Bulge in steel steerer tube

[Hat]

Has anyone had any experience in dealing with a bulge inside a steel steerer tube cause by an over tightened quill stem? This seems simple enough: https://www.flickr.com/photos/49353569@N00/29134803682

[sales guy]

in 31 yrs in the bike world I have never seen a single fork steerer that has had a bulge in it from the quill wedge. If it gets that tight, I would guess the wedge would strip out or the bolt would break. If a bulge happens, the steerer is the wrong material or too thin.

[unterhausen]

I don't understand how a vee block straightens out a bulge. Frame blocks probably would work. If the threads are bulged, I would seriously consider retiring the fork. Ok, so I would retire a fork with a bulge, but I refuse to ride anything I'm not 100 percent confident in.

eta: I agree with Sales Guy, never seen it. Seen bulges from crashes

[nicrump]

i've not only seen a bulged steerer, i've seen one sheered at the bulge.

not worth fixing.

[drewellison]

I've seen a bulged steerer, back in the day when I worked at the LBS. You know ... lightweight steel race bike (probably a thin tubed steerer), never heard of a torque wrench or even what a torque setting was, and someone got kinda gorilla strong with the allen wrench. It was from a quill stem with a cone, not a wedge. I concluded that that was one of the reasons stem manufacturers started producing wedges instead of cones.

[Hindmost]

The example image is of a steer tube that has not yet been brazed onto a fork. Are they correcting bulges left from the butting process?

[oldpotatoe]

in 31 yrs in the bike world I have never seen a single fork steerer that has had a bulge in it from the quill wedge. If it gets that tight, I would guess the wedge would strip out or the bolt would break. If a bulge happens, the steerer is the wrong material or too thin.

Or threads cut too low, or some other way for wedge to push where it's threaded..seen it a few times..bad-bulge almost equals split..retire.

[Mark McM]

A steerer is the tube you least want to weaken by bulging/bending. Not only is the steerer one of the few non-redundant frame tubes, but unlike other frame tubes it cannot be easily inspected for cracks starting to form. I've seen steerer tubes fail while being ridden, and never ends well.

[sales guy]

Or threads cut too low, or some other way for wedge to push where it's threaded..seen it a few times..bad-bulge almost equals split..retire.


Agreed as to why it can happen...My positing and yours as well. I guess i've been lucky and never seen one. I can see it happening given our reasons.

I personally have never had one happen either. So again, guess i am lucky for once.

[David Kirk]

Make a lamp out of it and save yourself the dental bills.

Dave

[nesteel]

My '81 Trek 957 steerer tube has TWO bulges from a PO getting carried away. Yes I'm still riding it. Yes, I check it monthly. Yes, it will be going to get replaced, at some point.