Stripped quill stem wedge nut
 

I was tinkering with my daughters bike last night because she mentioned that her handlebars seemed a little loose.

Found that the wedge nut threads were pretty worn and the middle section of the threads on the long bolt were toast :eek: She could have had a pretty nasty crash there. I cannibalized a bolt and wedge nut from another bike in the stable and got hers good to go.

I'm thinking of just finding a new bolt, slightly larger diameter and tapping some new threads in the wedge nut. Does anybody foresee any problems with this plan?

Seems you'd also need to drill out the top of the stem for the larger bolt to fit through. May or may not be an issue depending on the stem. Why not just get a new wedge?

Buy a new one?

oh c'mon where is the fun in that.

Do you need one? Measure it and let me know via PM.

Not to sound like a creep, but I've seen the photos you have posted of your daughter, and she is far too beautiful to risk letting her ride with a suspect stem.

Throw the stripped parts away. Raid LBS for future replacement hardware; stem bolts and wedges are everywhere.

-Kurt

Also grease the expander, bolt threads and outside of stem well before insertion. Helps it to tighten evenly and allows easier removal later. A replacement stem might be easier to find than the correct bolt and wedge?

No, that is creepy since I haven't posted a picture of her here, or anywhere for that matter :) But you are correct that she is far too beautiful to let her go on a risky ride. That is why I stripped a good part from another bike to fix up hers.

Anyways, I had the chance to get off work early and stopped by the LBS. They had some wedges but the longest bolt was about 1/2" shorter than the original. I took them anyway, the price was right, "naa just take it as long as you don't bring it back", ( I probably need to drop off a 6-pack this weekend.) I'll see if it works shortly as soon as my son finishes up his homework here...

Oops, my mistake then! (Where's the "embarrassed" emoticon?) Apparently I was thinking of another BFer. Good luck with the new stem bolt.