Had anyone had a steerer tube replaced?

I was fortunate enough that Hayes in Germany sent me a free CSU for the Mezzer that I bought second hand (exceptional service really) but unfortunately, the second CSU has now started creaking.

I don’t really want to push my luck with Hayes so I was thinking about sending the original somewhere to have anew steerer pressed (and hopefully bonded) in.

A new CSU is about £250, looking around online, an ND Tuned replacement is ~£100 plus a bit for the actual fitting.

I could probably get busy with some box section and a bottle jack but I think something like this is probably best laft to someone who knows what they’re doing?

I’ve read a few things that suggest the anodising on the crown/ steerer makes retaining compound less effective and you really need some fretting on the two parts for the retaining compound the be effective? Kind of makes sense but being the non engineer that I am, I’m not really sure.

Has anyone had one done? Any recommendations where to send it?

Jtech did a fork for me (36), top service as ever.

Might not need a new steerer. Might be able to take the steerer and stanchions out and bind them back in. There is a suggestion that a little corrosion in there once cleaned off, actually gives some room for the bonding agent.

RSF suspension in Plymouth will do this

It might not be the steerer.

It could be the stanchions.

I seem to have a real problem with this on all my forks and it normally starts on the brake side stanchion.

I had RSF press them apart, clean and refit with whatever bonding agent they use on a 36.

Lasted around a year before the creak returned.

That’s longer than some new forks have lasted me recently.

Might be a little more tricky pressing the stanchions out of a Mezzer due to the  crown shape.

Let us know how you get on as I have a Mezzer that will probably start creaking too.

Is the creaking actually a safety concern? My fox 36s have done this for a few years now and I still have all my teeth but perhaps I’m being ignorant?

Don’t honestly know- they usually (always?) press through from the bottom so even if the creak became a complete disconnection it oughtn’t to fall apart. But both times I’ve had it done, the servicing place was pretty insistent- Jtech were basically “it needs done, we won’t do any other work on the fork without it, we’ll send it back to you for free though if you really don’t want it done”, and that was on a fork with only light creak.

@Northwind.

How much did JTech charge for rebonding the CSU? And how long has it lasted?

Eh, can’t remember the cost- in my case they fitted a replacement CSU (into an ancient set of 36s) rather than rebonding, still going strong.

Thanks for the reply despite being useless for info 😉

I had this done at the Stirling bike doctor a few years ago. He’s since closed down.

From memory it was £80, I could be wrong but that rings a bell.

It cost me £105+vat for J-tech to fit a new steerer to my lyriks earlier this year.

Thanks.

I’ll email them and ask about stanchion pressing as I have a 36 that’s out of warranty and creaking from the brake side.

There’s a place more local to me in Edinburgh that does it but unsure of their reputation.

Slick N Slide in Macc did mine.

and mine