Headset Bearings

zippy483

A little help if you will

I seem to have a problem with the headset on my bike (Cube Agree GTC 2012), it seems to loosen up very quickly and start rattling when riding over rough roads, I had to stop and tweak it 3 times in 30 miles yesterday, and it seems to need to be very tight before the play is taken out of the headset, not something I've been used to in the past finger tight normally being enough

I dropped the forks out today and had a look at the bearings which to be fair feel pretty smooth but the bottom one is showing some signs of corrosion around the outer shell, so I was thinking of getting some new bearings in just in case

I have however become a little confused, my steerer is tapered and there appears to be no star fangled nut jobby, the top of the steerer tube is threaded instead, this not being a big deal as I'm sure the nut and the thread in the top of the headset are doing the same job, so now comes the confusion, Bearings

The top bearing is reasonably straight forward 1 1/8 36 X 45, the bottom bearing is another matter I can't see any markings so I consulted google as you do, and found the Crane Creek website with it's headset finder which suggests top bearing of IS41 and bottom bearing of IS52/40.

Has anyone any experience of the Cube Agree Headset, the original part is an FSA orbit I-T but only the top bit it seems

And further to this assume the Cane Creek site is right does anyone know a good bearing supplier for the IS41 and IS52/40 bearings ??

Many Thanks

Zippy483

nicklouse

1 sounds like the bung has slipped up the steerer try repositioning first or put a spacer on the top of the stem to see.

2 standard IS tapered fork headset.


as you have found IS41 and IS52

IS stands for internal/Zerostack/semi integrated or whatever you want to call that standard.

any bearing shop

or just get a new headset.

olly22

Did you ever manage to get this issue resolved? I have a cube agree gtc race 2013 and am experiencing very similar issues!

sungod

if things are coming loose it is because the stem is slipping on the steerer

remove the top cap, stem and any spacers

inspect the steerer tube for any sign of damage (cracking, crushing etc.), also inspect the stem clamp for any sign of cracking/strain

clean the area of the steerer tube where the stem clamps it to remove any traces of grease

clean the inside clamping faces of the stem

apply a bit of carbon assembly compound to the area of the steerer that the stem will clamp

put spacers, stem (do not clamp), and topcap back

set preload with topbolt, just enough to snug bearings

if there is no thin spacer between top of stem and top cap, check that the underside of the topcap is not fouling on the steerer or the end of the bung, if it is it'll prevent proper adjustment

clamp stem, check for play, if there is any, loosen stem, increase pre-load, repeat until correct

assembly compound options...
crazy price for a small sachet http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ritchey-liquid-torque/
lifetime supply http://www.wiggle.co.uk/tacx-carbon-ass ... pound-80g/

maddog 2

IS is for integrated headset, where the bearing sits directly inside the frame/headtube.

For zerostack/semi-integrated the code is ZS, where the bearings are inside cups which are pressed into the frame/headtube.

From memory (not my best feature) Cubes run an integrated setup, so your top bearing is a 1 1/8 36x45, as you say, and the bottom is a 1.5inch (52mm) 36x45.

Some cheap ones here actually http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=92342

Don't know how good they are but they should be okay.

If you need a 45x45 for the lower then superstar have some cheap ones http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=439

zippy483

Hi all

Revisiting this for a number of reasons an update fo Olly mainly.

I'm still suffering this "problem" although not as badly as before I get a lot of "buzz" from my headset on rough roads, not entirely to be surprised about that I suppose. What I did discover was that the thread into which the top cap secures for pre-loading the bearings isn't an integrated part of the steerer tube and comes loose over time, its fine if I keep on top of it but really to be fair it's not great

I'm taking it to the LBS shortly for a service (FOC) so I'll get them to look at it again and post an update then

nferrar

Sounds like you're describing a fork bung (they're used in carbon steerers instead of SFNs as SFNs can score and damage a carbon steerer tube), looks like this http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/FSP ... x_team_alu
Sounds like yours just isn't tight enough (as you can see on the PX one linked there's a allen key socket that you can use use to adjust the expansion of the bung - have you tried expanding it a bit more so it's a tighter fit? With the fork bung firmly anchored then the top-cap pre-load shouldn't be able to shift it so things shouldn't loosen up

zippy483

And the prize for best answer of the day goes to neferrar, that is exactly what it appears to be I've removed cleaned and reseated and re-adjusted the headset hopefully that'll help I'll see how it goes, need to research torque settings now

Specialised recommend 8Nm for there bung in carbon steerers so I'm assuming something similar or maybe a little more as mine is alloy