Stem Mount Installation Difficulties

[Norm]

I've been trying various options for installing a wireless mount on a stem that's round but too large for the mount to fit properly. It's been a comedy of errors.

First, the screws were just barely long enough to get threaded into the unit. After struggling with it for quite a while I finally managed to get both screws threaded into place. Then one of the ears broke off the bottom clamp while I was tightening everything up. Drat! OK, no worries -- I needed a larger bottom clamp anyway. Time for a trip to the hardware store. I searched around for a while and found some rubber insulated clamps (really a two hole strap wrapped in rubber) that looked like they'd work. Great!

Back at home, I reshaped the strap and started at it again. It took a while to get things lined up and the screws started, but things were looking good. This time, while tightening everything up one of the screws broke off in the mount. Drat #2! OK, deep breath. I recalled reading about people just glueing the mount onto their bars and stems using epoxy. After a decent scan of the ibikeforum I headed back to the hardware store to get more supplies. Drat, they didn't have any of the recommended epoxies. But they did have some Loctite (5-minute, instant-mix) epoxy with a spiral mixer like the Wurth epoxy Fernando recommends. Seemed like it'd be worth a try so I bought it and headed back to the house for attempt #3.

Since I then had a broken band and a mount with a screw broken off inside it, I was going to have to attempt this installation with just the epoxy. So, very carefully, I positioned the mount and began injecting the epoxy. The epoxy was supposed to set in 20 seconds so I prepared myself to hold it very still for the duration. After a minute the mount was still wobbly and I was starting to worry. I looked down and Drat #3! The epoxy was dripping down the stem of my virgin new TT bike. I quickly aborted the procedure and started cleaning everything up. Epoxy had dripped down the stem, onto the brakes calipers, and hovered mere millimeters from the Vittoria rubber on my unridden Zipp 404's. Surprisingly, the epoxy just pealed right off the brake calipers, stem, and iBike mount. Disaster averted! Perhaps that wasn't the best choice of epoxy.

Lesson learned: Before I try that epoxy trick again I will remove the stem and do the glueing on a workbench. I advise you to do the same.

So, now I have a bike desperately in need of an iBike, but my stem mount has a screw broken off in it and is without a bottom clamp. I'm considering drilling the mount to prepare to install it with zip ties and epoxy. I'd prefer to use two zip ties, one in front and one in back, but I have no idea what the inside of one of these devices looks like and I'm worried about hitting the electronics. Has anyone out there attempted to drill holes in the mount?

[Ratman]

Norm, in one of those earlier posts on this subject, someone recommended using "Shoe-Goo." I've tried it and found that it's viscous enough to minimize the chance of drips, and it can be removed without too much trouble if need be. It takes 24-hours to set, and 72-hours to obtain "maximum strength," but if you decide to reattempt the "glue" approach, you might find Shoe-Goo easier to work with. It definitely results in a "rock solid" mount, and it's thick enough to fill in small gaps if needed. Good luck with the mount!

[coachboyd]

Before you drill any holes in your wireless mount I would just order the bottom clamp from the iBike store. . .it's only a couple bucks (better than ruining your wireless mount).

For epoxy I have found tubular glue works great. I put just a dab of it on the wireless mount, spread it around a bit, and then let it set for 10-15 minutes. Then it sets great.

For the best stem option, you can't beat Thompson stems. Light, incredibly stiff, and the perfect size for the iBike mount. The cool thing about their stems is that each one starts off as a solid block of aluminum and they mill the stem out if this so there is no welds. It cuts down on the weight and really increases the strength.

[Norm]

Norm, in one of those earlier posts on this subject, someone recommended using "Shoe-Goo." I've tried it and found that it's viscous enough to minimize the chance of drips, and it can be removed without too much trouble if need be. It takes 24-hours to set, and 72-hours to obtain "maximum strength," but if you decide to reattempt the "glue" approach, you might find Shoe-Goo easier to work with. It definitely results in a "rock solid" mount, and it's thick enough to fill in small gaps if needed. Good luck with the mount!

Thanks for the tip. My local Home Depot didn't have Shoe-Goo, so I didn't have the chance to try it. Do you have any idea if it's strong enough to hold a mount to a stem without a bottom strap holding it in place?

[Norm]

Before you drill any holes in your wireless mount I would just order the bottom clamp from the iBike store. . .it's only a couple bucks (better than ruining your wireless mount).

Thanks Boyd. Ordering a new bottom clamp would be my first choice if I didn't already have a screw broken off in one of the holes on the mount. I have no idea how to extract the screw so I can give the bottom clamp another try. Since I'm already screwed (so to speak), I'm open to trying a physical modification to make this mount stick.

For the best stem option, you can't beat Thompson stems. Light, incredibly stiff, and the perfect size for the iBike mount. The cool thing about their stems is that each one starts off as a solid block of aluminum and they mill the stem out if this so there is no welds. It cuts down on the weight and really increases the strength.

Thompson stems look great! Thanks for the pointer. There's one feature that really caught my attention: they're knee-friendly! I'm sick and tired of having cuts on my left knee from climbing and sprinting.

On the TT bike however, I'll probably go for the hack and try to make this mount work before I spend the dollars on replacing both my stem and mount.

[racerfern]

If you have a screw broken in the stem try using some kind of superglue on the end of a paperclip. The tiniest bit so it doesn't touch the threads and make the screw permanently part of the mount.

[Ratman]

Norm, in one of those earlier posts on this subject, someone recommended using "Shoe-Goo." I've tried it and found that it's viscous enough to minimize the chance of drips, and it can be removed without too much trouble if need be. It takes 24-hours to set, and 72-hours to obtain "maximum strength," but if you decide to reattempt the "glue" approach, you might find Shoe-Goo easier to work with. It definitely results in a "rock solid" mount, and it's thick enough to fill in small gaps if needed. Good luck with the mount!

Thanks for the tip. My local Home Depot didn't have Shoe-Goo, so I didn't have the chance to try it. Do you have any idea if it's strong enough to hold a mount to a stem without a bottom strap holding it in place?

Norm, I haven't tried this, but I suspect that it would work if you ran a loop of Shoe-Goo around the stem then settled the mount into the Goo, making sure to orient it carefully. You might scoop some of the Goo up onto the sides of the mount or a bit over the thread housing to ensure that it's secure when fully set. Not an elegant or artistic solution, but if you've run out of other options, it could work. I would imagine that you'd need to use some considerable "elbow grease" to remove the mount if you chose to secure it in this fashion (probably pry off the "open," bottom part of the Goo first; once the Goo loop is broken, you should be able to carefully peel the Goo and mount off the stem without damaging the remaining part of the mount).

[Russ]

Norm,
Racefern said:
"If you have a screw broken in the stem try using some kind of superglue on the end of a paperclip. The tiniest bit so it doesn't touch the threads and make the screw permanently part of the mount."

But before I tried that, keep in mind this is probably not cross threaded so the screw remains should turn somewhat easily (as racefern's idea would require). First I would us an awl or the like to try to catch the ragged broken end of the screw and patiently push it around or gently tap the awl with a light hammer, or something. Sometimes it is surprising how well that can work.
I have also taken a Dremal tool and ground a small screw driver slot in the end of a screw or bolt but that one is quite small to work with that way.

Russ

[racerfern]

Assuming you get the screw out, why not take the broken bottom half of the clamp put it on a bench and super glue the broken piece on. Then put something in the through hole and epoxy the clamp on all sides. Finally pull out your plug once the epoxy starts to harden. Next time don't tighten so hard. Also consider buying longer stainless steel screws (the pitch is 4-40) commonly available at hardware stores. I've super glued broken clamps in the past and they've worked fine as long as I don't over tighten.

[lorduintah]

Removing screws can be tricky - unless you go to a hardware store or machinist supply and get an e-z-out for a 4-40 size. These are rather small diameter screws making this extraction more difficult than larger ones - approaching "bolt" sizes.

Tom

[Norm]

Thanks for all the advice. I'll probably try to find a tiny e-z-out to extract the broken screw since the remaining part of the screw is counter-sunk and it doesn't look like there's anything to grab hold of. If that's successful, I'll order another bottom clamp and try again using shoe-goo as a filler since the diameter of my stem is larger than the diameter of the mount. I'll post the results.

[Norm]

No luck on the screw extraction. A #1 extraction bit was the smallest I could find and it was too large for the job. It looks like I'm going to have to purchase a new mount. If anyone has any other ideas please pass them on.

[racerfern]

OK, last idea. There are reverse drills. As you run your drill in reverse it tries to drill into the metal. In the process the screw should back itself out. At least in theory and in practice. In reality however you'll let us know.

[Norm]

Well, I couldn't leave it alone. I tried once more to extract the screw and I wound up extracting the receiver sleeve. Oh well! With nothing left to lose I drilled some holes for zip ties. If I actually go through with the epoxy / zip tie experiment I'll post a photo of the results for all to enjoy.

You know, for the time I've invested in trying to salvage a $160 part I probably could have bought 2.

[SSLTTX]

I have a Carbon Bontrager stem which is very large and square. I went to the hardware store and bought longer screws, purchased extra sticky pads which built up the space between the surface between the flat stem and the stem mount. This has works perfect.

I've been trying various options for installing a wireless mount on a stem that's round but too large for the mount to fit properly. It's been a comedy of errors.

First, the screws were just barely long enough to get threaded into the unit. After struggling with it for quite a while I finally managed to get both screws threaded into place. Then one of the ears broke off the bottom clamp while I was tightening everything up. Drat! OK, no worries -- I needed a larger bottom clamp anyway. Time for a trip to the hardware store. I searched around for a while and found some rubber insulated clamps (really a two hole strap wrapped in rubber) that looked like they'd work. Great!

Back at home, I reshaped the strap and started at it again. It took a while to get things lined up and the screws started, but things were looking good. This time, while tightening everything up one of the screws broke off in the mount. Drat #2! OK, deep breath. I recalled reading about people just glueing the mount onto their bars and stems using epoxy. After a decent scan of the ibikeforum I headed back to the hardware store to get more supplies. Drat, they didn't have any of the recommended epoxies. But they did have some Loctite (5-minute, instant-mix) epoxy with a spiral mixer like the Wurth epoxy Fernando recommends. Seemed like it'd be worth a try so I bought it and headed back to the house for attempt #3.

Since I then had a broken band and a mount with a screw broken off inside it, I was going to have to attempt this installation with just the epoxy. So, very carefully, I positioned the mount and began injecting the epoxy. The epoxy was supposed to set in 20 seconds so I prepared myself to hold it very still for the duration. After a minute the mount was still wobbly and I was starting to worry. I looked down and Drat #3! The epoxy was dripping down the stem of my virgin new TT bike. I quickly aborted the procedure and started cleaning everything up. Epoxy had dripped down the stem, onto the brakes calipers, and hovered mere millimeters from the Vittoria rubber on my unridden Zipp 404's. Surprisingly, the epoxy just pealed right off the brake calipers, stem, and iBike mount. Disaster averted! Perhaps that wasn't the best choice of epoxy.

Lesson learned: Before I try that epoxy trick again I will remove the stem and do the glueing on a workbench. I advise you to do the same.

So, now I have a bike desperately in need of an iBike, but my stem mount has a screw broken off in it and is without a bottom clamp. I'm considering drilling the mount to prepare to install it with zip ties and epoxy. I'd prefer to use two zip ties, one in front and one in back, but I have no idea what the inside of one of these devices looks like and I'm worried about hitting the electronics. Has anyone out there attempted to drill holes in the mount?

[bex]

And I thought I was the one that had that sort of luck!
I wonder if we could be related.

Another epoxy thought to add to the mix, epoxy putty. We just bought some at the Walmart check out and used it to mold a new base to a busted plastic clock we have. I cannot believe how hard it sets, and best of all, (and this is the point) no mess.

Also, try taping the mount with electrical tape once in place, mine is rock solid now I have it taped.

Cheers

Bex