Cervelo S5 headset play when not under load.

mulletmaster

Just building up my cervelo s5 here and noticed there is a small amount of play in the headset no matter how far I pressed down the compression ring when there is no weight on the front. When on the ground the play disappears. There are about an inch of spacers above the stem if that makes any odds, only a 2mm spacer and the volcano below the stem. That was the way it came to me and I'm not all that keen on cutting the steerer unless I absolutely have to. Anyone else ever come across this? Is it due to the spacer height above the stem? More importantly is it ok to leave it like that?

owenlars

How are you checking for play? The time honoured method is to put on the front brake and rock the bike back and forth whilst gripping the handlebars. If you are doing this, what sometimes appears to be play can be the front brake moving slightly. If you have not got the front wheel on the ground I am not sure how you check for play.

With the front wheel off the ground does the front wheel turn left to right under its own weight? If not you have over tightened the top cap.

Also did you tighten the top cap with the stem bolts loose? You have to loosen the stem bolts first otherwise you cannot get the headset pretensioned.

mulletmaster

I was able to demonstrate play as pulling the handlebars with the front off the ground demonstrated a 1mm at least of slop in the headset which rocked forward and back.Top cap isn't too tight as the spacers can still rotate with a bit of persuasion. Stem bolts tightened first yes but cheers for the in put.

BBH

having learnt the hard way previously, loosen the stem bolts and then tighten the headset (top cap) then tighten stem bolts again - you should not have any play