Hi,
New Member here.
I'm having trouble taking my stem out of my frame. I took the top bit (sorry I don't know the correct name for it) out with an allen key but it still wont budge. I think it might be the bearings underneth it, Would that be it?
my friend said it might be welded on to the frame?


would appreciate some replies

btw its a shogun ground breaker frame. probably from the 90's.

Can you post a pic of your problem this would let us help you better.

I will when i get home. I'm at university at this moment.

your friend is insane.

if your talking about a threadless headset, did you loosen the bolts on the stem itself too?
Pictures are certainly needed

If it is a quill stem, it might have been seized completely by aluminium oxide if it's an alloy stem or seized by rust if it's a steel. Pictures would be a big help as the others have said.

Dont take the stem bolt completely out. If you did put it back. Loosen a few turn, and slightly tap it with a hammer to knock down the wedge. It will slide out.

all good
just used a spanner and it came off.

Yep, the one and only time a hammer can be considered a bike tool.

I generally use a 2x4 to avoid marring the bolt head.

I am guessing the wedge is still stuck in the forktube.
If it is you need to reinstall the stem and follow the instructions above.

Enjoy

Parktools have some good illustrated instructions for most things.
The 2 varieties of stem (threadless/aheadset and quill/threaded) have different methods First ID your stem type.

The vertical bolt for qill stems is about 5-6" long. If you have removed it, put it back gently and thread back in. When you have about 1/4-1/2" protruding, place a wooden block on top and strike gently with a hammer to force the wedge bolt down. The stem can corrode and sieze in place. Hitting more wont release it. Jiggle the bars side to side to get some free rotation. You may need a lot of force on the bars. Once you get a little rotation, jiggle more and upwards and it comes free.
To release a siezed quill , Sheldon Brown site has some tips on the correct solvent.

And installing crown races and removing headset cups

Problem is, half the time it doesn't........corrosion from sweat, rain and moisture from wet roads can weld the stem to the steerer tube. So a slight tap might have to be more like sharp raps or pounding with copious use of penetrant/lubricant to break up the corrosion....
I don't think that bike designers ever really thought of the long term consequences of putting dissimilar metal together tightly when they designed bikes and it's components.

Chombi