I’ve recently replaced the bearings in my Hope headset and can’t get it adjusted properly, its either loose or too stiff – granted the adjustments have been made in a bit of a hurry and not been very precise, but the range between ‘loose’ and ‘too tight’ seems too small, its almost like I’ve got duff bearings.

I re-built the headset as it was, do I need to put some shims in the construction (as supplied originally) in case of any variations between the original bearings and new?

CBA doing much ATM, just wondered if there was a known issue with Hope headsets

No issues as such, but the shims are there to adjust the pre-load on the top seal, too many and it won’t contact, too few and it may cause drag.Depending on your numpty-level, it may also be worth checking if the bearings are fitted the right way.

mines nice and smooth.

Did you face the headtube? maybe the cups are off, or theyre not seated properly.

I’ll try playing around with shims and double check the bearings are in the right way round.

I didn’t face the headtube as I was only replacing the bearings, the cups remained untouched in the headtube.