Removing cycletruck handlebar stem

[BikesandGyros]

Yeah, that thought has entered my mind. The only thing in my OCD mind that’s giving me some pause is the handlebars aren’t exactly straight with the fork. They’re just a little bit off and its been that way for years. I guess that’s why I’m not getting overly aggressive at this point. If I can’t get it loose I may just go ahead and do that. I think someone else made that suggestion too. The only issue with that is it would be tough to rechrome the handlebar but I can put some other kind of finish on there and I’ve read up and talked to a couple body people about the spray chrome although Something about that doesn’t give me a great feeling. Thanks for your comment. Bruce.

 

[buickmike]

Me, I would have to take the hole shebang out to the yard- after washing all petroleum products off it, The propane torch and a squirt bottle for the quench If you have ever ruined a part for lack of experience this might be the time. Let's think if stem is twisted off center already, the stem has been stretched already Same as any rusted bolt. After snapping off exhaust bolts and auto related frozen bolts you get a gut feeling when more is too much . I would use heat.in cycles then cool and heat again. If you become frustrated than go gorilla on it, snap it off. End of problem

 

[The Colonel]

Transmission fluid & acetone equal parts freed up my stuck wedge bolt after 2 weeks of soaking..
you can insert from the underside while flipped.
I ended up cutting the steerer tube on the forks on mine (20" J frame)
...people made fun of me for cutting the steerer tube on the forks to get it all out. I ended up finding a nicer set of correct forks and am going to re weld the ones I cut.
Im learning too. Welcome to the cabe brother. Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays!

 

[Schwinn Sales West]

Again, fantastic responses. I’ll have to slot you folks in my will somewhere. I’ve attached a picture of how I’m securing the bike to work the handlebar stem. John, per your point on the bike stand, I’m just using that to easily get it positioned to put penetrating oil on various areas. My college age (21) specialized road bike that is going through its winter tune up has taken a back seat to the Cycletruck on the stand. I pull it off and use my trusty drywall sawhorses to try to manipulate the stem. I just put my knee on the sawhorse with the fork and lien over and tap the pipe clamp to try to twist the stem. I also tap “up” on the bar to try to technically lift it. I do have a big vise I can probably fix up with wood jaw ends so that’s also an option. For now, I’ve been using a paint stripper gun for heat. The theory there is it disperses the heat more evenly and I can shoot it down the head tube. It still gets plenty hot And I’m trying to ease my aggressiveness up as I go. Finally, as you all say , patience. My goal is to have this fully restored in time to ride it on some or all depending on my fitness and the weather of the RAGBRI bike ride across Iowa in July so I have time. Should be a real eye catcher in the sea of bikes and 15000 riders. Thanks, Bruce

View attachment 2344160

For your consideration,

When you apply the twisting force to the pipe in the handlebar stem it will transmit the force directly to the fork's lower legs. Do we agree?

The Sawhorse will prevent the fork's legs from turning.

The problem is the force will twist one fork leg back, and the other fork leg forward. If you apply much force to the pipe, the fork will be bent out of alignment and be ruined.

You can still use your Sawhorse method, but just turn the fork 90 degrees, use a 2 by 4 over the legs, and a couple of large "C: clamps to clamp BOTH LEGS to the top of the sawhorse. This will prevent the uneven twisting of each leg. You will then be replicating the previous suggestion of placing the fork into a large vise.

The heat required for this job, "is going to have FIRE".

John

 

[The Colonel]

For your consideration,

When you apply the twisting force to the pipe in the handlebar stem it will transmit the force directly to the fork's lower legs. Do we agree?

The Sawhorse will prevent the fork's legs from turning.

The problem is the force will twist one fork leg back, and the other fork leg forward. If you apply much force to the pipe, the fork will be bent out of alignment and be ruined.

You can still use your Sawhorse method, but just turn the fork 90 degrees, use a 2 by 4 over the legs, and a couple of large "C: clamps to clamp BOTH LEGS to the top of the sawhorse. This will prevent the uneven twisting of each leg. You will then be replicating the previous suggestion of placing the fork into a large vise.

The heat required for this job, "is going to have FIRE".

John

hes right.. fire!!!

 

[BikesandGyros]

Success! Merry Christmas to me. As suggested by the group.
More heat. Used a propane torch
Switched to pb blaster but given how many different rust removing compounds I had applied it may have been like the person who loosened the jar lid just enough so somebody else looks strong enough to open it. For the purposes of this exercise. It was the solution that seemed to work with everything else.
Patience! I did about two or three heat treatments a day for the last three days and after I applied more blaster. Before and after every heat treatment, I would tap around the stem, and after the heat treatment, I would put the bar through the handlebar stem and wrap both ways. This morning I could see a gap between the threads and the stem. I just applied heat and then Tapped up and it came out. Presto.
Thanks to everyone who chimed in and helped me through this stage. Now I’ll have to see about the condition of the stem and hopefully getting a replacement bolt.

 

[GTs58]

Where's da wedge?

 

[WillWork4Parts]

Yeah, I bet that wedge is shattered too... Some more tapping and penetrating oil will do the trick of breaking it loose since the stem is out of the way though. Worst case scenario that I've had, I went at a stuck wedge thinking I would eat away at it with a 7/8" hole saw. A few seconds into boring, the wedge started spinning and subsequently fell out.

 

[WillWork4Parts]

It does look like the bottom tip of the stem is chipped away. You could either grind away the rough edges and hope that there's still enough surface area there to function...or slice about 1/4" off the end with a saw(powered if you've got it) parallel to the original angle and then trim with a belt sander or grinder to better match the angle of the original or replacement wedge. An original bolt would still work just fine minus that 1/4".

 

[BikesandGyros]

Well? Here is a shot down the fork tube. I’m assuming. That’s the wedge. It’s 3 1/2 inches down the fork to which lines up with the distance the stem was inserted into the tube. It may be that the stem just rested on that from the distance is that everything measures. Not sure. I’ll get the stem cleaned up. As I said in an earlier post, the bolt has not been on the bike that goes into the fork tube since I was in grade school and that’s a long long time ago.