Hello All

GetUpAndGo

Hi Guys,

Just bought a bike and had a ride with it yesterday at esher shores, was a very enjoyable day and considering its my first time there and first time with a proper bike i didnt do too bad had a few bad crashes and some bruises to show but i kept on trying and did do some of the jumps and transitions etc..

But a friend pointed out that my headset is moving around a little and it shouldnt be doing this, this is where my inexperience hurts me a tad, the headset was a cane creek one which i purchased new. The bike i have is a giant trance 2, and when i recieved it a few things were knackered so i replaced them and they all seem okay but the headset does have some play in it when i jam the front brakes on it moves around in the stem (i think thats the right terminology)

I decided to take it apart myself and the only thing i can think of or see is the bearings are the wrong size as they do seem to move around a bit and i can remove them with relative ease, they also slide over the shock pole with little resistance. Have i bought the wrong headset as it was one reccomended to me or am i missing something more obvious? is there parts i can buy to sort this as i have no parts left from the kit

Anyway so far so good great hobby enjoyed it loads even if i am in a bit of pain

stumpyjon

Sounds more like it wasn't tightened properly. The correct way to tighten it all up is to do up the bolt in the top cap to snug everything together (not too tight) then do up the clamp bolts. If you do it the other way around you run the risk it not being tight.

When you replaced the headset you did replace the cups in the frame ? Steerer sizes are generally standard (it's getting more complicated at the moment as some taper). If the inside diameter of the bearing was wrong you'd know about it as they would slop all over the place. The outside diameter of the bearing will be designed to work with the cups supplied with the headset.

GetUpAndGo

stumpyjon wrote:

Sounds more like it wasn't tightened properly. The correct way to tighten it all up is to do up the bolt in the top cap to snug everything together (not too tight) then do up the clamp bolts. If you do it the other way around you run the risk it not being tight.

When you replaced the headset you did replace the cups in the frame ? Steerer sizes are generally standard (it's getting more complicated at the moment as some taper). If the inside diameter of the bearing was wrong you'd know about it as they would slop all over the place. The outside diameter of the bearing will be designed to work with the cups supplied with the headset.

From what you have written it has been tightened correctly the cap was done up snug then the clamp bolts were tightened,

i didnt replace the headset myself i watched my friend do it, i dont recall him replacing anything inside the frame.

All i remember happening is,

old bearings being removed was hard to do,
star washer being put in
then we put the new headset in
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... :IT&ih=024

He had to bash something into the frame with a block of wood and a mallet but i cant remember what this was sadly it was done to both ends

apologies i cant be of more help,

The Northern Monkey

Hey,
this might help http://www.bikeradar.com?clipId=75

welcome

GetUpAndGo

bigbenj_08 wrote:

Hey,
this might help http://www.bikeradar.com?clipId=75

welcome

Hi,

Thanks for the link, and the video

The preload has been tightened like in the video however no matter how tight i do it you can still see the top of the headset moving on the frame,

I have noticed the top bearing has a sleeve which goes inside it that seems to fill in all the gaps the bottom one does not have one of these

i hope i described that right i have tried calling my mate but his phone is off and i think i should really try to learn to maintain and fix my bike myself

supersonic

Sounds like you are missing a part, or the bearings are shot.

The correct order of parts and the bearings being the right way round is essential.

GetUpAndGo

supersonic wrote:

Sounds like you are missing a part, or the bearings are shot.

The correct order of parts and the bearings being the right way round is essential.

This is what i was thinking along the lines of,

both the bearings seem the same size and they can only be put in one way as the bearings have curves in them,

Id hope the bearings are not shot as they are new but you never know they do spin freely which id assume means they are okay

other than that i may be missing a part at the moment im trying to track down some manuals/instructions for the bike and headset

Fingers crossed!

Thank you to everyone

Banned!

worst case scenario is that you have a flared cup.

I hope not, bacause that means a new bike. if everything is in its proper place then there shouldnt be any movement, in fact, if it wasnt you would know all about it pdq!

Vivid

Did you change the forks or spacers?

Take the top cap off and check that the fork steerer is 3mm lower than the top of the spacers or stem.

If so then refer to supersonic's post.