Weight Weenies

Hi guys!

I've tried for 3 days to get this barrel adjuster off but it won't budge. I've sprayed it with Sonax MoS2, used pliers to try to turn it but it's stuck. It's at the point where i'm afraid I will hurt the frame because the rivets are now starting to wobble abit.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Victor

Heat?

Coca Cola?

Those are my two best options for getting stuck items unstuck.

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Kastrup wrote:Heat?

Coca Cola?

Those are my two best options for getting stuck items unstuck.

Thanks for the suggestions Kastrup

I'm kinda wary to use heat, but I will give the coke a try

Can you just unscrew the two bolts from your frame ? Then you will be able to get at it easy .

plus gas will be probably more effective than the sonax oil

are the two metals different? for instance if the adjuster is aluminium and the bracket steel, you can use freezer spray on it, the al will contract more and this can help free things up

if the two metals are the same, you can still use heat/cold to try and ease things, lay the frame on it's side, trickle boiling water over the bracket, once it's heated through you can spray freezer through the adjuster

otherwise, it may be time for some precision drilling

artray wrote:Can you just unscrew the two bolts from your frame ? Then you will be able to get at it easy .

I wish I could, but they are riveted to the frame.

sungod wrote:plus gas will be probably more effective than the sonax oil

are the two metals different? for instance if the adjuster is aluminium and the bracket steel, you can use freezer spray on it, the al will contract more and this can help free things up

if the two metals are the same, you can still use heat/cold to try and ease things, lay the frame on it's side, trickle boiling water over the bracket, once it's heated through you can spray freezer through the adjuster

otherwise, it may be time for some precision drilling

I have managed to cut off the plastic part and also remove the spring. But the bolt won't budge.

I don't have access to plus gas back here in Thailand. But the metals are different, steel and aluminium. I'm sort of worried about the carbon and paint when it comes to the hot and cold method, but I will give it a try if all else fails.

Thanks!

soak in ammonia a couple of times. It's smelly but it will help free it up.

Plus gass applied every day for several days maybe a week or two. Patience is needed here. Ammonia might be quicker though. I pefer patience myself.

ammonia is the right chemical, but apparently it has issues with soaking in.
have you tried vise grips? likely much more effective than regular pliers. and dont try to turn it in one direction, rather "wiggle" it up n down, while letting whatever penetrant soak in.
i wouldnt worry about the rivets, you could always re-rivet the thing afterwards.
last resort- remove the mount from the frame and drill the barrel adjuster out. use a bit that is slightly smaller than the bolt diameter in the thread valleys. then youll be left with just a coil of thread from the adjuster, which you could pick out or tap.

+1 for the drill . You think Storck would have thought of something else rather than rivets.
What ever you do .Do it gently.

Thanks for the suggestions fellas, but it's still stuck

I have had it dipped in coke for 3 days now and the bolt looks much cleaner, but it's stuck solid. I still can't put myself up to drilling it yet so I will dip it in ammonia as suggested.

Fortunately I won't be riding the bike any time soon as i'm still recovering from surgery. So I will be patient!

If I were you I'd make a "pouch" by ducktaping a piece of plastic to your frame and positioning it so you can fill it up entirely.
I think you'll have the best chance by doing this and using the vice grips like thisisatest suggested.

I have a riding mate who is particularly handy and is an excellent craftsman - I have found in the past that drilling though sounding awful is not such a bad solution. He has always managed to drill away any frozen bolts through the middle. Once the supporting metal is removed the thread often can be pried away and the threads re-tapped.

This really could be a simple get-out. I personally would not risk the paintwork (all those harsh chemicals) or the rivets, but would go Route 1 and drill.

Carefully !

I had the same problem with my '05 Roubaix frame. Was able to free it with needle nose vise grips and penetrating oil, after removing the sleeve. Don't know why the hell mfr.s use ferrous metals in those things. If you're in a coastal climate, it doesn't take long for them to corrode.

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I had this issue on a BMC TT frame.

I used a dremel with a cutoff wheel to take the head of the barrel adjuster off.

I used a small drill to drill out a bit of the remaining screw of the barrel adjuster.

I used a tap to tap out the threads of the frame.

I was very slow and careful on all this probably took around 2 hours, with no damage to the frame.