Folding Bikes - headset play sensation in folding bikes?

I just purchased my first folder and can't get over the fact that it feels like there is play in the headset no matter how many times I adjust it. This is a new bike so I suspect the headset is not shot. Could this just be in my head? Do folding bikes inherently feel flexy in the front end due to the long "stem" on a folding bike?

What brand & model folder?

First of all, what brand and model is your bicycle, second what type of headset do you have. Finally, some pictures of the head set and stem would help greatly.

I just purchased my first folder and can't get over the fact that it feels like there is play in the headset no matter how many times I adjust it. This is a new bike so I suspect the headset is not shot. Could this just be in my head? Do folding bikes inherently feel flexy in the front end due to the long "stem" on a folding bike?

Folding bikes with long stems tend to have issues with headsets. That's why the headset of choice for a Friday is a 1 1/4" Chris King, a true marvel of bearing design. This is not in your head.

xcnbike, I know exactly what you're saying.
It seems to me an old steel Campagnolo Nuovo Record cup & cone headset can be adjusted to have nicer feel than a modern threadless 1.25" Chris King, for example. It just seems "tighter" to me for some reason.

It's a Downtube NS. I'm wondering if the problem is with a cross-threaded stem binder bolt. As I was trying to diagnose the problem I started adjusting everything in the front end. As I loosened the stem binder bolt (the long bolt that goes inside the steerer tube with the expanding wedge), I noticed it was cross-threaded.


Perhaps because the bolt was cross threaded, I can't get it to pull the wedge any further up the steerer tube to fully secure the stem in the steerer tube (and the wedge is stuck in a place that's not fully securing the stem to the steerer tube)??? And this is what's causing the play. Does this sound plausible?

There is definitely some play going on there and I don't think it's in the headset because I've adjusted it (over tightening too, just to see if that's where the play was) and the issue isn't there. I'm not too confident in my diagnosis because the set-up seems a little different than a standard threaded stem. Normally when I loosen the bolt I would expect the stem to come loose as well. But this thing does not want to move at all. Maybe it's the expanding wedge is just frozen in there or am I missing some concept about folding bike stems?