Gone?
Replacement bearings?
buy new one?
Bike Forum
Creaky Chris King Headset
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Posted 8 months ago #
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Take apart, clean, put back.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Check it's properly adjusted before doing the above. It may be that simple to resolve.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Check it's properly adjusted before doing the above..
Was assuming this had been done
Posted 8 months ago # -
Fair play!! No pun intended..
Posted 8 months ago # -
Have you smeared grease around the bearing and crown race, and at the top over the bearing, i had a creaky king and this cured it.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Sorry guys - I'm from the 'set and forget' school of the khama sutra!
Will try some grease and stop being a tool!
Posted 8 months ago # -
My king creaked like a bugger, couldn't get it feeling solid either, always felt like there was a little play.
So i got the file out and filed off the crappy compression ring and fitted a split one out of the spares box, works perfectly now
Posted 8 months ago # -
Remove, throw in bin/sell to some other mug who thinks because they cost so much they are therefore brilliant, buy cheapo FSA, enjoy many creak-free happy years of cycling.
Posted 8 months ago # -
I had a cheapo FSA. It was cheapo, I'll agree to that point. It was also a piece of cheap crap and did not last 'many creak-free happy years of cycling'. It was off the bike and in the bin in a few months. Utter guff.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Oh, right, cos you see I've had FSA headsets last for years of happy trouble and creak free cycling.
Funny that, eh?
Posted 8 months ago # -
Sure you have. I didn't with an FSA. Or a Cane Creek for that matter. Not the same for everyone though is it?
Posted 8 months ago # -
Nope.
Quite a number of posts on here about problems with CK headsets though.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Sure there has. Never claim them or any other bike part as perfect. I won't deny both bikes have Chris King headsets after going through loads of other brands (Cane Creek was actually the worst, that and their importers were utter cockends). One over 6 years old and the other over 3 years old and second hand. They've been no trouble for me at all. But like I said, not the same for everyone.
Posted 8 months ago # -
I've also had no-name proper cheapo caged bearing headsets last ages without any maintenance too. Know loads of others with cheapo headsets who don't suffer any problems.
It's a very simple bearing which does not need any fancy machining or super-tight tolerances etc. Just keep the thing greased and it'll be fine.
Don't let the fact that you really don't need owt special stop you from spending silly money on an 'aerospace engineered' bit of overpriced bling though.
Posted 8 months ago # -
It's a headset. They last for ever if you buy the most expensive on earth or the cheapest in Halfords. If they're creaking the fix is the same if they're made from princess diana's own bones or if they're made from pig iron....slap some grease in there.
I always buy the cheapest I can find normally. It'll last three of four years which is typically longer than the frame will so I'm happy with that.
Posted 8 months ago # -
My CK headset started doing this after a few years of use. Replace the o-ring in the upper race cap - the creak is a sign of wear on the o-ring. Or, get the compression cap version. It was hard to find the o-rings as a CK spare so i just used a same-size o-ring from an older m-part headset.
Posted 8 months ago # -
And some people who appear not to own kit still seem to have big issues with it. I've had cheap headsets die quickly, or require regular maintenance (the semi integrated on my Cube needs cleaning and regreasing every few months at least). My king has lasted 7 years, 3 frames and 4 forks and has been faultless and required zero attention. Not that that will stop the haters...
Posted 8 months ago # -
Not a hater, Munk Chik; just that a headset is a pretty unsophisticated basic bit of kit what don't need to be machined to 'aerospace standards', as this will have absolutely bugger all effect on it's actual performance.
My king has lasted 7 years
I have a proper cheap Tange Aheadset that has lasted for about 15 years and is still absolutely fine. Shock Horror...
Posted 8 months ago # -
Take it apart and look closely at anything unusual. Headsets are not fit and forget. My Hope (flame me!) headset was either too tight or too loose. I took the forks out and then when I removed the lower bearing half of the bottom cup came away with it, which was a surprise.
However I can get a replacement part for £11.50.
Posted 8 months ago # -
elfin, maybe older stuff was made better (like my '94 thumbies which are still going strong on my winter bike, and '99 marzocchis which have lasted far longer than the 2009...) but I have 2 newish bikes with semi integrated (cube and giant) headsets and the seals on the lowers on both are poor and need regular attention or they seize solid. I agree the headset is hardly a high tech, high wear item but my experiences with King compared to others have been sufficiently positive to justify the extra expense. Obviously if I'd had a cheap headset last years I would never have had cause or inclination to buy a King (or other new one).
Posted 8 months ago # -
I hear the gritty trails in London take their toll on kit
Posted 8 months ago # -
I've had a King for about 10 years, on the 5th bike now, was on 2 DH bikes, washed in rivers, jetwashed, abused, ignored, until it started creaking.
I followed this guide - now silent and super smooth again.
http://chrisking.com/tech/tech_headsets#servicePosted 8 months ago # -
I hear the gritty trails in London take their toll on kit
Actually, the crap you pick up off the roads, combined with old diesel and oil and stuff, it pretty nasty and not good for chains and stuff.
That's from, like, decades of experience of actually riding a bike in London.
Do you have decades of experience of riding bikes in London?
Posted 8 months ago # -
If your using it with a long travel fork or a 29er fork your more than likely to experience creaking. Try replacing the o-ring as suggested(which should be done yearly) and you need to fit the plastic washer as well. However these are unlikely to stop it once it's started creaking as I know from experience (29er fork with long headtube). I converted mine to a split ring with a fsa split ring and having the top part machined out which cost me the grand total of nothing. The fsa split ring I had and the machine shop did it for free, this was before the new split ring upgrade from ck which iirc is £50 plus!!! Converting mine cured the problem but I still had to put a little bit more tension on the bearings than I would normally do. If you check out mtbr you'll see lots of threads on this, it's quite a common problem.
Posted 8 months ago # -
it's quite a common problem.
Oh, so poor design then?
Posted 8 months ago # -
Oh, so poor design then?
Yeah, I think thats the general opinion. They stood out against the rest 'back in the day' but times have moved on and until recently ck hasn't. They have finally given in and offered it with a split ring as the old design just can't cope with long travel single crown forks/29er forks.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Just like I don't have decades of riding experience in London neither do you have of the gritty north, which also have diesel on the roads like they do in London, but also some other stuff like mud when you get off the road and maybe some impact loading from rocks and stuff, rather than smooth low-impact tarmac
Posted 8 months ago #
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