loose headset

[alecstilleyedye]

the headset on my carbon ribble is rocking. i've tried tightening to no avail; it's a carbon steerer so i don't want to go all brute force with it.

i've noticed that the lower spacer is not quite flush with the top of the head tube; does it need to have the headset re-pressed, or is a job i can do with a hammer and bit of wood?

 

[alecstilleyedye]

 

[Racing roadkill]

You could bang the race back flat with a hammer and wood block, I'd use a press if I were you, Carbon doesn't like shock.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

a gentle tap maybe?

 

[User6179]

the headset on my carbon ribble is rocking. i've tried tightening to no avail; it's a carbon steerer so i don't want to go all brute force with it.

i've noticed that the lower spacer is not quite flush with the top of the head tube; does it need to have the headset re-pressed, or is a job i can do with a hammer and bit of wood?

The headset cups will be part of the frame i think so you don't need to have them re-pressed , have you checked the steerer plug is tight and in the correct place ? , if loose when you tighten the top cap you just pull the plug up until it bottoms out on the top cap and the steering stays loose .

 

[Racing roadkill]

The headset cups will be part of the frame i think so you don't need to have them re-pressed , have you checked the steerer plug is tight and in the correct place ? , if loose when you tighten the top cap you just pull the plug up until it bottoms out on the top cap and the steering stays loose .

That depends on whether it's a fully integrated, or semi integrated set up. The fact that it's out of alignment would suggest the latter.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

is it safe to ride? i'll take it to an lbs near work that has a press for convenience; if unsafe it's going on the train with me...

 

[Racing roadkill]

is it safe to ride? i'll take it to an lbs near work that has a press for convenience; if unsafe it's going on the train with me...

No not unsafe, just try not to do any epic rides with it like that.

 

[Citius]

the headset on my carbon ribble is rocking. i've tried tightening to no avail; it's a carbon steerer so i don't want to go all brute force with it.

i've noticed that the lower spacer is not quite flush with the top of the head tube; does it need to have the headset re-pressed, or is a job i can do with a hammer and bit of wood?

That's an integrated headset, so the bearings are just sitting in the frame. No pressing or re-pressing needed. My money would be on the top of the stem not being clear of the top of the steerer, which would prevent you from pre-loading the headset properly. Try adding another spacer over the stem - that would tell you if that's the issue or not.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

it's had a new stem and top-cap, but the spacers are the same as before...

 

[Citius]

So is it possible the new stem has a lower stack height than the old one?

 

[alecstilleyedye]

both deda so i'd of assumed they'd be the same. i've just been to evans and picked up a 3mm carbon spacer so i'll see if that fixes the problem.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

thanks all, fixed it. i think the problem may be a slight lack of compatibility between the deda stem cap and the itm expander. it's not the most elegant solution, but it will do for now; maybe replace the whole set with deda components...