Bolt snapped in stem… :(

I bought a RaceFace Turbine R stem (35mm clamp, 40mm length) a few months ago, it’s a great bit of kit and looks awesome. I did however noticed the bolts looked a bit rough after fitting and setting to the correct 5nm of torque. I had only tightened those bolts once so I was surprised how rough they looked, I thought they might have been made from actual cheese! I decided to replace the original bolts with some nice shiny titanium bolts at exactly the same spec as the originals.

I went about taking all the original bolts off. I started with the steerer and removed both the original bolts, then proceeded to fit the new Ti bolts. I got both in hand tight and then decided to set them to the required 5nm of torque. Turns out my torque wrench is completely useless (LifeLine Essential Torque Wrench Set) it no longer clicks at the desired torque, so I over tightened one of the bolts and actually snapped it in half ☹ – half the bolt is stuck in the stem and the other on the end of my wrench socket!! Realising that I had totally f*cked it (and with some serious rage!), I then went to remove the stem completely, all the faceplate bolts came off except one where the bolt rounded off, so I had to remove, lever and grips at one end to get the bar off!! I think the problem all along was that the torque wrench wasn’t calibrated properly so I had inadvertently overtightened all the bolts, hence why they looked so mashed after fitting, either that or I am ham fisted idiot!!

Anyway, lesson here is to not waste money on a cheap torque wrench and to be very careful when fitting! Either that or just got to your LBS!

I’ll have a lovely RaceFace Turbine R stem on a famous auction site later for spares or repair! Not sure if the two bolts can be drilled out, but clearly my mechanical skills are not up for that challenge!

I think the problem all along was that the torque wrench wasn’t calibrated properly

5Nm isn’t very much and it’s easy to miss the click of the torque wrench if you aren’t paying attention.  It might be fine (it might also be completely out but there is quite a lot of difference between 5Nm and snapped)

Yeah, I was tightening very slowly, so was very surprised when it snapped. I am sure it’s a combination of crap torque wrench and crap mechanic!!

If it’s not tightening against anything then the bolt shaft left in the steerer end might be quite loose, you might be able to twist it out. Or drill into it with a reverse carbide bit and as it drillis in it should then start to back it out anyway.

And then replace with good quality steel. There’s places where weight saving might be worth it but bolts….. not in my book.

This torque wrench?

I’ve got one and its absolutely fine. I’m a bit of a tool tart but for occasional use the X-tools / Lifeline has been fine. It gives a pretty solid clunk when it gets to the torque level

5Nm is a bit more than nipped up with the long end of the hex key. Snapping force must be more than double for a Ti bolt

Yeah, I realised the error of my ways, messing with bolts for an component that is so important won’t be happening again. Good point re. the reverse carbide bit, not sure I am willing to attempt it myself though.

Yes, that’s the exact kit. When I first used on the original RF bolts it was fine, although they definitely seem overtight and one was impossible to remove and the head rounded off – was using a good quality Park Tools hex key to remove too.

Do you really need a torque wrench for stem bolts? I don’t own a torque wrench and have never had an issue as a result. I suspect i’m not alone.

5Nm is a bit more than nipped up with the long end of the hex key.

Its useful to learn how to do things by hand. People seemed to get a bit obsessed with exact torque figures when really for most applications about four settings is enough – Finger tight, Nipped up, Tight, Monstered. Even if you then use a torque wrench you’ll get a good feel for if it is going wrong.

Its useful to learn how to do things by hand. People seemed to get a bit obsessed with exact torque figures when really for most applications about four settings is enough – Finger tight, Nipped up, Tight, Monstered. Even if you then use a torque wrench you’ll get a good feel for if it is going wrong.

Fully agree – I aim for ‘very tight but i’ll be able to get this off’ for most jobs.

I always used to just do by hand, but I was building up a new bike and thought maybe I should pay more attention to these things!! After this weekend’s disaster, I whacked another stem on my bike yesterday, have done it up tight as I always used to and will just continue to check from time to time! I think I just overcomplicated things with a torque wrench, I’ve never bothered before in over 20+ years of riding

I have the same model of torque wrench. It doesn’t actually click, but when it reaches the right torque the head rotates a bit. Is that what you mean by ‘click’?

Yes, sorry that’s what I mean. When I first installed the original bolts it did just that and also worked fine with my Hope seatclamp which is at a slightly higher nm

Ah, thanks, I’d better be wary of the same fault on mine.

It’s been good so far, and I always wind it down to zero again after each use. I like it’s ability to measure torque when unscrewing as well – having once sheared a bleed nipple on my car’s brakes, I was determined not to do so again, so set the wrench to what I hoped was a safe torque (12Nm) and kept working at the thread with penetrating oil and freezing spray until it moved with that torque.

Do you really need a torque wrench for stem bolts? I don’t own a torque wrench and have never had an issue as a result. I suspect i’m not alone.

I check my tyres every ride with a digital pressure gauge and I’m fairly sure a whole host of people don’t bother to do that. They probably never have an issue but there’s nowt wrong with being fastidious!

You need one of these

Never need to find your 10mm socket or your 6mm allen key again ( the buggers always hide) and you can be sure you are getting it properly tightened

https://sheldonbrown.com/tork-grip.html

lesson here is to not waste money on a cheap torque wrench

Its useful to learn how to do things by hand.

Always did things by hand, but I’d recommend £12 on a Topeak ComboTorq to anyone to get a feel for numbers. According to the BikeRadar test it under-reads by about 20% which I don’t feel really matters. And being spring-type, it’ll stay in calibration, has no moving parts, and can’t see how it could be accidentally misused.

I have the topeak torque box set 4,5,6nm colour coded bits that pop on the end of a 5mm allen key, you can’t overtighten past the stated torque, the mechanism releases and makes a little clicking noise so even if you keep turning the allen key the torque bit stops tightening further.
You can buy them individually too.

The issue with torque wrenches is at low torques, the click and ‘give’ can be really subtle, and because the wrench is about 3 times the length of a hex key, its really easy to overtighten stuff.

I’ve got one but I only really use it for an eccentric bottom bracket and crank pinch bolts…generally I find things are getting tighter than I’m comfortable with (remove wrench and use a hex for reference) or I get to the stated value and stem/bars etc are still able to rotate or twist with medium effort, so I go tighter.

Send me the stem and I’ll drill the bolts out for you. Send me a message for address. Even if you’ve replaced it at least you’ll be able to sell it as a working item…

Always did things by hand, but I’d recommend £12 on a Topeak ComboTorq to anyone to get a feel for numbers. According to the BikeRadar test it under-reads by about 20% which I don’t feel really matters. And being spring-type, it’ll stay in calibration, has no moving parts, and can’t see how it could be accidentally misused.

I have the same tool and choose it for the same reason.

Got one of those lifeline torque wrench sets…never had a problem feeling it click…not so convinced that the hex heads are great quality though…always use a torque wrench on stem bolts not because I am hand fisted but because I want the bolts equally tensioned

Could be worse a tompson with 3mm heads…

If you accidentally put your finger on the head of those Lifeline torque wrenches when you’re tightening bolts you can prevent the head from clicking altogether. Think I did that once when I was holding it cack-handed for some reason.

I find either holding an allen key near the head or using a shorter length allen key is an easy way not to over torque something. It’s easy to go way too tight if you’re holding off the end of even a standard length allen key.

Its easy to say learn what the correct tightness feels like – I have been guilty of this in the past. However I did learn by snapping bolts and stripping threads

Never used a torque wrench on a bicycle tho – simply no need even if you are cack handed. Use a normal allen key and you cannot overtighten

Tales like the OPs is why a torque wrench on a bicycle is a bad idea – and stem bolts in particular only need to be hand tight plus a bit.

Lesson learnt, I’m not going to overcomplicate things in the future!!

I’ve had that same torque wrench for a few years and definitely does click. It makes a very obvious and audible clack sound when it gets to the right torque. Maybe they’ve changed recently.

Use a normal allen key and you cannot overtighten

Pretty sure if you were hamfisted enough you could manage. As I’ve done in the past.

Bikes only really need three torque settings

“Tight enough” – A bit passed nipped up, this would cover everything in the 3 – to 6NM range which is all the controls, all the stem bolts etc.

“Tight” – Brake bolts, chain ring bolts, pivot bolts, HTII pinch bolts

“Bastard Tight” – Lockrings and crank bolts.

A torque wrench is fine to check that you have the stem bolts roughly even or that you are close to the value printed on the pivot bolt but I wouldn’t rely on them or use them for every bolt.

I think I’ll stick to those three settings – I must have gone beyond “Bastard Tight” with my stem!!!

Right Tom this will be on its way back to you tonight – made a nice distraction from Teams calls!

For the snapped one I popped it under my bench drill, and used a 2mm bit. Because I was drilling from the opposite end to the head, once it started to bite, it simply unscrewed the stub, and I finished it off with tweezers/ mini screwdriver.

For the rounded bolt I had to get a bit more Neanderthal about it. All I can say is you had done a proper job on it! However I have a wide selection of spline/ torx bits for just this reason.

Also worth noting that hex keys can become ‘blunt’ over time so you might want some new, good quality ones – it makes a huge difference!

Cheers!

Well done timbog160!!

Tales like the OPs is why a torque wrench on a bicycle is a bad idea – and stem bolts in particular only need to be hand tight plus a bit.

This isn’t very helpful, I have both a Race Face forged stem, with 13.6Nm (max) torque spec, and a Renthal stem at 5Nm.

There are highly specific safety tests for such things, and telling people to ignore manufacturers recommendations (which will be made with this testing in mind) is pretty bold.

Use a torque wrench or waive your right to complain about stuff breaking/not working correctly/killing you.

Massive thanks to timbog160 for fixing the proper mess I made out of that stem. If I had tried myself I probably would have mashed it either further!! I had resigned myself to having a RaceFace paperweight reminding me of my mechanical fails everyday! Awesome for him to offer in the first place, but to fix it and in such a quick time is amazing 🙂

Buy yourself a Ritchey 5nm torqkey, Topeak nano torqbox or similar, worth their weight in gold imo, good for stems, seat clamp, rear mech cable bolt etc.