DaveHertle
Member
The short question is what size stem bolts should I carry for emergency road repairs.
I bought a Vado 3.0 in January. My first repair on the road was a loose stem bolt holding the front fender in place. Yes, the fender rubbing on the tire gets one's attention. I was able to tighten it with a multi-tool I carry and later put blue lock-tight on the thread.
At 450 miles I took the bike back to the lbs for the initial tuneup. I thought they would be tightening any loose bolts. Maybe they did.
My next ride was a planned 65-70 mile outing. At the halfway point, I stopped for lunch and discovered one of the stem bolts holding the rear fender to the frame was gone. I checked the others and they seemed tight. I had some concern as the rack partially mounts to the fender and I was carrying about 15 lbs. of stuff.
I was 10 miles into my return when suddenly the rear wheel locked up. Yes, another stem bolt came out. The fender had rotated forward and the only thing that prevented it from going to the ground was the wiring that passed from the frame. I had yet to get my lesson on how to remove the rear wheel so knew nothing about the thru axle. I had extra stem bolts on the frame of the bike I could have used, along with some in the bottle cage I could have borrowed. I found some string and a bungee along the road and jury-rigged a hold down. But that lasted for about 5 minutes.
So, I called for a ride and took the bike back to the LBS.
Now I am deciding I need to carry a small supply of stem bolts in my kit bag.
So, on the Vado, what stem bolts should I buy. Would it be the M5x15mm, M5x18mm, M6x16/20 or just an assortment, just in case.
I bought a Vado 3.0 in January. My first repair on the road was a loose stem bolt holding the front fender in place. Yes, the fender rubbing on the tire gets one's attention. I was able to tighten it with a multi-tool I carry and later put blue lock-tight on the thread.
At 450 miles I took the bike back to the lbs for the initial tuneup. I thought they would be tightening any loose bolts. Maybe they did.
My next ride was a planned 65-70 mile outing. At the halfway point, I stopped for lunch and discovered one of the stem bolts holding the rear fender to the frame was gone. I checked the others and they seemed tight. I had some concern as the rack partially mounts to the fender and I was carrying about 15 lbs. of stuff.
I was 10 miles into my return when suddenly the rear wheel locked up. Yes, another stem bolt came out. The fender had rotated forward and the only thing that prevented it from going to the ground was the wiring that passed from the frame. I had yet to get my lesson on how to remove the rear wheel so knew nothing about the thru axle. I had extra stem bolts on the frame of the bike I could have used, along with some in the bottle cage I could have borrowed. I found some string and a bungee along the road and jury-rigged a hold down. But that lasted for about 5 minutes.
So, I called for a ride and took the bike back to the LBS.
Now I am deciding I need to carry a small supply of stem bolts in my kit bag.
So, on the Vado, what stem bolts should I buy. Would it be the M5x15mm, M5x18mm, M6x16/20 or just an assortment, just in case.
