Smack it with a hammer

Astute readers will have noticed that when we were working on the handlebars yesterday they were still attached to the rest of the frame.

I had halfheartedly tried to remove them before I started by unscrewing the bolt that holds them on, but when they didn't pull out, I deemed it not-worth-any-effort and just cleaned them up still attached to the bike.

I did leave the bolt loose so I could get around it for better cleaning, but that was the extent of it.

(loose bolt)

But, with still more cleaning up to do on the handles and especially the stem, and at some point probably wanting to adjust the height to get a good fit for A, I figured it might be worth a little Googling to figure out what the trick was (beyond just giving it up, which isn't really much of a trick to begin with).

And I found this video (How to remove the stem and fork, from HowToFixBikes.ca--sounds about right doesn't it?) and it turns out the trick is...smack it with a hammer.

Turns out that's what's required to disengage the wedge that holds the handlebars in--once it's out you can see it but completely hidden until then, like some sort of secret handshake for the "I know what I'm doing" bike set.  So here's the wedge:

And here are the handlebars (looking like the Godfather's minions have struck):

And, now that that mystery's been solved, it's time to get more work done.