Mountain Biking - Overtight bolt

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DANTE
12-05-03, 12:22 AM
Hi to all.
Yesterday I was tightening the handlebar clamp on my Tassajara and I tightened the vertical bolt too much. I undid it and screwed it in again but now it will only tighten up to a certain limit and then it willgo soft again. The two lateral bolts are ok, and I tried riding the bike without the top bolt and the bike felt ok.
What should I do leave it as it is with the bolt on as tight as it can before it goes soft or do I have to change something expensive??
Thanks for your help.

roadfix
12-05-03, 12:39 AM
are you talking about the stem faceplate bolts??
F1_Fan
12-05-03, 01:26 AM
What should I do leave it as it is with the bolt on as tight as it can before it goes soft or do I have to change something expensive??
Thanks for your help.

Oh... my...

Go to a bike shop and let the pros look at the stem. Now.

I can't believe someone would willingly ride a bike with one handlebar bolt out. That's crazy. It sounds like you stripped the threads in the stem. A bike shop will likely suggest that you replace the stem. It's not a hugely expensive repair.

DANTE
12-05-03, 01:56 AM
The bolt I am referring to is the only only one which can be seen when you look at the handlebars from above.
Sorry but I do not know the technical term.

Thanks for your advice
a2psyklnut
12-05-03, 07:53 AM
Sounds like the top-cap. This is even cheaper to repair as you simply need a new star-nut installed.

However, if the pinch bolts on the stem are tight, the tension on the top-cap bolt isn't significantly important.

It used to tighten up the headset by compressing the stem/spacers/bearings then you tighten up the pinch bolts on the stem to "lock down" the assembly.

So, after it's all tight, you can back off 1/4 turn on the top cap and it's ALL GOOD!

L8R
DANTE
12-09-03, 01:09 AM
Thanks for you help guys
Chi
12-09-03, 04:52 PM
Don't the bearings on your headset start to bind after you tighten the cap bolt too much?
DANTE
12-10-03, 06:46 AM
No, even after I tightened the bolt so much that I damaged the thread, everything turned smoothly.

Although the top cap bolt is damaged it can still be tightened to a certain degree. I rode the bike and noticed nothing unusual.

Thanks again
Jim311
12-10-03, 08:19 AM
It's not worth killing yourself over a 40 dollar part

;)