Peugeot 80ies racing bike - lose handlebar

[Brucey]

that bolt is pretty mangled. Maybe you can get another use out of it by tapping a torx bit into it or something, but if not you would be better off replacing it.

When there is no pip on the wedge, it is pretty much essential to make sure that the bolt is well greased and free-running where it goes through the wedge, else the wedge just spins.

cheers

[Ilin]

thanks! not sure if the photo shows it Ok - the dark spots are mainly dirt, which i didnt manage to clean - but the crucial bit of course is that the 'pip' is missing.

Are those things coming in universal sizes? Would something like this work: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Quill-stem-b ... 100623.m-1

Cheers!
i

[Brucey]

the threading varies from one bolt to another. If you are buying new parts, buy the bolt and the wedge together. BTW your wedge is fine, the bolt is the problem. The bolt looks like it has an unusual head design which you may not be able to replace exactly.

If you fit a wedge bolt with a pip on it then you may need to file the stem so that the slot accepts the pip properly.

NB maybe I didn't stress this enough before but not all wedge bolts have a pip on.

cheers

[Ilin]

oh, now I see. that makes perfect sense.I misread part of your previous post. Thanks again for being so helpful

[PT1029]

Re allen key size for the stem bolt. Some French stems use 7 mm allen key size (most Peugeots I see use the normal 6 mm), though I rarely see the 7 mm bolts (once every few years at work, and that is in a city full of old bikes used daily).
On the other hand, you may just have a rounded off standard 6 mm stem bolt socket.

If the stem is loose, inspect the bottom of the stem for cracks/breakages.
Also check the stem/wedge/internal fork diameter. Those vive la differance French some times used 21.1mm diameter stems/internal fork diameter, rather than the standard 22.2 mm diameter. 21.1 mm stems are almost impossible to get hold of.

[Brucey]

22.0mm (instead of 22.2mm) is also a French size.

cheers

[Ilin]

hi, having to juggle work and family I'm very slow at fixing this bike. Thank you all for the help this far! I'm currently wondering if it is possible the exchange the the entire "cone" stem, with a "quill" stem such as: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333148173457?ul_noapp=true.

I'm having a hard time measuring if my current stem has a diameter of 22.2 or 22 mm as the two are so close together. My current stem's circumference seems to be very close to 7 cm, which should hopefully make it a 22.2 mm.

Also, should there be any reason why my fork should not "take" a quill stem?

Many thanks!
i

[gregoryoftours]

As long as you've got the correct diameter stem a quill stem as replacement will be fine. I would say it's best to grease the bolt thread as has been said already and also under the head of the bolt before installation. Although it doesn't want to be so tight that you can't give the bars a hard twist and they shift a little it can still take a surprising amount of torque on the bolt to stop the bars twisting too easily. If there is still a problem after fitting a new stem/bolt I'd take the top bearing race of the headset off, drop the fork out and inspect the steerer for damage just in case.