Help Please, Headset Issues

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young Ed

Veteran
are you telling me there are meant to be bearings in there?
well what a silly billy you are then of course there shouldn't be!

sorry only joking, i am really rather shocked by this if there really isn't any bearings in there when you dis-assembled it as there should be! no bearings=a very large problem!
Cheers Ed
 

KneesUp

Guru
Bearings to fit a 1" headset are pretty much universal. In fact I have some in my pocket that I picked up from the LBS for £2 or so the other day that I will fit tonight. 1 1/8" headsets have a bit more variation so it's trickier to get the right size, especially if you don't have the old ones, I'd imagine. But yes, you can buy more.
 

HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth
Picture 1 looks perfectly normal to me. In most modern threadless headsets that I've worked on, you can't see the actual ball bearings, it's more of a cartridge unit, and you can just see the top of the cartridge. What seems wrong to me, is that in the picture the steerer appears to be threadless, however the top bearing race is threaded and the race appears to be designed for loose ball bearings?

Is this in fact a threadless headset, or are the pictures just not clear? If it is threadless, it looks like the previous owner has done something strange with it.
 

accountantpete

Brexiteer
I agree with HovR.

The top pic seems to show a semi-integrated headset with sealed bearings.

The bearings have an angle on the inside (usually 45 degrees) with mate with a compression cap (also 45 degrees at the bottom) with a flat top to it. The compression cap then mates with a top cap to finish everything off.

The top cap in pic two is is for a traditional threaded headset.

The forks in pic 3 seem to have a traditional curved ball nearing race - this needs to be changed for a crown race with an angled race to match the bearings in the bottom of the headtube.
 

Nigeyy

Legendary Member
It's hard to tell from those piccies. An easy question:

when you say play, do you mean a bit of wobbling but it still feels relatively smooth when you lean on it when turning the handlebars? (In which case a clean, relubing and adjustment may be all that's needed) or...

that it's wobbly and it feels like metal grinding on metal and not smooth at all?

If the latter, it sounds like you are missing bearings. Replacing a headset is fairly easy (google is your friend) and you can actually do it cheaply with some homemade tools. However, if you feel like you are more mechanically disadvantaged, take it to your favourite local bike shop and let them do it. Also keep in mind whether it's threaded or threadless if you decide to replace it yourself.
 
OP
OP
monkeylc

monkeylc

Über Member
Location
leicester
Sorry my fault first picture looks odd.
I've pulled the forks out and the bit that looks like the fork is quill stem without the the top part and bars.
#Nigeyy if I put front brake on and rock back and forth you can feel play, but if I tighten the bars won't turn freely.
 

Nigeyy

Legendary Member
I completely missed that you had a threaded headset (d'oh!). I obviously have a visual memory like a sieve.

Anyway, this is a hard one -I know smooth can be very subjective. Honestly, it sounds like your headset is shot and that some of the bearings are missing or mismatched (which would be unusual but not impossible). If you know of an enthusiastic amateur bike mechanic, let them take a look and see what they think. Headsets are (relatively ~10-30 quid) cheap, so not a big issue here -it's more a case of removing the old one and putting the new one on. Well, good luck!

Edit: shouldn't forget the cheapo option -try to disassemble, clean, relube, put it back together again and try small adjustments to see if you can get the headset just right. You've got nothing to lose.
 

young Ed

Veteran
Why large problem? I can just go buy some can't I?
sorry yes i was being confusing
yes you can go and buy some very cheaply but it is a big problem to ride without bearings and i am surprised someone sold you a bike with no headset bearings? :tongue:
Cheers Ed
 

HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth
I still think something is odd. Is it an integrated headset? It looks like it from the pictures, except the fork, top race and crown race are obviously from a threaded system. And I've never seen a threaded integrated headset (although I guess they could exist).

I'm wondering if someone has put a threaded fork and crown + top race in an integrated threadless system. Does the 45 degree angled section in the top headset cup spin? Of course I could be barking up the wrong tree here.
 

biggs682

Touch it up and ride it
Location
Northamptonshire
name and shame the seller with some neg feedback for sure .

i think you be best off just fitting a complete new headset of the right size , what make and model bike might help re what sort of headset required
 
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