Hybrid Bicycles - Made a big mistake today

I decided to pick up some fenders for the hybrid this morning since the snow has pretty much melted and I wanted to take it for a spin. The installation was going as smooth as you could expect until I was putting the last screw in to connect the front left fender stay to the fork. The bolt head must have already been close to breaking off because the head snapped right off. I didn't take the 2 seconds to inspect the bolt before hand and now I'm not sure what to do. I can understand that happening if I were using a ratchet and really forcing it on there, but I was just using a Phillips heads screwdriver and didn't feel any unusual resistance. I'm not sure how to get the broken screw out now. I tried putting an identical screw in through the back and forcing it out, but the bolt already got far enough in that I can't put one through the back.

As angry as I was, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to ride in January so I got some small zip ties and secured them to the fork that way. They are hardly noticeable and the fenders are aligned and work perfectly. Should I try some other method to get this screw out or just go with what is working and try to ignore my error?

Try and EZ out . If they make one that small

The LBS should be able to get that sucker out of there and re-tap the hole if necessary.

I had a screw that was holding both the fender and rear rack go AWOL on me once. Pulled the rack off and used zip ties to secure the fender until I could get to the Ace Hardware and get a long enough bolt, some washers, and a lock nut.

Or a left handed drill bit.
Or a right handed (regular) drill bit, and once there's little enough left, the remaining threads will fall out. This works especially well if it was a clean, non-rusty, non-seized hole and it just broke.
Or a larger right handed drill bit, then tap for a larger hole and put in a larger bolt.

Very odd that you'd have no warning, and with just a hand screwdriver!! Maybe a bad apple of a bolt, oh well. Get grade 5-8 for the replacement bolt :)

Bummer on the broken screw. A small EZout should do it. If some of the screw is still sticking out of one side of the drop-out, you can dremmel a small slot in it and back it out with a small flathead too.

Thanks for all the responses. I'll keep an eye out for an ez-out that small, the screw is only 5mm in diameter so it may be tough to find. I am a little nervous drilling into the screw with the ez-out or left-handed bit. It just seems so easy to slip up and cause a bigger problem...


Very odd that you'd have no warning, and with just a hand screwdriver!! Maybe a bad apple of a bolt, oh well. Get grade 5-8 for the replacement bolt :)

I was stunned. It took me a few second to even realize what happened. There was a little resistance, but nothing extraordinary.


Bummer on the broken screw. A small EZout should do it. If some of the screw is still sticking out of one side of the drop-out, you can dremmel a small slot in it and back it out with a small flathead too.

There is about 1/8 inch sticking out still, I like this idea. It seems like it would be pretty easy to back out with a flathead since there wasn't much resistance before it broke off. Maybe I'll give this a shot and then resort to the LBS if that fails.

A big mistake is pulling out in front of a speeding semi.


This is a little mistake.

A big mistake is pulling out in front of a speeding semi.


This is a little mistake.

Good point. It feels larger since I've only owned it for 2 weeks and managed to screw something up on it before the tires ever touched the pavement.

Bummer on the broken screw. If some of the screw is still sticking out of one side of the drop-out, you can dremmel a small slot in it and back it out with a small flathead too.

This. Be careful and brace your dremel tool carefully as it will want to kick/travel if you don't have a good grip on it. Brace the fork so it is well-immobilized, too.

If you have 5mm sticking out then eezy peezy. Apply a little penetrating lubricant and leave it over night. (This is really for good luck, you may not need it.). Then grab that 5mm with a small Vice Grip and turn it out. No Dremmeling needed. Twist gently. If it's hard don't force it and take off the stub you have. Apply more penetrant and try again tomorrow.

If you have 5mm sticking out then eezy peezy. Apply a little penetrating lubricant and leave it over night. (This is really for good luck, you may not need it.). Then grab that 5mm with a small Vice Grip and turn it out. No Dremmeling needed. Twist gently. If it's hard don't force it and take off the stub you have. Apply more penetrant and try again tomorrow.

This. +1.
Also, a decent length of masking tape wound around either side of the nub before you get the grips on it, will save any chance of scratching the paint in the event that it slips.

Drilling and dremmeling all have risks attached, and its easy to make a small problem worse.
Good luck with I, but it should come out pretty easily. A little bit of heat with a a hairdryer on a hot setting will help too, and won't strip the paint off.

If it’s sticking out some then a needle nose vice grip will do the trick, works for me.

So...did you get the screw out yet?

I did, meant to update everyone but got a little busy. I used some PB Blaster, then the next morning wrapped the screw with some masking tape and used a pair of vise grips. Came out pretty easy. If that didn't work I was going to move on to the Dremel tool. If that failed it would have been to the LBS, the ez-out method made me too nervous to do myself.

I'd like to thank everyone for the advice, I'm new to the forum but the quick and helpful responses to questions (especially from newbies like myself) is really awesome. This is a great community.

Good deal - glad it worked out for you!