What seems like after every couple of rides i get a bit of play in it , only a small amount but enough to nip it up again
Its a new headset thats only done about 600miles and I had it to bits the other week to pop a bit of lube on it and all seems well inside

Thinking about putting some threadlock on the headbolt before fitting it

Anyone else have the same problem or now a good fix ??

Cheers

Andy

My hope headset used to do this. I just got rid of it cos it was proper ****.

i'v nipped mine up twice in the last two years. Dont know why it loosens but it's not fallen apart in two winters. A lot more reliable than others I have had. Once went through two in a winter now thats proper w@nk.

i'v nipped mine up twice in the last two years. Dont know why it loosens but it's not fallen apart in two winters. A lot more reliable than others I have had. Once went through two in a winter now thats proper w@nk.

Wouldnt it be the stem at fault? When the stem is done up the headset is redundant IIRC. Cant see you being able to continually tighten the headset up.

I dont have a torque wrench and i have done the stem bolts up as much as i dare, just dont want to strip the threads

keep meaning to get a torque wrench for the car and the bike but they are not cheap

Strip the stem of and make sure its dry/free from grease on the inside. Also make sure the steerer tube is the same. Do up everything as before and try again – it shouldnt need a whole lot of tension in the clamp bolts. It can take a while for the headset to settle in after fitting/regreasing.

are you using the head doctor or a star flanged nut? SFN is simple, light and doesn't pull out. The perfect component (provided you're not running a carbon steerer)

the stem holds the headset in place, if it is coming loose that means either the headtube is growing or the stem is moving.

I would guess the later is more likely( i suppose the steerer could be falling out of the fork crown?)

Cheers chaps nipped it up again the afternoon for a ride in the morning and will see how it goes,

will deffo strip it and clean it up next time to make sure its as clean as it should be

Andy

There are so many parts in the Hope stack, I am hardly surprised that you keep getting play developing amongst all the interfaces. I had similar issues, and was less than impressed with the design overall. It wasn't too dissimilar to an XL Orbit 11, just with more seals and rings in the stack. Mine had water penetration after just a few rides. I managed to swap it for an old King, no issues since.

PS: the Hope headset was a warranty replacement for one of the Mk1 Hope headsets, which lasted a few years until the bearing went, and I found out these were not available, and not retro fittable – according to Hope.
Overall, quite poor really and dissapointingly no where near a rival to a King!

is it the old style pre-2007, these were indeed ****, the new ones are much better.

As the op desribes it as 'new' I assume it's one of the newer types. I've had both, I'd say the Mk1 was the better design, if the bearing was better or replaceable. After three years I could accept replacing a bearing, although it still hasn't a patch on the King. I have one ten years and going strong, one re-lube that's it. The newer Hope's are really poor IMO, as I said just like an XL11 with more rings and seals. The bearing would spin in the cups no matter how tight I set it. The only redeeming feature of the newer type, is that you can swap the bearing out easily – which I think you will need to do before long. Mine was full of water after a few rides.

It took a lot of persuasion to get Hope to warranty the original, I did have to pay something towards the new, as I only wanted to buy a bearing for the Mk1 headset. Their attitude wasn't in any way impressive either.

What sort of stem is it?

If it's a Thomson Elite or sililar with the internal collet, then they do seem to slip far easier than ones with pinch bolts on the back.

No problems with the 3 Hope headsets we've got – certainly far better than Kings ime when it comes to not working loose.

Any chance the cups are not pressed completely home?

I haven't had these problems with Hopes.

Spent the day at Llandegla and after the morning run it was loose again

Just chucked the bike in the shed but will have a proper look at it b4 the next time out at the weekend

It is a Thomson Elite on a Orange five frame (april 2009)

I had the same trouble on my Bullit. I put it down to the upper seal bit (number 7 on that diagram above?) being stupidly tight and I needed to smack the stem down with a hammer in order for the headset to (almost) tighten. I think that the leverage from the (long) fork combined with the fact that I could be get the stem totally tight meant that the any hard impacts would move the stem just slightly up despite being done up 'bastard tight'. Could be ballix, but changing the stem didn't change the problem, but changing the headset to an FSA Pig Pro solved the problem.

The other I that I've still got has been fine as it is a looser fit on the fork steerer, therefore easy to tighten correctly.

You'll end up getting a King……….

..or an XLII 😉

Had to pinch mine up 3 or 4 times in 16 months. Could be the head was not manufactured quite straight and not faced before the headset was put in. Suggest you spend a few quid on going to a good LBS to get the head faced and then the headset set properly to the right torque settings. £10-20 for that is much cheaper than a new headset.

As for tightening, my "torque wrench" is about as tight as I can get it with a multitool as opposed to using a proper allen key wrench

He already has an XL11!! 😆

my hope headset is also a sack of cack that's been a thorn in my side since i bought it.

horrible things, with the stupidest sealing system i've ever seen.

honestly, which idiot came up with that? – he needs horse-whipping.

endofrant.

What sort of money would I look and spending on a torque wrench that will be good for my bike ?

not a silly flash one just one that will do the job ok for someone playing at being a wanna be bicycle repair man ??

There has been a torque wrench thread recently – unfortunately you probably won't like reading it.