Following on from my last thread I bit the bullet and bought some Reba’s for my Rockhopper.
I got them fitted by the shop I bought them off yesterday. I noticed today while messing with the bike in the kitchen there seems to be a very slight knocking and movement at the top of the headset. If I hold the front brake and rock the bike forward I can feel the top knocking slightly although there appears to be no movement at the crown end.

Does it sound like something that could be easily fixed/adjusted or should I just take it back and let them sort it? trouble if it’s about a 70 mile round trip from home.

There also appears to be a slight gap at the top of the steerer tube between that and the bottom bit of the headset. That wasn’t there before and neither was the knocking.

Thanks

could be headset is a bit loose – do you know how to tighten? (don’t forget to slack off stem bolts before and then redo them afterwards)

might it be loose bushings in the fork or are you sure it’s at the steerer/headset ?

could be that the crown race was not quite set undo the stem and tighten the bolt that goes into the star nut in the fork then test it again. if all is ok then tighten the stem bolts again.

Fitting a new fork entails switching the crown race over from your old fork. Any headset jiggery-pokery always results in some ‘bed in’ time, and the headset usually comes loose.

To tighten it up, all you need to do is loosten the (usually 2) clamp pinch bolts on the stem, then turn the single bolt in the top-cap until the play is gone, then do up the stem bolts again. It won’t need tightening much 🙂

I can feel it moving just below the bit where it says Cane Creek.

From what I can see the race seems to be flush to the crown but I’ll double check when I go back down

Yep. Loose headset. It’s to be expected. Doesn’t matter what it looks like it’s all in the feel!

Thanks will give it a go. When you say loosen the stem is that so it’s slack or just take away the bite a bit?

Thanks

Loosen the stem clamp bolts right off (Try not to move the stem or your bars won’t be in line with the wheel!) The top cap bolt is purely for tensioning the headset bearings. It just needs tightening until the play is gone, no more. When you tighten the stem clamp bolts up again, the top cap serves no purpose. It does not hold the stem on!

It is possible however, that as your bike isn’t new, that the headset is worn out. If doing this above doesn’t remove all the play or if the bearings feel rough (Lift the front off the floor and turn the bars left/right to check. it should be smooth) then you might need a new headset or bearings……

Thanks Peter, seems to have fixed the problem. It needed very little turning < 1/4 turn but all seems good now.

Thanks for your help.

Excellent, well done! Happy to help! 🙂