Sheared off thing in forks...

Howdy...

I was out for a ride last week, when I noticed my forks were loose.(held front brake and it rocked, then realised how loose they were!)

I took it apart to see what was what, and to tighten, they were still loose, but something worse happened. The screw that goes in the top and downwards, the bit it screws into has sheared off. So I have the bit inside the forks tube stuck in there. I know this is going to be a "take it to the bike shop" situation, but are those bits that screw in the forks expensive? And is it a 5 minute job, or a leave the bike for a weekend kind of job?

Whats really getting me though is why the forks were loose in the first place. Nothing was missing and all the spacers were correct etc...

Pics?

I can take some when I'm home from work. I'll do a crude paint one here :

i think he's talking about a threadless headset allen bolt shearing off and the star fangled nut being stuck in the steerer tube... but i could have read it wrong.

create?

• create?
  
  

*Nope it's a Felt F95 Road bike.

But what you've said is pretty much the problem (wasn't sure what the thing in the tube was called!). My real issue is why it was loose to begin with.

Because you hadn't adjusted it for a while?

Like andy sez, sometimes they can loosen as parts settle in place or wear slightly, or maybe after a bit of hard riding.

It is not clear whether your forks have a bung

or a star fangled nut

nor is it clear whether it's the above which has failed or just the screw itself, but either way you need to replace the broken part. Easy in the case of a bung, not sure about a star thingy never tried.

PS mad MS Paint skillz :p

Just smack it further down the steerer tube and buy another star fangled nut/allen bolt.

It's one of those star fangled nuts. Cool, I'll pick one up and proceed to bang the other one down. I take it it's not going to matter if its banged down out the way?

Ta

Just smack it further down the steerer tube and buy another star fangled nut/allen bolt.

I'd get someone who knows what they are doing to fit a new one as it's a tricky job, especially without the correct tools.

more thorough investiagiton would advise I bang down the old one out the way, and just get a expansion plug. Seem's to be a million times easier.
**http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=67
**

more thorough investiagiton would advise I bang down the old one out the way, and just get a expansion plug. Seem's to be a million times easier.
**http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=67
**

They're designed for carbon steerers. I tried using one on an alloy steerer as a temporary fix until I could get a proper SFN and it kept slipping. Although different designs may work better than others...

Get a Hope Head Doctor.

Well I banged the old one down, and put the new one in with a screwdriver through the hole as a guide, went in straight and its all nice and tight now! Sorted. Ta.