Loose threadless headset
Kavall
bike. After stopping and taking a little look, I found the headset
seems to be loose. I pulled out my alien and tightened it up but it
still feels like it has some play. The bolt turns with LIGHT
resistance and after three full turns I am afraid to crank down on it
more. How much force will that little star nut hold? Also are their
better locking devices, like the conix binder?
Kavall
car...@my-deja.com
Did you check if the star nut is damaged? Or maybe the bolt may be
stripped somewhere? You have to go in there and have a look.
- CA
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Josh D
"Kavall" <Kav...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:0i2j0t0uutq1hb9sg...@4ax.com...
> I was riding the other day and I heard a pop come from the front of my
> bike. After stopping and taking a little look, I found the headset
> seems to be loose. I pulled out my alien and tightened it up but it
> still feels like it has some play. The bolt turns with LIGHT
> resistance and after three full turns I am afraid to crank down on it
> more. How much force will that little star nut hold? Also are their
> better locking devices, like the conix binder?
>
Make sure you loosen the stem bolts before trying to adjust your HS, once
you adjust it, tighten the stem clamp and then loosen the bolt about a half
turn. The star fangled nut will take enough torque to damage your cups and
races, so use caution in cranking it down. Since you'll be working on it,
take it apart, clean it up and look for any pitting in the races or cups,
and regrease & reassemble. It may need a fresh coat of grease to feel like
new again.
In my opinion, the conix binder is a gimmick, because the bolt through the
SFN isn't what keeps the HS adjusted properly, it's the binder bolts on the
stem.
Josh
Kavall
looked like before. So I won't know what it would look like damaged.
Just for the bit of extra info. It is a WTB Momentum grease guard
headset (what came on the bike a few months old)
On Wed, 08 Nov 2000 17:57:37 GMT, car...@my-deja.com wrote:
>Kavall <Kav...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> I was riding the other day and I heard a pop come from the front of my
>> bike. After stopping and taking a little look, I found the headset
>> seems to be loose. I pulled out my alien and tightened it up but it
>> still feels like it has some play. The bolt turns with LIGHT
>> resistance and after three full turns I am afraid to crank down on it
>> more. How much force will that little star nut hold? Also are their
>> better locking devices, like the conix binder?
>
Chris Phillipo
>
> I was riding the other day and I heard a pop come from the front of my
> bike. After stopping and taking a little look, I found the headset
> seems to be loose. I pulled out my alien and tightened it up but it
> still feels like it has some play. The bolt turns with LIGHT
> resistance and after three full turns I am afraid to crank down on it
> more. How much force will that little star nut hold? Also are their
> better locking devices, like the conix binder?
>
The star nut is not what keeps your headset tight. You must back off
the two clamp bolts on the stem, THEN tighten the top cap down until the
play is gone. This will not take much force. Then you tighten up the
clamp bolts on the stem, which are what really hold the headset
together. You could lose that top cap and star nut after doing that
and it wouldn't much matter although it keeps the stem from creeping up
the steerer if you have a lot of flex happening in that area.
If you've already stripped the threads on your star nut you'll have to
pound another one in there.
--
_________________________
Chris Phillipo - Come Ride Our Island.
http://www.ramsays-online.com <-- Canadians can buy bike stuff here.
Kavall
the top cap. Then tightened the stem bolts again. And it still has
some play. I am worried about putting to much forced on the star
nut/top cap/bolt combination when taking the play out of the headset.
I am guessing the pop occured because the stem "walked" up the steerer
tube over the months of riding. The stem bolts were tight when I went
to loosen them.
vee
>In my opinion, the conix binder is a gimmick, because the bolt through the
>SFN isn't what keeps the HS adjusted properly, it's the binder bolts on the
>stem.
>
>Josh
>
you're putting a lot of leverage on your headset. i have a pretty
solid stem (big bolts 'n all) but i still went through star-nuts
pretty fast.
i tried double star-nuts and loc-tite before giving up and finally
just running a ready bolt all the way through the steer tube. works
much better. i don't think the full-length bolt idea is a gimmick,
though it is overkill for most mtb's, since you're not putting a lot
of leverage on your headset.
and if you do go the full-length bolt route, you can buy what you need
from a hardware store much cheaper than you can buy a pre-made bolt.
tracks...@my-deja.com
Kavall <Kav...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Let me clarify this a bit. I loosened the stem bolts then tightened
> the top cap. Then tightened the stem bolts again. And it still has
> some play. I am worried about putting to much forced on the star
> nut/top cap/bolt combination when taking the play out of the headset.
> I am guessing the pop occured because the stem "walked" up the steerer
> tube over the months of riding. The stem bolts were tight when I went
> to loosen them.
OK. Still loose? Repeat the process, turning the top cap bolt just 90
degrees at a time, until it feels right.
Sure it's the headset, not the forks? Apply the brake, rock the front
end of the bike with your fingers first up against the bottom race,
then holding the forks around the top of the sliders/brake clamp area.
Still think it's the headset? What kind of forks do you have - checked
the seals/bushings?
I actually use a WTB headset with a conix gizmo on my Marin - the
latter works well enough, but the only real advantage I can see is that
it's easier to fit and transfer between forks than a SFN.
Pete
http://www.btinternet.com/~peteajones/
Josh D
"vee" <v.po...@excite.com> wrote in message
news:se9j0t8fcc7q005ij...@4ax.com...
>
> >In my opinion, the conix binder is a gimmick, because the bolt through
the
> >SFN isn't what keeps the HS adjusted properly, it's the binder bolts on
the
> >stem.
> >
> >Josh
> >
> ever ridden a bmx bike with a threadless headset?
Well, lets see, since this is a mountain bike newsgroup, I believe the
question and the answer were directed at mountain bikes. So whether or not
I've ever ridden a BMX bike with a threadless headset is irrelevent.
There's no reason you should be wrecking the SFN unless you're not properly
adjusted. The only tension the bolt should have is enough to keep from
wiggling out. It's not designed to keep the headset tight, the stem is.
Josh
Kavall
just gotten another pop. (metalic sound like metal loosing grip) So I
am going to assume that the Star fangled nut is damaged. Thanks for
the responces I am taking it to my LBS tommarrow. I am certain they
will fix it.
Frederick R. Hinkson
the star nut was striped and what a job it was to get it out with the
bolt hanging on to the star nut
FRED 2000
Greg R
tighten the topcap.
G
Evan Schaare
This also happened to me as I overtightened the bolt for the striped
star-fangled nut (not made in the USA though) when I couldn't work
out why it was loose. It turned out that the bottom cup was
incorrectly seated (this has happened to me twice, on 2 different
bikes).
I had no problems with headsets for as long as I've been riding bikes -
10 years - until I changed to threadless. They've been Trouble.
My $NZ0.05 (= $US0.02)
Evan
Mark Hickey
>OK. Still loose? Repeat the process, turning the top cap bolt just 90
>degrees at a time, until it feels right.
Funny, all I ever do is snug down the bottom nut, then tighten the top
one against it. Never slips, doesn't need adjustment more than once
or twice a year max. Oops, that's cuz I have threaded headsets on my
own bikes... heh heh heh.
Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.cynetfl.com/habanero/
Home of the $695 ti frame
Flatspins
after a month or so of riding, the headset/forktube got really sloppy. what
he ended up doing is adding a mm spacer in there, it seems after a good bit
of riding, the fork got completely seated in the frame, and he needed that
extra spacer to make everything tight. don't know if that's your problem,
but maybe its worth looking into.
flatspins
Chris Phillipo
I think the Flintstones used to use those too :) They won't die until
Shimano figures out same way to make a threadless that doesn't require
them to pay royalties to Diacomp.
Am I the only one picturing a threadless headset that's adjustable for
height, requires a splined steerer, has a flightdeck interface to tell
you which way your wheel is pointed and some how and breaks 5 times more
often than anything else on the market? :)
Mark Hickey
>Mark Hickey wrote:
>> Funny, all I ever do is snug down the bottom nut, then tighten the top
>> one against it. Never slips, doesn't need adjustment more than once
>> or twice a year max. Oops, that's cuz I have threaded headsets on my
>> own bikes... heh heh heh.
>I think the Flintstones used to use those too :) They won't die until
>Shimano figures out same way to make a threadless that doesn't require
>them to pay royalties to Diacomp.
>
>Am I the only one picturing a threadless headset that's adjustable for
>height, requires a splined steerer, has a flightdeck interface to tell
>you which way your wheel is pointed and some how and breaks 5 times more
>often than anything else on the market? :)
You, sir, are an astute observer of the bicycle industry! But you
forgot "dual rate bearings".