I have acquired a bike (new), but from the shop (supermarket), the steering
seems to have no effect on the wheels, i thought it was a minor issue i could solve when i got home by tightening, but iv had no luck so far,,
, the bolts at the sides are for the handle bar, i tried turning the lock nut (discolored in the pics), but nothing is happening. Im now thinking of taking it to a repair shop, is this the right move?
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There's a hex bolt hidden under the silver plastic cap at the top of the lower half of the stem. It needs to be tightened. What you were messing with was the bearing tightness, make sure they're not too tight, that can mess things up fast. – BSO rider Aug 3 '16 at 22:33
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1You've just bought this bike? That's quite a terrifying thought, how badly its assembled. Get someone else to give it the once over and look for anything else that may be not-quite-right. – Criggie♦ Aug 4 '16 at 1:38
See the oval thing at the top right of the lower picture? That's a snap-in cover. Pry it out. Underneath, you should see a hex head. You turn this clockwise to tighten the handlebar. What it is is a a long bolt with an expander nut on the other side. The tube (stem) through which it runs is split (or angled) at the bottom. When you tighten the the bolt, it will draw the expander nut into the split tube making it, well expand against the sides of the top of the steerer tube. If it's very loose, you should be able to just pull it up and out of the steerer and see how it works. This is an older style of attaching the fork and handlebar to the bike.
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"Quill stem" is the name you're looking for. Its probaby a hex socket down the hole, or may be another fitting. – Criggie♦ Aug 4 '16 at 1:37