How to raise these handlebars??

[Fnaar]

Pardonin' my iggerance, but how do you/can you raise the handlebars on this old bike we inherited? Not sure how old, but old enough for downtube shifters. I've undone the bolt on top, pulled, shoved, grunted, swore etc, none of which seemed to do any good.
Any ideas folks?

 

[black'n'yellow]

loosen the top bolt, tap it with a hammer so it falls back into the stem (this will loosen the internal wedge's grip on the steerer), then pull the whole thing up, probably twisting as you go....

 

[berty bassett]

what e said - might need a big gentle tap - not too big though

 

[Fnaar]

Hi b'n'y, I kind of tried that... the bolt loosened ok, but didn't rise up, as it were. I banged it (not too hard) with a wooden mallet, but as it hadn't risen up, it didn't feel like I was actually making it fall back in.

 

[black'n'yellow]

Hi b'n'y, I kind of tried that... the bolt loosened ok, but didn't rise up, as it were. I banged it (not too hard) with a wooden mallet, but as it hadn't risen up, it didn't feel like I was actually making it fall back in.

well, that's the method.

Sounds like you might need to be slightly more 'authoritative' with it...

 

[Fnaar]

Thanks folks, I'll give it another "bash" tomorrow

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[Andy_R]

If the bolt has loosened then possibly the stem has seized in the steerer. Plusgas, a mallet, and perseverance may be required

 

[Fnaar]

It's very old, possibly 1980s, and I doubt it's ever been height adjusted, knowing who owned it from new.

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[mickle]

Sometimes the force required to loosen the quill from the stem is enough to ruin the head of the bolt with the face of the hammer. Place a bit of wood over it and you can muller it as hard as you like.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Once you've managed to loosen it look out for a max height line on the stem and don't take it above that, as others have said it sounds like its seized and might take a lot of persuading before it loosens up.

 

[sidevalve]

If after you've loosened the bolt it can be moved up and down a little [try fine point pliers] then the wedge is free and it's definately the stem which has seized in place. Lots of WD40 / plus gas / [or strangely] diesel fuel around the stem where it goes into the head and GIVE IT TIME TO WORK IN. Repeating the dose every few hours if you can for a few days.

 

[PatrickPending]

It's called a Quill stem btw

 

[Andy_R]

Just been reading up on this on Sheldon's and Jobst's sites, and if it is seized then it may need more than just a bit of lube. When aluminium corrodes (especially in steel) the oxide created expands to the point where it creates an interference fit in the steerer at a molecular level. In other words, it's going to need drilling & cutting out. This gives more detail.

 

[sidevalve]

Andy_R is correct, alloy and steel can stick together in a joint that makes ordinary welding seem like cheap wallpaper paste. However you have a few things in your favour, 1 - the length of stem in the head is usually quite short and 2 - you have a lot of leverage available via the 'bars for a firm twisting action. Try not to use the wheel for the other half of this.
PS - DO NOT hit the top of the stem hard with the wheel in place. After all wheels and forks were designed to absorb shocks and that's exactly what they will do. Remove the wheel and stand the bike on a wooden plank between the forks

 

[gwhite]

If all else fails and the wedge is firmly stuck in the steering tube then remove the front wheel, into the bottom of the head tube insert a drift (large screwdriver may do, and then hammer this upwards which should free the wedge. Make sure that you clean and grease the wedge and inside of the steering tube when re-assembling.