RingProfessional
New member
I started to have problems recently with my bottom stem been loose as the cam lever would not close properly. There are 2 reasons why this can happen, 1 is the red cam pad that presses on to the lower stem is worn and needs replacing or as in my case the tiny metal plate that presses onto the pad has become detached , i re glued the plate to the red plastic pad assembly and re assembled it and now the lower shaft is tight again. To get to the pad you will need to knock out the brass pin on the lower cam lever assembly with a small jewellers screwdriver and a small hammer the pin comes out real easy no problem, a few taps and its out, once this is out you can lift off the lever and remove the red plastic shaft clamp which just slides out very easy ,close examination revealed that the clamp was in need of cleaning as it was coated in thick grime, after thoroughly cleaning the red clamp i noticed the small metal plate which looks like it should be attached to the red clamp was in need of fixing to the clamp permanently so i glued the small metal plate with araldite to the red plastic clamp and re assembled it - all is now well i am pleased to say and the loose bottom shaft is fixed - this problem is something to look out for because its possible the small plate could fall out and get lost, i was lucky the small metal plate had not fallen out and got lost. The design of the lower shaft cam clamp assembly needs improving for sure in my opinion its way too flimsy and is not going to take much use before it fails. Dirt on the red pad could be the cause of a loose fitting shaft too. I think the bottom plastic clamp assembly should be replaced with an all new hard wearing metal replacement.
