For some reason a set of forks I have don’t seem to like star fangled nuts letting them gradually creep up the steerer when you adjust the head set. Anybody any experience of the Hope Headdoctor and the one that goes all the way through the steerer tube [can’t remember who makes it]?
Or just try a few different star nuts ?

I have a thing called a filthy ED-LOCK on the cap. It’s been fit and forget. It goes top to bottom.

I have an expanding plug, i went for a longer insertion but it still keeps on slipping out all the time. Id go with the top to bottom jobbie, never had any problems with my old one.

The use one looks quite good Linky

Those through steerer ones – do they come in different lengths or are they cut to fit? Otherwise, I assume you’d have half a foot of threaded bar out of the bottom of the steerer?

I have an expanding plug, i went for a longer insertion but it still keeps on slipping out all the time.

fnar!

Strange that it slips, it shouldn’t really be under load as once you have preloaded the headset everything is kept together by the stem.

I have had this problem in the pazt when fettling and trying to preload a headset. A new SFN sorted it out.

The expanding FSA nut has wrked for me in carbon steerers. Never tried a head doctor. A2Z might make a cheaper alernative.

letting them gradually creep up the steerer when you adjust the head set

How tight are you taking it? It should just be enough to snug up the bearings and remove play – that shouldn’t really be enough pressure to move the SFN unless it’s the wrong size or something weird.

hope head doctor is excellent

I have never had a problem with the Hope head doctor(using it for about a year), it’s dead easy to fit too! I changed to it from a rusted up star nut that had started slipping.

I’ve used the same head doctor on my mtb for the past 9 years, it has been faultless.

I’ve used a Hope head doctor in the past (still in the bike) and doing fine.

HOWEVER – do not overtighten the bolt. It is made of cheese and will snap if it’s tightened 0.000000001Nm over the prescribed torque.

I know this for a fact 😳

Graham S, I tend to tighten until the steering starts to feel a little stiff, then back off to a suitable tension. with these forks you never seem to reach the stiffening up phase as the sfn seems to move slightly up the tube.

Hed Doctor is adequate imo, though it’s too big for some steerers. I’d try another star nut tbh

I’ve used a Hope head doctor in the past (still in the bike) and doing fine.

HOWEVER – do not overtighten the bolt. It is made of cheese and will snap if it’s tightened 0.000000001Nm over the prescribed torque.

I know this for a fact

Yep… me too 😳

HOWEVER – do not overtighten the bolt. It is made of cheese and will snap if it’s tightened 0.000000001Nm over the prescribed torque.

this is true. my previous bikes had them fitted and when one snapped i had to buy a whole new unit as Hope at the time did not sell the bolts individually.
i’m back on SFN now…but i’d suggest what Northwind says and try another SFN.

the other device is the Headlock made by Azonic….a true fit and forget item that did a great job so long as you could live with the extra weight of the steel bolt that came with it….i wish i still had mine…not that it would fit any modern fork

most modern forks cannot be used with a headlock as the internal diameter of the steerer tube at the fork crown is smaller and the lower assembly will not fit into it.

woodman also used to make a similar headlock but this must have been made of the same cheese that Hope use for their hed doctor bolts as they had a tendancy for failing…or at least that’s what mine did when i had one of those

EDIT: there seems to be a new version of the Azonic model called the Headlock 2 which comes with a new 13mm bottom insert to fit newer forks..but there is no indication on whether it fits tapered forks or is for 1 1/8th forks
also its not on the Azonic website so may now be discontinued and no-one on the UK seems to sell them…there are a few US websites that seem to stock them though
http://www.pricepoint.com/Brand/Azonic/Azonic-Headlock-2.axd

HOWEVER – do not overtighten the bolt. It is made of cheese and will snap if it’s tightened 0.000000001Nm over the prescribed torque

this is true 😳

I suspect Hope sell replacement bolts under the sales title of ‘idiot tax’

HOWEVER – do not overtighten the bolt. It is made of cheese and will snap if it’s tightened 0.000000001Nm over the prescribed torque
this is true

I suspect Hope sell replacement bolts under the sales title of ‘idiot tax’[/quote]

I did this, and phoned up hope to say, “I am an idiot and overtightened the bolt and killed it, where can I buy a new one?” and the guy on the phone took my address and posted out on for free, which arrived first class post the next day.

Was pretty surprised to say the least. Also played a part in helping me decide on a new wheelset earlier in the year, ended up choosing a Hope pro 2 evo build.

The head doctor is pretty good, has never slipped or loosened. Used a torque wrench with the new bolt, first one was killed when I decided to go back and “tighten it up, just a little bit more” :/

One of my bikes has the Gusset version of those through bolt jobbies, IIRC it came with three different length bolts to accommodate variation in steerer length.

got an expanding jobbie for some carbon steerer (road) forks at the minute which seems quite a good solution, not used it in anger though.

TBH all my normal SFN set-ups have remained where I installed them, how much grunt are you putting into torquing it up? Like with a HT2 crank the pre-load cap is only to get everything in position and free of play, its the clamp on your stem that should be retaining the whole arrangement, not the top cap…

HOWEVER – do not overtighten the bolt. It is made of cheese and will snap if it’s tightened 0.000000001Nm over the prescribed torque.

Which bolt? The one in the bung or the one to pre-load the headset? Really doesn’t take much torque at all to take the play out of the headset before doing up the stem bolts.

I use the PRO expanding bung one on my carbon steerers that don’t like SFNs. Otherwise just try another SFN.

The head doctor is pretty good, has never slipped or loosened. Used a torque wrench with the new bolt, first one was killed when I decided to go back and “tighten it up, just a little bit more” :/

I’ve seen people do this ^^^ having already done up the stem bolts 😯 What do they think it’s doing?!

FWIW I reckon the bung should be a workshop tool. Preload, then do up the stem bolts, then take it out and replace with some rubber top cap stopper thing. I’ve never had to adjust one out on a ride.