Stem SOS!

Riding old bicycles can have its perils as I've recently learned. I mean not that I wasn't aware of it, but so far, I think I've been really lucky with my Viscounts. The Sprint had endured quite a bit of force last year, when I rode straight into the bollard, only bending a bit, and my other bikes just keep going. Yes, I look after them, mainly to keep them on the roads, but also in order to protect myself. Every now and again, I'll check the bikes over, for cracks, loose bits, or rattling noises.
That's why I confidently took the blue Aerospace Sport out one morning, happily going up the hills and down full speed, etc. Bliss. On the way back, in the evening, though, I felt something wasn't quite right, as if the headset was loose, but that couldn't be, could it? I tried to turn the lock nut with my fingers, but it was tight. Hmm. What the hell? The stem bolt had been tight, too, since last time I wanted to adjust it (the angle was slightly off), it didn't move one bit. But why did I feel something was wrong? The QR was tight and nobody had touched the bike during the day. Curious, that. I decided it wasn't safe to ride it
anymore--yeah, I was silly enough to do all the hills of the ten-minute ride first, before further investigating. Turned out the stem had come up, which puzzled me. Anyway, I pushed the bike home and left it in the shed for the time being. I'd wanted to swap the stem for a shorter one for some time, so here was my perfect opportunity (also to buy a set of imperial Allen keys as the original stems of that blue bike with the skip-tooth freewheel aren't metric.)
When I finally got around to doing it, I discovered that the reason for my feeling a wobble was that the stem was broken--probably due to fatigue--and that it was only held together by the bolt. Blimey! That could have been a nasty meeting with the tarmac.

Broken Viscount alloy stem

What I don't understand is how it had come up so much but, when I tried to pull
it out, it was somewhat reluctant. A few short blasts with a rust dissolver and a brief hit with a hammer, and the broken end of the stem together with the wedge fell into the fork.

Stem and wedge sunken into the fork

Great! Some upside-down acrobatic in the bike stand and I could finally proceed with getting the new (old) SR stem in.

Bit of the old stem and the intact wedge

Just when I wanted to swap the boring normal bolt for the V-branded one, I stumbled over another Viscount-typical obscurity: the V-bolt had a little nodge which fits into a slot in the stem, so the V will be positioned the right way. How very clever, but rather useless for me at that moment.

Stem with slot

Match made in heaven

I briefly thought about filing but, sadly, the head of the bolt is too big. I'd probably be able to grind it down, but I guess it would look uneven, plus you don't want to mess around with a bolt that holds the handlebar in place.
Anyway, I've successfully changed the stem and threw the drive train into the parts washer, put everything back together, then put on new handlebar tape and have been out and about on the blue Aerospace Sport, which makes for a smashing ride.

A much cleaner Viscount

Great job, if I do say so myself

The days of back- and knee aches are over!

Those of you who remember my post from around Christmas, when I re-built the red flash in my kitchen, using the appliances for a stand: I'll have you know that those times are over. So is balancing the bike between the legs or leaning it against something when doing bar tape.
Because as of today I have a work stand. Okay, it's not a Kestrel, of which I'm a big fan, but it's surprisingly sturdy and will do the trick. I think it would even withstand some serious bottom bracket torquing--I'll test that when I put the Indy 500 back together.

New toy

With the Viscount Indy 500 frame

And for only 30 quid, who could resist? Although there's one thing I'm not happy about: the tool tray ain't big enough. Note: this is only a selection of everyday tools. Guess, I'll have to make one myself or find a different solution. 

A recipe for disaster

Talking about tools: I had to take a picture of the leaflet that came with the stand. Look at warning No. 2--just hilarious. Seriously, do people feel tempted to do such stupid things? The creativity of some human being seems endless, methinks.

More tool news: I finally got round to get myself a metric/imperial Allen key set. Not the prettiest, but does the job; tried it on the blue Sport and I guess I'll be swapping the stems on Sunday. Oh, and something I haven't had since today: an adjustable spanner. It's only 250mm, but the jaw opens up to 35mm; I must admit, though, that I really would like to have a big one, one that I can barely lift. No, I don't need it, but I want it just to drool over it. Might come in handy one day, too. Ah, tool-addicts, eh?

A must for every mechanic

Anyway, after all that heavy lifting (the stand isn't exactly a light weight), I'm hungry. Better get some food into me. Have a lovely weekend, everyone.