Noob bike mechanic wannabee

JasonBrooke

Bought a Allez Sport from Evans a month ago and I'm still messing with the setup. Felt I was over reaching for the hoods so went into Evans and asked for some advice. The guy in the shop said "have you tried flipping the stem", so I asked him if he just meant literally....yes was the reply....so armed with a youtube clip I followed instructions and flipped the stem.

Well any of you guys watching would have peed yourselves, as the forks fell out and there were bits everywhere at which point an element of panic set in. Well I managed to get it back together but the headset was now loose and I couldnt seem to get enough purchase in the main stem screw to tighten the whole thing up.

So now I was really panicking, why the hell had I decided to mess about in the first place. So I went and put the kettle on. Anyway, while the kettle was boiling (I'm doing this in the kitchen.....wife doesnt know) I was looking at the bike from the side and the stem just didnt seem to sit flush, to the point where the spacers werent flush either, it all looked a little lop sided.

So I took off the stem again and inside the stem is a piece of black plastic, not sure what its called but when I took it out and flipped that too hey presto, everything fitted back together in double quick time now with the bars in a higher position and no play in the headset.

All in all took me about 2 hours to suss it out and get it right and I also mended a slight buckle in my front wheel which was causing it to rub on the brake pads.

After the joy of not breaking my pride and joy I was a little annoyed with the guy at Evans for being so flippant with the advice he gave. I told him I was new to the modern road bike and that I wasn't sure what I was doing yet he never mentioned flipping the black plastic inside the stem as well as the stem, maybe its just me being stupid and he assumed I'd have more common sense.

Have you guys experienced any similar problems when attempting DIY mechanics or am I just a bit thick.

Please be kind :oops:

rgliniany

i would say don't sweat it!!

thats how you learn..... taking things apart and fettling..... and the utter dread feeling in your stomach when things seem to be going wrong is the payment for the feeling of elation when it all clicks back together

you should get yourself a maintenance book...... i have the parktool big blue book... and its very informative....

there are others i cant remember the name of right now.....

you should visit the store again and mention to the guy that it all went swimmingly once you realised there was a shim to flip too... he might have not even known about it.... every stem i have worked with hasnt had one in it.... do you have a tapered headtube / oversize headtube on your bike? that might be why there was an insert

enjoy playing with your bike.... and keep in mind they are always fixable..... and the only stupid question is an unasked question......

but remember.... riding is more fun than fettling... so work it 80/20

itsnotarace

JasonBrooke wrote:

he never mentioned flipping the black plastic inside the stem as well as the stem,

Does it look like this? If so it's called a star nut and they are usually directional



The one in the picture above is installed the right way round so if yours looks like that and is fitted the other way up then turn it back round.

giant_man

well done jason, as already stated, this is how you learn, good on you for persevering. The guy at Evans was probably flippant cos he didn't know what he was on about, so don't sweat it, nice one ...

markps

JasonBrooke wrote:

So I took off the stem again and inside the stem is a piece of black plastic, not sure what its called

It's possible that you have a Specialized Pro Set stem, in which case the black plastic thing could be the eccentric shim which allows stem angle adjustment, and IMHO should definitely NOT be flipped.

Is it like this:



The shim has a ridge on the bottom which butts against the stem spacers, and there is a special offset topcap with a off-centre bolt hole to compensate for the wonkyness. If in doubt, take it back to Evans and get them to check it. And while you're there, make a complaint about the guy who gave you poor instructions in the first place.

Of course, if you haven't got a pro set stem, just ignore everything I've said.

tiredofwhiners

Youtube is your friend.

You can get video's of just about any and every adjustment possible on a bike. Before I tried anything the first time I'd watch Youtube and if in doubt take the iPad out to the garage while I was carrying out the repair.

meursault

Heard good things about this one too.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zinn-Art-Road-Bike-Maintenance/dp/1934030422/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348652382&sr=1-1

russyh

Just to echo some of the points above! There are few better feelings then getting it drastically wrong and fixxing the problem yourself! YouTube is great, I always have a go myself and if I get stuck refer to either Shelton browns website or YouTube. I also bought a copy of zinn and the art of bike maintainance which is a usefull paper guide.

Keep having a go yourself. It's worth it!

JasonBrooke

markps wrote:

JasonBrooke wrote:

So I took off the stem again and inside the stem is a piece of black plastic, not sure what its called

It's possible that you have a Specialized Pro Set stem, in which case the black plastic thing could be the eccentric shim which allows stem angle adjustment, and IMHO should definitely NOT be flipped.

Is it like this:



The shim has a ridge on the bottom which butts against the stem spacers, and there is a special offset topcap with a off-centre bolt hole to compensate for the wonkyness. If in doubt, take it back to Evans and get them to check it. And while you're there, make a complaint about the guy who gave you poor instructions in the first place.

Of course, if you haven't got a pro set stem, just ignore everything I've said.

Its a Specialized stem, not quite the same as this one, but yeah thats the plastic. When I flipped the stem, this was upside down and the stem just wouldn't fit flush or the top cap seat correctly until I took this out and flipped it too, so the numbers on it are now the right way round too.

Until I flipped it, nothing fit properly or seated correctly and the whole headset and forks were loose. As soon as I flipped this bit of plastic hey presto.

Gonna get my free service next week so they can check it for me.......that was another thing. While I was in the shop I asked the guy if I could book my bike in for its first free service that they provide. His reply. "Oh sorry we're not doing them at the moment because our mechanic is really busy".

Now I work in the IT services industry and know just how important going the extra mile really is, I feel that the Evans at Xscape in Castleford are basically taking advantage from the popularity of cycling after the TDF and the Olympics. They aren't having to try to sell bikes or kit etc as the shop is always full and people are wanting to spend money, but I for one won't be using that shop again and I'll use the one in York over near where my parents live where the "older" staff seem a hell of a lot more helpful.

markps

I think I understand what you've done - you originally flipped the whole thing including the eccentric shim, found that it didn't work as the shm was upside-down, then you flipped the shim back so it's the correct way up. That sounds fine & it all sounds as it should be.

Regarding the shop staff, I think part of the problem is that the increase in interest has resulted in a lot of 'tyre-kickers', who seem interested and take up the assistant's time, but actually are unlikely to spend money there and then. I imagine this becomes tiresome after a while and demotivates the staff. Still, it's no excuse.

JasonBrooke

Correct...sorry if I used the wrong terminology, that's exactly it. Fits like a glove now. Yeah I can appreciate lots of time wasters etc, the store in York seems completely different so I'll just go there instead.

PlymouthSam

Good on you for giving it a go dude. I have felt that gut dropping feeling when it all goes horribly wrong and the elation after when it works as it should. As others have said try and get a bike mechanics book.

In regards to the shop worker being "flippant" i' assume that he thought you'd be capable doing it as its "normally" a 5 minute easy job.

All the best.

NITR8s

I dont think the staff member did anything wrong, other than maybe saying they would do it for you considering its like a 5 min simple job.