide a photo we could better understand the details not described.

Of course the best answer is to get newer stuff. Steering control being pretty high up there on most riders' lists. Andy

ClydeClydeson

There are a thread-repairing products available:
https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/ca/...e_pc_3967.html
This is the Loctite version, others are available.
If you go this route be sure to follow instructions closely.

I wouldn't recommend this for any 'structural' application (fixing the holes on the part of clip on aero bars that clamp the main bars, for instance, would be a bad idea), but for arm pads that are only ever pushed down it will likely work fine.

Ilovemyride

HillRider

It seems there is enough area around that hole to install an M5 Helicoil to restore the original hole size.

Ilovemyride

There might be enough room but I think it would be drilling in to carbon which might structurally damage the bars ???

Ilovemyride

On further inspection it appears to be a metal piece atop the bars that must be glued on under the paint. So maybe just a tap to clean the threads would do it, or you suggest drilling and gluing in new threads , ie ,a helicoil ?

Crankycrank

Seeing how you think that whole piece is aluminum you should have enough metal to drill a larger hole and install a helicoil. There are also the Riv-nuts that would also be very strong and all you need is the proper drill bit and the proper size bolt, nut, and a washer to install it. You may even be able to use the current bolt that the pad was mounted with if it's long enough. Here's just an example so shop around for proper size and best price. Rivet nuts, Large flanged knurled, Zinc plated steel yellow, 1/4"-20, 0.165" - 0.260" - Bolt Depot
Videos on how to install. how to install a rivnut without a tool - Search (bing.com)

Ilovemyride

Ok , so I finally thought I got all the parts and tools together to do the job. I drilled then I used the threads tool. After I turned in the coil and used something heavy to knock off the tang and thought I was done. What I noticed that I thought was odd was the bolt it is maybe 3 quarters inch long but the helicoil spring in the kit is just a few mm in length, is that normal ? Anyway I tightened in the bolt with aero bar arm rest and went to test it laying my arm in and within seconds it just wobbled lose !!! I am sooo annoyed ! I tried to tighten it twice and it just spun, ugghhh. What happened ????

Crankycrank

Helicoils come in different lengths so that may be one thing you can fix. A too long coil can always be shortened if needed so doesn't have to be exact. Without seeing what all you did for the installation it's hard to know if something else is wrong. Are you certain you used the proper drill size and tap for the coil?

Ilovemyride

Yes it all came in a kit. I did notice the thing I was slowly turning in to create ridges or threads stopped going down and it just kept turning, ugh.

70sSanO

I’m in the same camp as Andrew R Stewart.

There is a certain speed, while maneuvering over less than ideal road conditions, at which point the bars coming loose can cause a catastrophic accident.

Maybe not initially, but if you make a temporary fix that you believe is a permanent fix, bad things can happen.

John

Ilovemyride

I appreciate all the help and replies , though John I don't think you are paying attention , this has nothing to do with the handle bars or steering it is a arm rest for a tri bike , you can still ride a tri bike not being in the aero position.

70sSanO

I understand it is just the rest.

John

jccaclimber

I’ll start with pointing out that even just an elbow rest suddenly coming loose at an unexpected time can be disastrous. That said, if you want to accept the risk here are a few thoughts:
1. It sounds like you used too short a Helicoil, and have also stripped that. They do come in multiple lengths, so a longer one may help, but the hole may be too damaged at this point.
2. Time-serts are a much stronger thread repair than Helicoil type inserts, and would be a better option. They also come in different lengths and the hole may still be too damaged at this point. It sounds like you may be over tightening the screws based on having failed fasteners in this joint multiple times, though it may just be worn out as well.
3. I’ve had some success in the past by press fitting a custom threaded insert into a properly sized hole. I’m assuming you don’t have the tools to do this, and a pair of handlebars doesn’t justify the machine shop cost to have this done as it would cost more than new bars if they would touch it at all. You may, with an unreasonable amount of labor, be able to file a hex nut down to a threaded insert and bond that in.
4. Opening the hole up in the arm rear frame to allow a larger fastener is possible, but I’m mainly listing that for future readers as tapping it for a Helicoil likely closed the door to this option.
5. I’ve not had particularly good luck with JB Weld and similar products to re-make the thread, but maybe there’s something better out there now.

Sonofamechanic 

now that you see you have that much metal around the bolt hole, what if you go back to your original idea of tapping it out for an m6? (Just drill the pad so the wider bolt goes thru and use lots of oil and work slowly when taping out that aluminum.)
One more thought—from looking at the pics—is there room to move the pads (on both sides) forward half an inch by drilling/tapping all new holes? Seems there is room in front of the current hole but not clear on how far the metal base/plate extends.

Crankycrank

Oh, that's not good. The hole became too large for the helicoil to work properly. You can try one of these inserts, should be big enough to thread securely into the hole, no need to tap threads as long as you drill the hole the correct size and just use some permanent thread locker. A little pricey per insert but a good solution. screw thread inserts | McMaster-Carr As I mentioned in post #8, you can also try a Rivnut which are cheap and you just need the proper drill bit for the hole and is pretty much all you need to install and there is also a YT link in that post showing you how to install it without a special tool. Here's another example that may be the size you need but you'll need to measure how thick the aluminum is at the bolt hole on your bars as they come in different lengths. Metric rivet nuts, Large flanged knurled, Zinc plated steel yellow, 5mm x 0.8mm, 3.3mm - 5.7mm - Bolt Depot Check around your area for stores that are fastener specialists so you can skip the shipping costs.

freeranger

Could a nut be epoxied in the hole and an appropriate sized bolt used? If possible you could buy a hardened nut and bolt from the hardware store.

Crankycrank

I wouldn't have any confidence in anything epoxied in place for this. Just not strong enough.

Ilovemyride

How about a rivet ? I have a rivet gun at my storage . I wonder if that would hold through all the vibrations on my usual 50 mile loops ?

Andrew R Stewart 

"this has nothing to do with the handle bars or steering it is a arm rest" the OP in post 13

THIS is why I shake my head at many threads and posts here. How one keeps the front wheel pointing where it needs to go to stay under the bike's CG is EXTREEMLY important. To suggest that one doesn't need to be able to steer the bike when in the aero position is just stupid and very ignorant. For this reason I am out of this thread. Andy (who wonders where some get their ideas from)

Ilovemyride

I guess you (Andrew) are too busy giving your unhelpful 2 cents to forum participants that really could not care less . A solution is what is necessary not your unnecessary nasty stupid remarks. And you aren't paying attention either , you just wanting to spout nasty stupid stuff is my guess, you get off on it. No need to respond because it will be boring, but if you take the time and look at the fellow ( 70sSanO ) who wrote the comment he jumped to the WRONG conclusion that what my question for help was something holding the handlebars to the bike and agreeing with you ( Andrew ) for some ******** reason. Ya should read it all before responding with rude ripping comments , better yet never comment unless its toward a solution .

Sonofamechanic 

Actually Andrew makes a good point and we are all actually in agreement with him in principle…sometimes we just get a bit carried away trying to figure out a cheap solution. In reality it makes far more sense to spend the $ on a new/working handlebar. Its like compromising on a fork….you just don’t do that. Period.

Ilovemyride

I am seeing this forum is made up of brainless zombies that can not think for themselves or maybe just bots .
I come here probably like most just asking for friendly advice. I don't claim to know everything like some people giving not needed comments.

MY HANDLEBARS retail valve when new 795.00 .... so no .

Sonofamechanic 

Brainless Zombie that can’t think for itself?…How does Nick Cage put it?…”That’s high praise!”