How I Removed a Stripped Torx Bolt From A Carbon Fibre Bike Tube

[@RonGabriel]

Omg, I gasped out loud when you knicked into the carbon frame

[@seamusOB]

It's great watching someone make the same mistakes as I made - misery loves company! I flinched when the dremel blade hit the frame. Congrats on extracting that bolt!

[@PezCycling]

Thanks Seamus - yeah that was a painful moment… never made that mistake again. Lol

[@virkelie2]

Thanks for the video! I have 3 rounded off hex pins I can't get out of my Hope F20 pedal. What I learned from this video - bring it to the bike shop :)

[@andrewwanie7061]

Hey Pez, a couple things that have been handy for me... On every new bike build, I exchange all the bolts I know are going to be subject to wear and tear with titanium counterparts. I've found too many disk brake, stem and seat binder bolts to be made out of substandard metal that's either prone to stripping out or corrosion. Sure, it's an extra spend, but on a bike that costs thousands, $15 in bolts should be no big deal. Just be sure to use ti-prep, anti seize or grease where necessary. As well, as it pertains to seat posts, I use carbon friction paste so I don't have to over torque the binder bolt to keep it from moving.

[@PezCycling]

Good advice Andrew - thanks for the note. - Pez

[@PezCycling]

Solid advice Andrew... !

[@SilentReproach]

This gave me so much anxiety, and it was so satisfying when you finally got it out.

[@PezCycling]

Man - you think you were satisfied !

[@cyclingsfatsuma9808]

Spoiler alert!!

[@mtnphot]

Left handed drill bits are your friend. You can't get them at the local hardware store. Usually the reverse direction and the pressure of the drill bit gets the bolt out. Actually the CT ones work fairly well. Almost every bolt I have used it on comes out with the pressure from the drill bit alone. The trick is to use the right size drill; smaller than the diameter of the bolt, not the head. The problem with extractors is that they expand the bolt so they are not useful. There are a lot of KZbin videos on bolt extraction made by experienced machinists. Although they make it look easy, it still beats trying to learn on your own. The real problem is holding the bike frame steady enough to drill out the bolt. The steadier the frame the more pressure you can apply to the bolt.

[@sessabean]

Hopefully this is a once in a lifetime project for me... but hey - I now own some cool new bits and tools...

[@mtnphot]

@@sessabean You can never have enough tools....

[@PezCycling]

Also good advice Jonathan. Hopefully I'll never have to do this procedure again - haha! - Pez

[@theempath508]

Best vid ever. Know what I need to do to finish my project.

[@sessabean]

Thanks Alberto - and good luck - let us know how it goes - lol.

[@theempath508]

Richard Pestes I got the bolts out. They were seized, not stripped, but it ended up that taking a lighter to them and letting them cool down, applying some Vaseline, and returning the $277 dollars worth of tools and buying a $10 Torx set by Husky that look like a Swiss Army knife, and some bloody knuckles. 🤬

[@PezCycling]

Thanks Alberto - how'd your project turn out?

[@theempath508]

PezCyclingNews - What's Cool In Road Cycling Great, I got the all the seats out of my car to make room for camping/dog supplies. I highly recommend Husky multi tools for stuff like this.

[@geoffwoods7673]

Great job, ten out of ten for perseverance. Well done that man!

[@PezCycling]

Thanks Geoff - it was worth it... !

[@davidhay268]

feeling your pain on this one

[@michaeltalles2239]

How would I get a water bottle cage one out? Especially when I can’t fit a drill in the triangle.

[@Faas4life]

Thank You so much~!! had a stripped bolt in my 2020 domane - the ryobi set worked like a charm~!! such a relief :)

[@ColdSpring1984]

I have an issue with an allen bolt which is in my carbon fork on my CX bike. i changed the disc rotors and I had to finetune the brakes and during this process one of the allen bolts has been rounded... I will try your solution and let you knoe soon. Thanks for the video.

[@PezCycling]

Make sure your drill bits are SHARP - and go slowly. Good luck! - Pez

[@gilberttiborjakub9890]

@@PezCycling Herby I confirm that the procedure was successful. There is no a single damage on the carbon fork.

[@PezCycling]

@@gilberttiborjakub9890 Bravo !

[@MarkSmith-dy8ci]

Great advice thanks

[@gorgeswellrider]

Easy-outs suck on small bolts, as the bolt's heads, or their shafts are not big enough to drill a large or deep enough hole for the easy-outs threads to catch. Next time try this. First soak the screw/bolt with penetrating spray (Liquid Wrench). Wait 15 minutes. Then try to gently tap (using a plastic no-blow hammer) an allen wrench into the damaged Torx bolt head, if it's the right size, it'll be a very tight fit (try a few different metric and sae ones). The Alen should hold fast in the damaged Torx and enable you to easily unscrew the bolt. If that doesn't work, use a hardened pin punch to make a small mark off center on the bolt, outside of the damaged torx area (halfway between the Torx and the edge of the bolt/screw). Then using that "dent" as a starter hole, carefully drill a small shallow hole with a small hardened drill bit. Bit should be no larger than half the width of the bolt's flat area you have to work with. As the drill bites in, drill in a bit less then a millimeter or so in, then start very slowly angling the drill to the right to carve out the right side of hole a bit (90 degrees relative to a radius from bolt head's center to your new hole). What you want is a nice solid "stop" for a small nail (or, better, an old similar sized drill bit) to push against, and some room so when it's placed in the hole it can be at the correct off-set angle to turn the bolt CCW when tapped gently with a very small hammer.

[@PezCycling]

Hopefully there won't be a "next time" - ! Thanks for the tip - .

[@colinbohm1904]

thank you very much of the liquid wrench tip. I was preparing to do some open heart surgery with the extractor bits, but tried your tip first. Worked like a charm!

[@timtaylor9590]

Iv loosened and tightened torx bolts with a tool two sizes to small, impossible with any other bolt head type. I also am able to use torx bits on hex bolts when the hex wrenches don't work. Torx are fucking amazing

[@rainypath96]

Thank you for this 🙏

[@retagainez]

Thanks for sharing ur fails!

[@aocdk840]

5:14... that WAS an epic fail!! At least prepare when using power tools and put some tape on the frame to avoid this!! :D :D

[@eventsdearboy]

god bless you sir

[@PezCycling]

Richard Brown - hope it helps and thanks for the nod.

[@rononyourleftretired5144]

I would like to make the following *suggestion*: IF the head of a bolt/screw is sticking above the surface *gently* try to grind a slot by first just cutting the line on top of the bolt/screw and then go progressively deeper with succeeding cuts. If this does not work then you you will have to go with drilling into the screw and using an easy-out bit.

[@PezCycling]

Thanks Ron - I admit I'm probably scarred for life after that bonedheaded move of going near my carbon frame with a grinder...

[@rononyourleftretired5144]

@@PezCycling :-) I'm 72 and have more than a few of such moments and some almost killed me :-) !

[@PezCycling]

Hi Ron - you saw what happened to me - ouch! I will not be attempting that stunt again - (a la Evil Knievel's Snake River canyon jump) - doomed to fail.

[@rainypath96]

Bro when you drill you need to commit and fully press the trigger lmao I gagged when you scratched your frame 😩

[@moobaz8675]

I think you should only be allowed to use something that is no sharper than a sponge😅 Well done, its something have to do tomorrow. 😫

[@nonegiven9579]

mask off around the area your working on first helps prevent any damage from slipping 👍

[@paulyflyer8154]

Would have been cheaper to buy a new frame

[@mattoconnor1694]

Most stressful thing I have ever seen.

[@ThaoNguyen-ph9co]

You should have sent your bike to the professional!

[@timtaylor9590]

Torx don't strip