Originally Posted by
Andrew R Stewart
That the steerer has a closed up bottom is a strong reason the wedge is corroded in place, no drain for water to go so it just puddles in the steerer. Really bad design IMO.
If this were my bike (and knowing that I have a lot of experience in frame work) I would consider doing something about this block steerer bottom. Maybe drill a hole through the steerer's plug (it sounds like a round plate of steel was brazed over the almost always open steerer bottom) and through this use a punch to impact the wedge.
That's what I would do - drill a 1/4 or 3/8 hole in the bottom of the fork crown and use a piece of round bar stock to drive the wedge out with plenty of PB or Kroil