Ribble stealth - loose headset/steerer movement

TreeOfSores

Hi,

I recently bought a Ribble Stealth and its great apart from under heavy braking there is noticeable movement of the steerer tube within the headset. I currently have the headset supplied by Ribble fitted but have also tried the bearings from this headset bought on ebay - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trailbright-I ... 32&afsrc=1

The steerer tube has a top cap and internal part different from a star nut which was fitted by the LBS (apparently suitable for carbon fork steerer). There appears to be the usual amount of stem overlapping top of steerer to allow top cap to exert pressure to tighten the headset. Tightening the top cap as much as possible does not seem to remove the movement sadly.

Any suggestions? Might the internal steerer part not be far enough in to the steerer tube? Might it be worth trying another top cap such as - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/fsa-compressor- ... cap-th883/

Might it be the headsets fault and worth buying another such as - http://www.fullspeedahead.com/storage/i ... 20C-40.pdf

Many thanks.

Herbsman

How much is the usual amount of overlap? Try replacing one of the spacers with a sligtly bigger one. If that doesn't work, take it to your LBS

doktorsteve

Is the top cone tight on the steerer tube when you take it apart? If the cone has been pushed down tight then it will be a fiddle to to pull it up again. Did you fit the washer on top of the cone so that it is pushed down by the top cap?

Twi78

I currently have the same issue on my Ribble Gran Fondo, and are discussing this with Ribble. My issue is that the bearing does not fit tightly within the frame and I think this is what is causing the movement. I was hoping it was a case of the wrong headset but as you have tried others I am now thinking it could be the frame. Have you noticed the same issue with your bearing?

TreeOfSores

Extra spacer seems to have allowed it to tighten up, around 4mm of stem top overlap now (around 2mm previously). I'll have to see if it stays tight after a ride. Guess the LBS possibly could've done a better job when fitting the headset.