Old style quill headset adjustment oracle
ketsbaia
Posts: 1,718
After an unexpected and marginally drunken bike/Old Kent Road interface, I've a headset that's slightly out of kilter with the forks.
I'm hoping this is easily fixed by simply unscrewing the lower nut just underneath the headset, thwacking the nubbin inside the headset with a screwdriver and hammer combo, adjusting the headset so it lines up, then reinserting the pin and tightening up the nut.
Or is there some dark art I've failed to consider in the above scenario?
I'm hoping this is easily fixed by simply unscrewing the lower nut just underneath the headset, thwacking the nubbin inside the headset with a screwdriver and hammer combo, adjusting the headset so it lines up, then reinserting the pin and tightening up the nut.
Or is there some dark art I've failed to consider in the above scenario?
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Comments
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slacken the bolt tap it to loosen the wedge, adjust and tighten."Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
Parktools :?:SheldonBrown0 -
You loosen the bolt above the headset:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/w ... dset-22225
Number two in this article.0 -
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Actually, looking at that article, it says you need to loosen the wedge bolt until it protrudes. Unfortunately, it's extremely well recessed within the quill, so I can't get at it. It doesn't look like an allen key head as well - just looks round, tbh.
Will loosening the lock nut be enough, or will I just have to take it to the bike shop and have done with it?0 -
ketsbaia wrote:
Will loosening the lock nut be enough, or will I just have to take it to the bike shop and have done with it?
that has nothing to do with the bars.
as above and nothing else."Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
Parktools :?:SheldonBrown0 -
ketsbaia wrote:Actually, looking at that article, it says you need to loosen the wedge bolt until it protrudes. Unfortunately, it's extremely well recessed within the quill, so I can't get at it. It doesn't look like an allen key head as well - just looks round, tbh.
Will loosening the lock nut be enough, or will I just have to take it to the bike shop and have done with it?
Hmm, can you post a pic? Sounds like you have something slightly different from a standard quill stem.
You do normally need to tap it in to free it off. If it's tight enough to trap the stem properly it will rarely drop out when unscrewed.
Note too, that you should support the forks properly when tapping, otherwise the impact will be taken by your headset bearings, not a good thing.
Cheers,
W.0 -
Will post a pic later on. The wedge bold is recessed about two to three inches inside the quill rather than at the top of the quill. I can reach it to tap it if I use a screwdriver or similar and tap the top of that, but it's unlikely I'll be able to loosen it as it doesn't look like it's an allen key head. Or a Torx head for that matter.0
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the wedge should be half way down or at the bottom of the steerer. if it is at the top the quill would fall out.
more reading
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/handsup.html"Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
Parktools :?:SheldonBrown0 -
Righto. So assuming it was an allen key head, I'd need a long handled one to loosen it before tapping and unwrapping, so to speak. It genuinely looks circular, but I'll have a poke down there with a long allen key to see if I can loosen it.
If I don't loosen it, can I still tap it, assuming I've loosened the lock nut?0 -
well if you cant see the allen bolt then it will be recessed more.
presuming that it is actually present.
a pic might be good."Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
Parktools :?:SheldonBrown0 -
nicklouse wrote:...presuming that it is actually present...
Good point- are you missing the bolt itself and looking down the hole in the top of the stem at the wedge-nut? that would explain why it had a round hole (that's where the bolt would screw in) and why it's so deeply "recessed"...
Maybe it's been unscrewed in the past and never put back? The wedge-nut may simply be held in place by friction, rust and a general lack of enthusiasm for getting out of bed...?
Cheers,
W.0 -
WGWarburton
that was a bit tongue in cheek as there would be nothing holding the stem in place or anything to allow the steering to work
but some quill stems do have the bolt an inch or two recessed."Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
Parktools :?:SheldonBrown0 -
Doh.
It was an allen key after all - just didn't look like one in the poor light that I viewed it in.
Job done.
Thanks for taking the time to respond to a doofus. I promise to pay a bit more attention to my own bike next time.
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nicklouse wrote:WGWarburton
that was a bit tongue in cheek as there would be nothing holding the stem in place or anything to allow the steering to work
but some quill stems do have the bolt an inch or two recessed.
Yeah... but I've seen wedge-nuts securely jammed in-situ-- I bet you have, too!!. Given the lack of other info to go on, it occurred to me that a DPO (do we have DPOs, here? "Dipshit Previous Owner", anyway..) might have undone the bolt, failed to shift the wedge-nut and then given up, without ever replacing it... Could easily have rounded the threads or bent the thing trying to shift it.
The stem would be in place, still attached to the steerer, until the wedge-nut eventually came adrift, perhaps as a result of the OPs shunt!
Anyway... sorted now.
Cheers,
W.0
