Okay, so I was doing a fast lap yesterday at the local high school track, when I had a sudden blowout of my rear tire in the corner. I managed not to fall, but when I went to survey the damage and remove the wheel, I noticed that the hex bolt head was competely stripped.



The wrench won't even bite a little bit to get it out. What are my options here? Is there some magic way to remove these things other than with a drill or dremel? Any ideas on where to get a replacement?

It's a Mack hub if that makes any difference.

As of right now, this stupid bolt is putting the entire bike our of commission, as I can't even fix the flat.

Thanks.

get these:
https://www.amazon.com/Alden-Grabit-B...8?ie=UTF8&s=hi

Woah, cool. I've stripped more bolts in my life than I can remember, and now I find out there's an affordable tool to get them back out. Thanks a bunch, this is awesome.

Any home remedies that involve McGyver like skills so that I can knock this puppy out with a butter knife and some dental floss while I wait for shipping?

you could have just gone to sears or ace or somewhere to buy it.

go to the hard ware store and get an ez out and a new bolt

Can the tube be salvaged with a patch? If so, patch it while it is still on the bike. Not super easy, but it can be done. You did say "blowout" though, so I am thinking a patch won't do the trick.

Yeah, I'm a slow cookie, and haven't ordered it yet. I figured I'd check locally first, but it was easier to just say 'wait for shipping'.

You are absolutely brilliant. Thanks. Why did I not think of this? I haven't even checked to see what kind of hole I've got. For all I know, it's completely patchable and it t just sounded slightly more severe.

Perfect!

sometimes you can pound a larger allen wrench into a stripped out bolt.
but since you'd be effectively pounding on your bearing races, i'd advise against it.

dremeling a slot into the allen head for a screwdriver works too

you should be able to pick up the screw remover things at your local hardware store.

Back up and running!



Thanks a bunch guys and gals! Bike Forums for the win! I'll pick up the handy broken bolt tool tomorrow and see if I can get that sorted out.

Now that she's functional again, I'm off to pick up dinner

~~~~~~ droool.


in payment i think you should let me ride your bike next time in in Gainesville.
which will probably be never, but still

Well, obviously you can. My standard policy is, if you can touch the pedals and still have your butt in the saddle, I'll at least let you take it for a couple hundred feet. But for you, I'd probably make an exception.

This thread was worth it for the bike photo. Nice.

*edit - Are those LeVeL hubs?

Here's another option. It's a ghetto one, but will only cost you a
few bucks and an allen key.... Get some JB weld, fill the hex key
hole with the jb weld and then stick the allen key in there. Wait
awhile and then crank the bolt loose. If you don't want to loose
the allen key, wrap it in plastic or maybe coat it with a non stick
cooking spray. I never said it was a classy solution......

Hey, thanks. They're actually Mack hubs. Some guy/girl hand machines them in Poland I think. They're the best bike purchase I've ever made, next to my frame maybe,and I do mean maybe.

Hey mikearena, so how bad was the hole in the tube?

Not too bad. A couple milimeters across I guess. Easily patched. I did have to shore up my tire though, as it appears it's worn a bit thinner than I thought it was.

Also, I don't think I'm going to remove the wheel to patch a tire ever again. Patching it while it was still in there was actually a bit easier!

Yeah, this is the McGyver **** I'm talking about. I will try this tomorrow. I've always wanted to play with JB Weld.

has anyone figured out how to prevent this from happening again?

Don't let me touch your bike?

I think if you use higher quality tools, then they're machined/manufactured more precisely. I think it gets sticky when you start really tourqueing tools that don't *quite* fit, even if they're the 'right' size. So like that $2 Wal-Mart multi-tool I've been using, that's not gonna cut it apparently.

Or I could be horribly wrong.

Just wanted to say this, except with loctite.

Edit: preventing rounding off bolt heads: 1) good wrench 2) use it properly. Always insert the wrench fully, keep inserted fully, and hold it straight with your thumb as you turn it. Not just grab the end and yank it, cuz that'll kill the bolt sooner or later. Having decent boltas doesn't hurt, either...

I'm a fan of using a dremel whenever possible... the flathead slot technique has definitely worked for me in the past.

Ive had some luck hammering in a disposable hex of the opposite system (metric/english)
pick one slightly larger than the original bolt size.

Actually, you are right on. Also, never torque with ball end wrenches, and the hardness of the wrench maters.

Alright, just JB Welded a cheap wrench in there, and will try getting the bolt out tomorrow morning. I'll let you folks know how it goes.

Managed to find four stainless steel bolts in the correct size today, so it looks like they'll all be getting replaced.

Update: JB Weld did not work. I let it set up for 20 hours or so, but it still just kind of squooshed everywhere when I went to try it.

Stripped bolt extractor did not work. I drilled a hole into the bolt and then started using the extractor, and it broke at the tip. So now there is a tip of a bolt exctractor in the hole in my bolt.

Tomorrow I'm just going to use a dremel and just cut off the entire bolt or something. I'll rig something up and borrow a lock nut from my front wheel and run a different front wheel until I can get a replacement. This is such a pain in the ass.

And of course, the patch that I had in the tube held for a while, but I really need a new back tire, so the entire bike is out for a bit.

Looks like I'm probably not racing tomorrow. Seriously people, don't let me touch your bike.