jtei

Hi, sorry for the newbie question, but I am well...new at this. I also tried searching but I may have entered the wrong search terms in...

Anyways, I just bought an old fuji road bike (probably 70s-80s) for commuting and I want to flip and chop the current handlebars. How would I go about doing this? I can't seem to figure out exactly how to get the handlebars out of the steel stem. I think I read somewhere that you just remove the brake levers/cables and grip tape, remove the screw, then wiggle the bars out from the stem. Is this right? I feel as though I won't be able to do it because of all of those curves on the handlebars. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

sydney

That's the basic drill. Easier if you remove stem and bar as a unit from the bike first. May have to wedge the stem clamp open a bit to clear some of the curves.

jtei

Another newbie question.

So on my other newer bike I can easily remove the stem by just unscrewing the top screw on the stem and then pulling up the whole unit. On this fuji however, I have loosened the headset (i think its the headset) with a wrench and unscrewed the screw on top and I still can't get the stem to budge. Am I missing a step?

Thanks for the help.

Jordan

sydney

Stem may be frozen. You may also need to unscrew the center bolt pat way and then give it a good whack to release the retaining wedge or plug. Evne with the plug released, some plug type quill stems refuse to come out without major effort and cusswords.