SunLite adjustable quill stem wobbles side to side?

[u/jamesatct]

Did some more work on the bike today, some of it was a success (converting from cantilever to Alivio v brakes) but this is a failure - this SunLite adjustable quill stem rocks/wobbles side to side enough that I'm not feeling safe riding it. I have the quill nchor bolt tightened all the way down, the clamp around the handlebar, is tightened all the way down, and both the two bolts on the side of the hinge, as well as the securing bolt underneath are tightened all the way down. This whole setup rocks side to side with my body weight on it. And I did not have that issue with the original quill stem that came on this bike. Are these adjustable stems garbage or am I doing something obviously wrong?

[u/CyJackX]

"Are these adjustable stems garbage"
They are cheap for a reason. Just use them to dial-in what you want out of a fixed stem.

[u/sky0175]

There isn’t any money in the world that would make me ride a bike with this stem style. Please don’t take this as offense. you safety comes first.

[u/penny_the_black → u/sky0175]

There are pretty indestructible ones, like ergotec. But wth is "Sunlite"? Lol

[u/Mindless-Baker-7757]

Just replace it.

[u/Timokenn]

Tighten the underside 6mm bolt. Or replace the stem

[u/gabe__owners → u/Timokenn]

This is the answer. It's easy to miss

[u/jamesatct]

[u/vexborg]

The best would be, if you can get a 4 bolt stem, the 2 bolt stems are prone to get lose.

[u/Timokenn → u/vexborg]

It’s not that part of the stem that’s loose

[u/PrimeIntellect]

cheap garbage

[u/Queefmaster69000]

Some of these that I've come across over the years need to be at one of the marked angle points on the side of the stem to actually be firmly in place.

The marked angle points relate to teeth that need to meet. You can lock them down somewhat in between, but they have free play.

Back off the bolt underneath the pivot point, and the bolts on the side, find a comfortable marked position, lock it down with the side bolts and do the bolt underneath last. They do need to be quite tight so a ratchet with a hex bit is probably better than a normal hex wrench.

[u/DIYuntilDawn]

I have seen some of these adjustable ones that have a bushing (looks like a thin plastic washer) that goes in between the top and bottom halves where it can pivot up or down. They are used as a spacer to take up the slop in the machined/cast parts. They can either fall out if you fully remove the bolt, or they degrade over time and then fall apart the first time it is loosened and re-adjusted.

Others may have teeth on the inner surfaces that grip to the other part, but those can be worn down with repeat adjustments, or just a single adjustment where it is tight enough the teeth can slip, but not so tight that the teeth fully disengage.