Very Annoying Creaky Stem!

Well the title says it all really: my quill stem creaks in a really very annoying manner.

If I tighten it up it stops creaking for a day or so and then it's off again, disturbing the tranquility of the Sussex countryside and scaring the cows.

Any ideas? I'd rather not change the stem because it's a nice tall one which brings the bars up to the right height on a short frame. But if it's the only way to stop the creaking then I'll have to.

Any suggestions?

Simon

Have you greased the inside of the steerer and the bolt on the clamp of the stem?

Hi. I have, yeah. They're both (lightly) greased. I could put more on but I'm concerned it'll slip round if I do. Guess I'll have to try and find another tall stem to try out.

Here's what Sheldon has to say:

http://sheldonbrown.com/creaks.html

Scroll down to the bit about bars. I'm not sure if there's anything in there that will help. Perhaps you could grease the wedge and its bolt. Is the sound definitely coming from the stem?

I'm all out of ideas, but there are nearly 2,000 users on here; someone will know what to do.

Right I've just tried another stem which has fixed the problem, so at least I know that's definitely what it is. My SR stem was a pretty stupid design with the quill a much smaller diameter than the post; it was easy to see why it would creak

Only trouble is I don't have any other stems tall enough to get the bars to the right height. Anyone got one? I'll put a post on the 'wanted' page too.

Cheers,

Simon

It won't slip round if you grease it loads and if it's also tightened to the correct torque. Park Tools' web site has a list of torque values; you can get a rough idea if you're tightening it enough by hand.

So the longer stem was the wrong diameter? Well, that sounds like a feasible explanation. Maybe measure the shorter stem with Vernier calipers, so you buy the right size next time.

as far as i know all quill stem shafts should be 22.2mm apart from the french ones which are 22mm. unlikely your SR is for a french steerer though.

Sorry to confuse. The SR stem is a 22.2mm - it's just that the quill part (i.e. the lower part which the bolt threads into) is a smaller diameter than the stem itself, by design. This means that it doesn't seat terribly well. Hence the creaking, presumably.

I've dug out all my spare stems and none of them is tall enough to get the bars where I need them. This is a slightly strange frame which is longer than it is tall, so I need a fair bit of seatpost and stem to make it fit me.

I did wonder about converting to threadless to give me more stem options, but it just looks wrong on a retro machine...