Help me with imperial thread stem bolt...

[medoramas]

Just as my final thought, if you lookat the third thread down there is a nice shard of bolt thread or hole thread, meaning that it was badly threaded or seriously over tightened:

As I said before - it was over tightened: struggling with that bloody headset on my 15 miles commute to work made me a bit "too keen"... But the rest of the bolts look exactly the same (well, a bit longer and without that o/tightening proof...).
I know it's weird, but it's real. Don't want to get rid of that stem, it's too good...

 

[danson67]

The nice guys at Uni-thread, just down the road in Totnes should be able to help with identification and tapping/rethreading possibilities:
http://www.uni-thread.com

And if it really is UNC (however weird that might be ) you can buy individual bolts/screws from:
http://www.a2stainless.co.uk/1-4-UNC-x-1-1-4-Socket-Capscrew_AFQ9.aspx

£2.50 will get you a new full set...

All the best,

 

[medoramas]

Thanks Danson for the link to Uni-Thread! I'll try some place in Newton Abbot first (on my way from work), if no help, I'll try them.

 

[biglev]

some candanian bike i have had had Imperial on (PDC).

I could eb a 1/4in 3/16th withworth thread. but nut and bolt places will have one. or it could be a metric on with a heavier pitch.

Specialist nut and bolt places like Clerkenwell screws (below) will take the broken one and find you spares. they have got me out a tights spots:
http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/directory/1100/15422.php

 

[WD Pro]

By 'eye' that thread looks a little more course than M6 :?

Imperial stuff on modern bikes ? dont bet on it not existing ...

I'd quite happily lay money that Orange never specced imperial on their bikes, or any other major maker of bikes for that matter. HL would undoubtedly made the stem have never specced imperial and I'd bet that if any other Orange owner on here checked their stems they would be m6 with a 5mm key.

I just can't see Orange, or all of HLs other clients, using their metric keys all over the bike and then swapping to their imperial keys just for the stem.

Maybe someone else has swapped them out afterwards for these imperial ones that then tapped the threads out and helped snap that over torqued bolt.

Either way, I wouldn't be using a stem that's already been so over torqued that the bolt has snapped and that appears to only use imperial.

I am not disputing any of that

What I am saying is that A) that does look like an imperial bolt and B) some modern bikes (my daughters Specialized Hot Walk that I pictured) does have imperial stuff on it (the stem faceplate)

I still think the best recommendation is :

Any local nut and bolt merchant or small engineering shop will identify that for you - should he easy to get a nice stainless replacement (cheaply) or even Ti (if you have cash to spare)

WD

WD