[Spunger]

Hey guys,

Trying to fix my bro's 24" bike. Here is his problem. The headset seems to be fine but the stem moves side to side (like the stem will be inline with the front tire, he makes a turn, and now it's off to the left or right). It slides around pretty easy.

I was wondering what can I tighten to make it not move around in the steer tube? He has a threadless/fake stem but it does have a allen head nut in the top. Do I want to tighten that more? I don't want him to get hurt but want to help him fix it.

Any help on this would be great!

Chris

 

[recidivist]

Um, what is a "threadless/fake stem"?

If it's a conventional threaded headset and quill stem, then yes, tightening the allen bolt on top of the stem will tighten the connection between the stem and the fork.

It may be worth your while to loosen the stem before you retighten it -- to do that loosen the allen bolt a couple of turns then whack it straight-on with a mallet. Pull the stem out, make sure everything looks OK, then put it back together tight.

 

[Kornphlake]

On quill type stems sometimes it helps to remove the stem and grease the threads on the long bolt as well as the interface between the quil and the stem, that way you can torque the allen bolt tighter without stripping it or rounding out the head. I'd say get it as tight as you can without feeling like something is going to break, those stems will slip around pretty easy if they're not really tight.