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  1. #1
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    Dec 2004
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    Socket for head with very little protrusion / low profile

    Apologies in advance if the subject header isn't very accurate, but...

    Two of the upper cuff pivots on my Scarpa Alien 1.0 boots have started to loosen.
    Given that I have almost 1.1 million feet of earned vertical on them, plus some lift-served, I'm definitely not complaining!

    And unlike a certain competitor that uses pressed rivets, these take a 3mm allen hex on the outside, and a 15mm socket on the inside.
    Except the bolt on the inside is very low profile, and moreover it's recess into the shell.
    So I can't get a socket to fit over the bolt on the inside, and hence the 3mm hex on the outside just spins.

    Any suggestions?
    (Well, other than just sending them back to Scarpa of course for servicing.)
    Maybe try some random machine shop around town?

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    Thanks for any helpful feedback, plus clever mocking of the skimo scene is always welcome here at TGR!
    Mo' skimo here: NE Rando Race Series

  2. #2
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    Can you get a needlenose vise grip in there to grab that? That would be my first try.. something like these:


  3. #3
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    Jan 2009
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    ask a machine shop to turn down a cheap socket, you're talking all of 10 ft-lbs to break it loose you don't need much meat

  4. #4
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    YetiMan
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    yeah, cheap socket and some work with a grinder: like, cut it down so it fits in the recess and grabs the nut.
    You could also potentially sacrifice a cheap wrench in the same sort of way.

    that's a worthwhile plan B if you can't grab it with the needle nosed vice grips as wisely suggested above.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by JayPowHound View Post
    Can you get a needlenose vise grip in there to grab that?[...]
    I tried various vise grips, but couldn't get a ... grip.

    Quote Originally Posted by Todd Zander View Post
    ask a machine shop to turn down a cheap socket, you're talking all of 10 ft-lbs to break it loose you don't need much meat
    Ahh, that sounds promising -- will give that one a try!
    Mo' skimo here: NE Rando Race Series

  6. #6
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    YetiMan
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    you could also grind a notch in it with a dreml cutoff wheel and use a flathead screwdriver

  7. #7
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    Can't tell if these would be deep enough but it's another option. Sold under various names. Facom, Toptul, etc.


  8. #8
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    Nov 2004
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    YetiMan
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    You could also drill a couple of little holes in the nut and hold it with snap ring pliers.

  9. #9
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    these kinds of threads are just total yeti-bait.

    I can't even help myself. shiny shiny bait. nom nom nom hook!

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  10. #10
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    I agree with the above posters about grinding down a cheap socket. You can both grind the outer diameter thinner and also grind 2mm off the face, so that the square edge of the socket inner hex makes immediate contact.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
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    1,421

    Socket for head with very little protrusion / low profile

    You need one of these:



    I think they’re called a “butter wrench” or “peanut butter wrench” or something stupid like that

    Specialty cycling product with a very thin socket head.

    Got mine a few years ago direct from asia off either ebay or aliexpress for about $10 IIRC. Works great on the alien 1.0 nut.

    Will edit and add a link if i can find specifics.

    However even removing the bolt/nut I couldn’t figure out a way to reduce the slop. Be very curious if you come up with a solution because Scarpa has told me there is nothing they can do with older shells.

    Edit: this looks like the one I have
    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/IceT...815775375.html

    Or if you prefer amazon:
    IceToolz 4 x Combo Wrench (10mm, 2 x 15mm & 14mm) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0028NANOU..._DicwAbDXT0H0H

  12. #12
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    Dec 2010
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    西 雅 圖
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    Yep, old school crank bolt wrenches. The Icetoolz one is fine, IIRC Park and Campagnolo also made 15mm ones. Stop by a bike shop and borrow theirs.

  13. #13
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    the gach
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    I just care here to post about grinding down a regular socket. Works good.
    But Ellen kicks ass - if she had a beard it would be much more haggard. -Jer

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    As jed said grind a standard socket flat so it engages right away. Use a six a point.

    a positive attitude will not solve all of your problems, but it may annoy enough people to make it worth the effort

    Formerly Rludes025

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by dcpnz View Post
    [...]However even removing the bolt/nut I couldn’t figure out a way to reduce the slop. Be very curious if you come up with a solution because Scarpa has told me there is nothing they can do with older shells.

    Edit: this looks like the one I have
    https://www.aliexpress.com/item/IceT...815775375.html

    Or if you prefer amazon:
    IceToolz 4 x Combo Wrench (10mm, 2 x 15mm & 14mm) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0028NANOU..._DicwAbDXT0H0H
    Quote Originally Posted by gregL View Post
    Yep, old school crank bolt wrenches. The Icetoolz one is fine, IIRC Park and Campagnolo also made 15mm ones. Stop by a bike shop and borrow theirs.
    Super, thanks!
    Ordered one just now to add to the tool kit, and just happen to be driving directly by the local bike & ski shop (https://www.valleybikeandskiwerks.com/) this afternoon.
    Whenever I bring my bike in for work, they love telling anyone within earshot all about my skimo racing & training antics, so I'm sure they'll love checking out the Alien 1.0 shells and giving the bolt tightening a try.
    Mo' skimo here: NE Rando Race Series

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    WA
    Posts
    2,524
    Borrow a 15mm bicycle cone wrench? This is a common size for servicing hubs.


  17. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
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    1,421
    Cone wrench (or any wrench) can't get into the recess. Definitely need a thin wall socket for this particular application

  18. #18
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    西 雅 圖
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    The elegant, beautifully made Italian version:

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    I would send you mine but my kid carries it with him to remove the wheels on his fixie.

  19. #19
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    Blasphemy! Using a campy 15mm crank wrench (peanut butter) on axle nuts! Nononono


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
    I rip the groomed on tele gear

  20. #20
    Join Date
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    So after stopping at the bike shop, the conclusions are:
    1. The pivots haven't actually loosened up in the threads at all, and instead the slop is from material wear.
    2. The pivots can't be tightened up any more, because although the hole appears to be open with additional penetration potential by the bolt, the bolt is actually hitting a subtle little ledge at the end of its travel limitation.
    3. The only way to reduce the slop would be to disassemble the pivot and then reassemble with some sort of washer in there to take up the slack.
    4. An eight-year-old girl is very impatient when her father is hanging out with his ski and bike buddies at the shop, even though he's been very patient previously with her there while she was picking out a pink bike helmet and pink bike (with Hello Kitty basket FTW, plus pink handlebar streamers too).
    Mo' skimo here: NE Rando Race Series

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by ill-advised strategy View Post
    these kinds of threads are just total yeti-bait.

    I can't even help myself. shiny shiny bait. nom nom nom hook!

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    Holy blast from the past, that was my favorite spoon for Northern Pike when I was a kid. Totally forgot about them.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan S. View Post
    So after stopping at the bike shop, the conclusions are:
    1. The pivots haven't actually loosened up in the threads at all, and instead the slop is from material wear.
    2. The pivots can't be tightened up any more, because although the hole appears to be open with additional penetration potential by the bolt, the bolt is actually hitting a subtle little ledge at the end of its travel limitation.
    3. The only way to reduce the slop would be to disassemble the pivot and then reassemble with some sort of washer in there to take up the slack.
    4. An eight-year-old girl is very impatient when her father is hanging out with his ski and bike buddies at the shop, even though he's been very patient previously with her there while she was picking out a pink bike helmet and pink bike (with Hello Kitty basket FTW, plus pink handlebar streamers too).
    Has the plastic around the whole has worn thinner, or has the hole worn to a larger diameter or oblong shape? Washers won't help if the hole is bigger, you'd have to find a thin spacer ring that has an ID of your bolt and an OD that's a couple mm larger than the original hole diameter. Drill the hole in the plastic bigger to match the spacer OD, and sandwich it in there to replace the lost plastic. If you can't find a spacer, you could probably buy a short piece of tubing of the correct ID/OD, and carefully cut off a slice (grinding or sanding it as necessary to make the edges parallel, it doesn't have to be perfect).

  23. #23
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    Yup, 15mm old school peanut butter wrench or use a lathe to turn down a socket. I've done the latter to solve several problems.

    And, yup, if your socket has a rounded lip, grind it flat.

    FTR, in my shop rat days (<1984) I spread lots of peanut butter with a Campy peanut butter wrench.

  24. #24
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    Oct 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by 1000-oaks View Post
    Holy blast from the past, that was my favorite spoon for Northern Pike when I was a kid. Totally forgot about them.
    Ha! Same here in Northern MN.
    Best regards, Terry
    (Direct Contact is best vs PMs)

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  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alpinord View Post
    Ha! Same here in Northern MN.
    That's where I used 'em, Northern WI and MN. You could see the wake on the surface when a Pike was heading for the spoon like a cruise missile. One day I had a two-foot Pike on the line, and either a much bigger Pike (or a Muskie) took the back half clean off.

    Don't hang your feet off the dock and splash the surface, lol.

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