A squeaking stem on your bicycle can be one of the most annoying sounds your bike can make. One minute it’s quite and the next it sounds like someone is trying to slowly torture a mouse. These steps should help solve your problem.

1. To start, loosen the bolts that clamp the stem to the handlebar. Move the bar over and wipe out the clamping surface area on the stem and clean bar in the center where it come in contact with the stem. Completely remove and clean the stem clamp bolts. Next grease the threads and under the head of the bolts then reconnect the stem. Most of the time that will stop the noise.

2. If you have an old style expander bolt quill stem, pull it out to renew the grease. This will help prevent it from corroding and bonding to the steerer tube. Loosen the wedge bolt in the stem’s head until it turns freely but don’t unscrew it enough so that the expander wedge comes off the other end and drops down inside the steerer tube. If the stem won’t move after loosening, pop the stem bolt on top with a plastic mallet to free the wedge inside. Apply grease to the bolt and where the wedge meets the stem.

3. If you are riding with a threadless stem, loosen it by first unscrewing the top cap off, then loosening the stem clamp bolts enough to pull the stem off the top of the steerer tube. Rub on a light coat of grease to the clamping surface of the stem and steerer tube.

If you have followed all of these steps completely and it still squeaks the noise is probably coming from some where else.