There was recently a "ticking headset" thread so I should have known straight away where the noise was coming from. It was a loud, sharp ticking or cracking sound and not at all like most bike-related creaks, squeals and rattles. It was only when I noticed the handlebars were loose (!) that I realised what the problem was.
OK, I need to tighten the headset. My problem is that I've never seen one like this before, so how do I do it? I assume I flip off the plastic cap at the top and will find some sort of bolt underneath. I'll then tighten and loosen this until I reach the magic point of smooth but tight. Question: do I need to loosen anything else before I start? In particular, what about the bolts holding the stem to the steerer?
Thanks for any suggestions. I've googled both web and dejanews and found lots of advice but it all assumes basic knowledge that I don't have.
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OK, I need to tighten the headset. My problem is that I've never seen one like this before, so how do I do it? I assume I flip off the plastic cap at the top and will find some sort of bolt underneath. I'll then tighten and loosen this until I reach the magic point of smooth but tight. Question: do I need to loosen anything else before I start? In particular, what about the bolts holding the stem to the steerer?
You do need to loosen the bolts holding the stem to the steerer, otherwise you won't be able to clamp down on the Aheadset! The bolt on the top of the plastic cap is what does it - it's made of plastic so it will fail if you clamp down too hard on the headset (that doesn't mean you do it up so tight that it does fail).
Simply loosen off the stem bolts, tighten the bolt down on the top enough to remove play and give a slight 'preload' to the headset, then retighten the stem bolts.
OK, I need to tighten the headset. My problem is that I've never seen one like this before, so how do I do it? I assume I flip off the plastic cap at the top and will find some sort of bolt underneath. I'll then tighten and loosen this until I reach the magic point of smooth but tight. Question: do I need to loosen anything else before I start? In particular, what about the bolts holding the stem to the steerer?
Basically you need to loosen off the stem bolts so that you can use the bolt and top cap to preload the headset bearings to appropriate level, then clamp it all in place by re-tightening the stem bolts. Needs to be done in small increments to ensure proper tensioning. --
"Bob"
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