Brand new Rock Shox Pike, I've managed to round the head of the maxle. I tightened by hand so maybe I overtightend, who knows.
What advice do people have for me?
Can I leave it on and ride for a few and deal with it later? Or should I absolutely not ride and sort asap? The bolt head is M15 I believe and I notice that the screw extractor sets often don't go as high as M15 so I assume it might not be an easy one. All sorts of weird how to videos online none of which really look compelling.
M15 is the axle diameter you don't need M15 extractor, if it's total fudged hammer in a torq bit. Buy a torque wrench and an axle with hex fitting at both ends like brand X or burgtec
Probably fine to ride...
I'd try an impact driver to get it out - they are good at finding purchase in rounded sockets...
"M15 is the axle diameter you don’t need M15 extractor" - ha - good to know thanks!
"like brand X or burgtec" - yes,I definatly won't be replacing with the same again.
"I’d try an impact driver to get it out" - in theory the axle isn't that tight so an impact driver is hopefully not neccsaary but I'm not going to rule anything out as we all kow how these things start out.
I've salvaged quite a few of these with a flat needle file, widening the fats to take an 8mm key. The last one I had to do had only been rounded on the outer edge, and a quick countersinking cleaned it up enough to allow the 6mm key to engage.
in theory the axle isn’t that tight so an impact driver is hopefully not neccsaary but I’m not going to rule anything out as we all kow how these things start out.
They're just really good at finding purchase in a rounded hole, way better than you get get by hand....
I wonder if one of the Park Tools twisted head types would help
https://www.parktool.com/en-int/product/sliding-t-handle-hex-wrench-set-thh-1
^ those park tool allens are lovely - had my set for a year but sadly haven't had any rounded bolts to try the twisted heads in
I assume you can't get at it from the other side? Some of my through axels have this as an option although it isn't immediately obvious.
Is there an imperial allen key that is slightly bigger that you can jam in? I've managed that in the past with small bolts. Same idea as using a torx bit.
Bike shop would likely be able to fix relatively easily with a screw extractor.
The Rockshox fork Maxle takes a 6mm hex key. If you've managed to round it out then the easiest method for removal will be an 'Easy Out' tool (see google images).
These can be bought for about £5n for a set.
To round it off you likely used a cheaper inferior hex key and perhaps overtightened it too. Many cycle-branded hex keys are often cheap nasty crap.
A good mid-priced brand is Bhondus. I used their bright silver hex keys (i forget their exact name) for years in a professional environment and they stood up to daily use. Certainly more than adequate for a home mechanic and a set would only cost about £15-20
When you replace the Maxle don't tighten it more than 13Nm
I removed a stuck & rounded Maxle for a mate using the biggest Easy-out I've got. Came out fairly easily but it required a lot of force to get it moving initially.
Observations & thoughts. I tried hammering in a Torx bit & this appeared to get a very good hold in the axle. The amount of force I had to apply rounded the hole out further. I've got reservations about using impact tools in scenarios like this & on damaged allen headed fastners as making the situation worse is a real possibility. If you're going down the Easy-out route, I'd use the biggest one you have in the set. Expand the hole in the Maxle using a drill far enough so that the Easy-out is engaged near its thickest point to reduce the possibility of it breaking. Hammer the Easy-out in to engage it fully in the hole. Hopefully it's an easy fix. Good luck.
Human hand can apply about 100N of force. Thats a hell of a lot. More than twice the maximum recommended NM required for an axle.
hammer a torx bit in!
"More than twice the maximum recommended NM", that's a late contender for understatement of the year 😃, some have 10nm written on them.
A week or so ago i posted on here about wanting the older QR style maxle on my next fork purchase for exactly this reason. I take the front wheel on and off a lot.
Quite a lot on here seemed to be of the view that its hard / very rare to round of the bolt.
It really isn't.
I ended up purchasing an extractor that removed this very easily in a matter of minutes. I've replaced the maxle with one of the burgtecs as they have a hex at both ends so should this happen again the maxle cxan still be removed.
It's not the torque as such with an impact gun it's the sudden shock that breaks the mechanical friction
I've used the wera allen keys with their special profile and they tend to work on stripped alu, and prevent future strippings. I try to avoid any other type of hex key now as these are so ace.
https://www-us.wera.de/en/great-tools/hex-plus/
Even the most basic sets use the profile.
https://ffx.co.uk/product/Get/Wera-Wer073596-4013288106414-Hex-Key-Set-9Pc-Ballpoint-Metric-Black
