I hate it when my bike gets a headache,, anything else is ok but a headache drives me potty.
Iv got a tapered Cane Creek headset and there seems a small amount of play in it, its really hard to notice looking at the stem by standing over it, however i turned the bike upside down and i can definetely see a bit of play where the bearing sits on the race there. Iv done the usual cranked the star nut down a bit and also but its still there

Is this a bearing change only?or all the cups aswell, basically full headset change?

Dunno, is it jammed?

Dont think so, it spins freely enough

sorry i dont follow, you say that you see the play?

if you have the bike on the ground, and lock the front brake do you feel any play?

if so, undo the stem bolts and then tighten the star fangled nut to see if that fixes it..

Yeh i have tightend the stem bolt probably tighter tham i normally would but i can only see the play when i push the forks side to side when the bikes upside down. I dont think i can tighthen the star nut any tighter which i making me think it is caput

head set cap bottoming oput on the stem? You need a couple of mm at least of stem above the steerer to give you room to tighten down

I’d probably have a wiggle with a knife and see if anything pops up.

Good call, il try that

Can you feel it when riding? If not I’d probably leave it be.

You are loosening off the stem before tightening up the steerer bolt yeah?

wot they ^ said:

loosen the stem before tensioning with the top cap

and

make sure there’s a small amount of stem (or a spacer) above the level of the top of the steerer so that you’re not bottoming out the top cap when you tighten up

Yeh all of thats right

If the headset isn’t locking solid no matter how much you tighten the starnut bolt, then there is some other issue stopping it tightening – most likely one of those already mentioned.

What are the bearings like? Take them out clean them up and see what they are like, it’s a simple job and replacing them is just as easy.

Cane Creek headset

There’s your problem, right there

Feeling play is more reliable than seeing it when talking about minimal movement.

Cup each bearing and headtube/stem with one hand, apply front brake with the other and rock the bike back and forth. You should feel any play.

Check you have enough clearance on the top stem cap as TJ says and if so, check your bearings and races are not nadgered.

Whoops, iv done this a thousand times before but this time it felt different….but guess what…it wasnt – a bit embarrassing.