Does the gap you can see in the photo below mean things are not sealed as they should be?

Looks like ther ecould be a plastic seal missing to me, also the cups and/or crown race are on the piss to my eyes.

"On the piss"?

the race doesnt look seated properly

Yea, in the picture the right hand side of the race seems high.

is the Lower bearing in the correct way?

Pretty certain thats just the plastic "seal" thats at an angle.

Now I know there's definitely something wrong with it, I'll have it to bits tomorrow and see what on earth's going on. Hasn't been used for a while and spent parts of the winter in bits.

Is that the correct crown race? Did your headset come with one or have you obtained one from elsewhere?

Let us know what it is that was causing it won't you?

I'll bet £1 Its the bearing!

Oh yeah thinking about it that's a semi integrated headset, just the lower plastic seal, that sits on top of the crown race, pretty sure there should be a smaller gap than that.

It's not the end of the world but your bearings my turn orange very quickly.

I think the damage might already be done. Took it for a tiny spin to see if all was well with it tonight and the steering felt a bit stiff. Loosened off the top bolt a bit and it was better but I'm sure all is not well.

Is that the correct crown race?

Yes, it is.

Hmmm – well, it does look like there's a seal missing but I've got all the ones that are in the manual so there can't be.

*scratches head*

it could just be old, the plasic on mine isn't very good at sealing anymore, just warped with age

Did your headset come with one or have you obtained one from elsewhere?

I'm not sure you can buy them separately…

I'm with highclimber, I reckon the bottom race is in upside down

It wouldn't surprise me. Might get time to check later.

I'm not sure you can buy them separately…

is no one going to ask the possibly stupid question?

> is no one going to ask the possibly stupid question?
Don't start that again! ;O)

Take a bow, highclimber. Another wee bike lesson learned for me. 😳

Hey, he's not the only one who was right, he just got there first! 😉

Glad to hear it was a simple fix.

Simple fix, yeah, but front brake has sprung a leak now so it's still not going anywhere yet. *%#*!

Avid Juicy 3 bleed kit appears to be a bit steep for some syringes. Better off with second-hand set of better brakes?

> is no one going to ask the possibly stupid question?
Don't start that again! ;O)

What would that be then? 😉