Forum menu
When building my bike I fitted a CK headset & rather than use a SFN (like usual) i thought id give a head doctor a try...
The first few rides were fine but the headset is now clicking like fooook!
I nursed the bike home, tightened up the head doctor (it had come loose) and tried again - half hour later clicking again 😡
Went through the process again, another ride late clicking 👿 👿
So.. is there anything I should be doing different, the forks are brand new (2010 Talas FIT)
The CK headset does my head in, why cant it just have the normal wedgy bit that takes the play out of the front end!!
Help please!!
Remove head doctor.
Tighted up the main bung bit an make sure it works as intended.
Undo and re-insert to sensible depth.
Use 8mm allen key to get as tight as you can. Alloy steerer should be fine to give it a good heave.
Leave the allen key and hit with mallet. If that causes no movement remove allen key. If it does move, tighten more, then repeat.
Place top cap on, insert bolt and then tighten until bearings stop turning freely.
Un-tighten a tiny amount.
Tighten stem bolts.
If all that fails get an SFN, what was wrong with one anyway?
Remove head doctor.
Tighted up the main bung bit an make sure it works as intended.
Undo and re-insert to sensible depth.
Use 8mm allen key to get as tight as you can. Alloy steerer should be fine to give it a good heave.
Leave the allen key and hit with mallet. If that causes no movement remove allen key. If it does move, tighten more, then repeat.
Place top cap on, insert bolt and then tighten until bearings stop turning freely.
Un-tighten a tiny amount.
Tighten stem bolts.
Did all that to no avail!
If all that fails get an SFN, what was wrong with one anyway?
I had a HD knocking about in my toolbox, there was also a thread on here the other day with loadsa people stating that they were great. Its ruined 2 great rides so far - unless its my headset!
Nowt wrong with heddoctors, just the way they're used - there's something amiss if the preloading's not happening as andrewh described. Once the bearings are preloaded correctly and *and* the stem bolts are tightened securely you can lob the HD back in yer toolbox, should you wish to. (And don't overtighten the main topcap bolt, it'll probably just shear).
Is the bung section inside the steerer a) tight enough b) far enough down so it's not hitting the underside of the topcap (iyswim) - no room and there's no way to take up bearing slack.
in contrast to most hope stuff, the hed doc is a complicated solution to a simple problem that has an otherwise obvious cheap/effective fix.
Just put it back in the tool box a knock a star nut in.
king headsets do click!!
mine ALL have
paul
Thanks for the replies - i've been messing around with it all night. I have a tapered CK headset on my other bike and its been faultless in the few months ive had it 😆
Im putting the SFN in now before I go to bed.
Could the CK headset be at fault??
I've had to pre-load my CK headset quite a lot to get rid of play, even more than a cane creek one I had in a previous frame that was a bit knackered. It came fitted with my frame, I'm a bit annoyed there isn't a tapered/split-ring on them TBH.
i've had to pre-load my CK headset quite a lot to get rid of play
The extra amount of pre load is obviously hard to quantify without a torque wrench but i've just fitted the SFN and tightened it all up with a bit more effort than usual, i cant hear clicking but if I hold the dust cap I can still feel a very small amount of movement - is this normal with CK headsets??
AAArrrggghhh - does anyone live in the Hebden/Keighley/Bradford region and fancy swapping headsets!!!