ITM stems

Jonny69

Jonny69

Senior Retro Guru
I went to adjust the stem on my Viscount earlier. It's an ITM "ruin your manhood if you crash" style one and I was assuming the securing bolt was buried down inside it:

IMG_5454.JPG


Now, my allen keys are pretty long, but there doesn't appear to be a bolt down there. Do I need a REALLY long allen key, or do these ones have a different tightening system?
 
Reminds me of my wifes training bike in the 1960's. She had a GB stem which had corroded inside the fork column, making it virtually immovable. I removed the redundant expander bolt. Eventually I cut through the stem, took out the forks, and warmed up the fork column until blobs of molten alloy dripped out.
 
Have you ever had this stem apart from the frame? Old style stems like that typically had a hex-headed bolt rather than Allen key bolt- somebody may have removed it earlier to loosen the stem and found it well and truly stuck. I'd shine a torch down the steerer or likewise take a look inside the fork steerer from the underside to see what's happening.
 
If the expander is still up in the stem, (as seen from below) it might be worth poking a suitable rod down and giving it a sharp tap, the expanders would usually stay in place without the bolt.
 
Hmm, good tips. I might well check those before I go out next. The last thing I want is for the stem to suddenly come loose when I'm riding...
 
Ok I had a look down the tube and I can see the expander down at the bottom. I can see the threads are clear but it's canted over at an angle which is strange. This could either work in my favour or go the opposite. What I'm hoping is I can drift it down and free the stem, the advantage being the threads are out the way so I shouldn't muller them by hitting something down there. On the other hand, if the stem is all the way down so that the expander is wedged in the tapered part of the bottom of the headstock, It'll be well and truly stuck!
 
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