Cycling UK Forum

Hi, my Peugeot Clubman's handlebar is slightly lose - meaning if I hold the front-wheel still and invest pressure to the handlebar it turns left and right. I tried tightening the hexagonal bolt at its top - and managed to tighten it a bit further - yet still the problem persists.
Any idea where the problem might be?
Many thanks for any advice!
Ilin

Is it new to you? Has it suddenly started doing this after not doing it before?

I would loosen the bolt, tap it gently with a block of wood to release it, pull out the stem and examine, if the parts are decades old they might be worn out or broken

If everything is sound then applying grease on the threads will allow you get the wedge tighter for the same amount of spanner force. Hopefully this is what is wrong because the other options I can think of are quite nasty.

If it was secure before and has suddenly become loose, I'd not ride it until I had the answer. I'd suspect something broken rather than just lacking grease.

pwa wrote:If it was secure before and has suddenly become loose, I'd not ride it until I had the answer. I'd suspect something broken rather than just lacking grease.

+1
Quill stems are bgrs for getting stuck rather than coming loose. None of the scenarios are exactly good news but the first bit of getting it sorted is removal and inspection.

In case there is any doubt I meant regrease after doing the inspection recommended in the post before mine. Most certainly not instead of it.

thanks for all the replies. I assume it was in this condition since I bought the bike second hand. I didnt notice it at the beginning because it is only apparent when more pressure is put on. I'll remove it completely and have a look in the next days and will let you know. Again, many thanks!

Sorry if you knew this already, but one or other of the set-ups here is at the other end of the bolt your are turning.

https://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_w.html#wedgebolt

I think that if you can turn the bars in the way you describe, there might be value in trying to undo and remove the bolt you have been tightening, then see if the handlebars and stem will pull out, perhaps with a bit of twisting and pulling. You need to be able to see what's happened inside. I think it's fair to say that you seem to have the opposite of the usual problem, which is that the stem becomes seized in the steerer.

Ilin wrote:thanks for all the replies. I assume it was in this condition since I bought the bike second hand. I didnt notice it at the beginning because it is only apparent when more pressure is put on. I'll remove it completely and have a look in the next days and will let you know. Again, many thanks!

A good thing is that it sounds like it may be easy to remove. In an older bike I'd half expect it to be stuck and be a pig to get out.

Going back to the opening post after reading what has been posted by Ilin since I am wondering if there is anything wrong with the bike. The steering will move in this way if a reasonably strong person wants it to.
It is held there by friction, not a locking device. I have never tightened mine so much that I couldnt twist the bars if I really wanted to.

Do not apply more than 'easy' force to the handlebar stem. If the frame is made with Carbolite 103 tubing (as many cheaper model Peugeot's are) the forks are simple rolled and welded sections rather than tubes and can twist out of shape if they or the front wheel are used to brace against when attempting to move a seized handlebar stem.
If the handlebar and stem need a bit of force to move them it might be better to leave them as they are. A race bike mechanic one told me he never fully tightened stems so that in a crash the bars had a chance to give a bit and reduce injury to anything fleshy that got in the way.
If the bike is more than 20 years old or has signs of weathering I would get a professional opinion on whether corrosion has taken its toll and weakened or seized the components. Handlebar and stem fractures are not uncommon and classed as A Very Bad Thing.

Note that the OP has tried tightening the stem bolt but it made no difference. That suggests that there's something wrong in there.

quill stems are secured with either an angled wedge or an expander bolt (a conical wedge if you like)



Neither type should be tightened so much that it becomes impossible to twist the stem inside the steerer.

In various ways the wedge part can bear against the bottom of the quill in the wrong way; this can happen by the cone failing to enter the base of the quill and/or because there is a 'pip' on the side of the cone (that normally locates it in one of the slots in the quill end) which becomes misplaced.


this is a large locating feature; some stems have a much smaller pip that is made by displacing material with a punch during manufacture

if the 'pip' doesn't enter the slot, you can tighten the bolt as much as you like and the stem won't tighten properly; all you will do is to chew up the end of the quill.

With stems that use a conical wedge, it is important not to undo the bolt by more than about a turn and a half before knocking the bolt down to free the wedge; if you unscrew more than that, there is every chance that the wedge will not mate correctly with the quill end.

cheers

Dear all,

thank you for the informative replies and apologies for my so incredibly slow answer! I unscrewed the the expander bolt and noticed the following (photo attached):

1. the bolt's top is slightly damaged - I barely managed to unscrew it with a 6mm allen key, but it seems like it needs to be a 6.5 or 7mm key to loosen and tighten it properly - is it possible I'd need an unusual key like that?

2. I couldn't find any 'pip' on the sides of the wedge, neither any trace that there was one. Only on top of it there is a tiny "something" (barely visible on the photo), but I am unsure if that's what we need.

3. Apart from the above, the bolt and wedge seem in OK condition. there's no major rust or anything similar.

Do you reckon things could work out with this bolt and quill stem or should I rather try and get a new one?

Again many thanks!
Ilin