Abigale is in year 6 and tomorrow is the year six bike ride from Dunford Bridge back to school at Hoyland Common via the Trans Pennine Trail.
All the kids have taken their bikes in today and I went in to help to check the bikes over. Some of the bikes have very loose headsets but not like the ones Im or anyone else there have adjusted. There are going to be 5 dissapointed kids in the morning if we cant get this sorted. It looks like its a 30mm slim nut. If thats correct then I can get hold of a spanner but how do I tighten them up

HELP

Tracey

Tight enough so it’s not loose. Think star nut tight.

first thing that springs to mind is ….should you be touching them if not only if not qualified but also if you dont know what it is your actually doing ?

secondly its a threaded headset spanner you need of the relevent size – 30-32-33-34-35-36mm all common sizes … preferably 2 of but you can get away with 1 and an adjustable spanner for locking them up

If its like this then Iv got one in the garage

Tracey

There’s normally a locknut which you tighten against the main headset nut, having two of the spanners above makes the job easier 🙂

Only got one and a big adjustable so that will have to do

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/headsets.html

Will adjusting that tighten the bars and stem from twisting in the headset

Tracey

nope: that bit will be the bolt in the top of the stem: basically pulls a vertical wedge upwards and keeps the stem tight in the steerer tube.

Tracey – with all due repsec’ n’all.

If you make adjustments to their bike and something goes wrong you’ll get shafted. In fact the very fact that you’ve inspected the bikes and passed some of them OK puts you on dodgy ground.

Sorry, and I wish you well, but be careful.

SB

I wouldn’t have said it’s wise to do it if you need to ask. Those types of headsets can be fiddly to adjust and if you get it wrong can go too tight or too loose during a ride. I wouldn’t want to try it for the first time on a 3rd parties child bike.

I used to perform safety checks on bikes for cycling proficiency. Golden rule was not to fix them, even if you knew how.

well the only dodgy bit of the TPT from Dunford Bridge is a 6m ramp after the car park ends with about a 30cm drop in total – my youngest at 3 fell off on it and survived

what times we live in – i’m sure Tracey can read the Sheldon Brown link work it out and sort the kids so they can all have fun.
Their parents don’t have to do a test to strap them in the car and tailgate people on the way to school.

antigee – agreed. But, where parents and school activities are concerned common-sense goes completely out of the window.

Picture the courtroom scene if you will where Tracey is explaining to the judge that although she had never adjusted a headset of that type before she went onto an internet forum which armed her with the knowledge of how to do it.

I’m speaking as an ex teacher with experience of the kind of trip that Tracey is undertaking.

Be very careful is what I’m saying.

SB

you cant do it with a single adjustable spanner, you need to set the tension with a flat headset spanner and lock it in place using the locking nut and another spanner. in any case, if you don’t know what your doing you are on very shaky ground legally speaking. understand you want to help, but you might just hurt someone 🙁

Tracey, I know you have done your ride now but for future reference, I’m with trail_rat and Salamanda – If you fiddle with the kids bikes you ARE then liable. Even as a fully trained cycling proficiency instructor and qualified teacher we are told NOT to touch the kids bikes, not even to pump up flat tyres. You could end up in a real mess and its just not worth it. If the teacher you are going with is asking you to do this, I would be questioning what other ‘rules’ he is not observing. Hope it went well though.

Sorry for asking a stupid question but aren’t the parents responsible for ensuring their kids bikes are in a safe and roadworthy condition? Are they absolved of all responsibility?

Just as a matter of interest, how do you get involved in the cycling proficiency scheme?

What kind of bloody world are we living in when you cant tighten a headset without fear of being sued.
Absolutely **** ridiculous.

I suppose next time I come across a fellow biker with a flat I should just ride on rather than lend him my pump, or god forbid lend him a tube.

The thing about fixing the bikes becomes about “duty of care”.

If you say – I’ll make sure all the bikes are in tip top condition is a rather different thing from saying ” I’ll try to fix this obviously broken part” so the kid can join in

also whether you are being paid or not will make a difference. If you do the repairs competently then there is no issue anyway.

IMO Tracy did the right thing

Strange lady – as a qualified and trained person you have a higher duty of care.

Its like me doing first aid – I am a qualified and experienced nurse so if I do first aid I am expected to do a better job than a layperson. I could make a mistake and be sued for it that a layperson would not be liable for.

Park makes a nice thin spanner
32mm[is it 32 :?]and a 15mm pedal spanner on the other end

Least i think its park 😆