Has anyone encountered issues of rubbishness with this type of headset IS42/IS52

This is the type where the bearings drop directly in to the frame and the only other bits you get are a crown race, compression ring and top cap

I just cant get it to stay play free for any amount of time. constantly needs tightening and much more torque required to get it tight than you generally want to apply to headsets, especially in a carbon frame.

To me its a bit of a rubbish design especially for MTB. I find the type where the bearings or cups press solidly into the frame to be a lot more reliable and require a lot less compression (just finger tight).

I am definitely preloading the bearings (not bottoming on the steerer or star nut) etc

I even tried a Hope alternative top race (hard to find) but with the same results..?

I’ve got them on a couple of bikes and I can’t say that they’re any worse than any other sort of headset.

Double check the dimensions of the bearing are exactly what’s specified by the manufacturer.

I had a 41.0 OD in when it should have been a 41.8 🤦

It was a costly mistake.

I will check that but the headset was shipped with the frame

Sure you’re not missing something? Perhaps a headset spacer?

militantmandy
Free Member

Sure you’re not missing something? Perhaps a headset spacer?

Had this on a couple of bikes, a 1mm spacer or 2 is what was needed

It shouldn’t make a difference that it’s an integrated bearing as it still functions the same as a standard headset. In theory there’s less to go wrong as you can’t have a misaligned cup.

I would check the star nut isn’t pulling upwards and then make sure everything fits together properly and you don’t need any spacers to allow proper compression