Bicycle Mechanics - Loose headset / fork

I have a 1" threadless headset and fork (Cane Creek S2 / Surly Steamroller fork) and the fork wobbles around in the head tube. I am also having this same problem on my mountain bike after I took out the bearings and cleaned / re-greased everything. I know the headset is in all the way so its not that. What could it be? The movement looks like it is happening between the crown race and the bottom of the headset. I feel like I am missing something very simple....

Any thoughts?

Did you set it back up so that there was extra space between the top of your stem and the steer tube? You need the top of the tube to be a bit below the top of the stem in order to be able to compress the whole works when you tighten the bolt into the star nut.

Make sure you installed the caged bearings in the same vertical orientation they were in when you removed them. Typically, the bottom race has the flanged side of bearing retainer facing down, and the bearing side facing up. And the top race is the opposite (bearing side faces down). But this isn't a standard and some headsets have a different bearing orientation.

Did you neglect the compression ring, the broken, cheap-looking piece of plastic that goes in last?

I tried tightening the star nut to no avail and on the cane creek headset everything was all sealed and packed up. The compression ring is the plastic ring with the slit in it that goes on the top part right? I did put that in. I think maybe my spacers / stem are not at the right height yet to properly pull tight on everything. No matter how tight I spin the star nut I can still spin the spacers around the steering tube.

I tried tightening the star nut to no avail and on the cane creek headset everything was all sealed and packed up. The compression ring is the plastic ring with the slit in it that goes on the top part right? I did put that in. I think maybe my spacers / stem are not at the right height yet to properly pull tight on everything. No matter how tight I spin the star nut I can still spin the spacers around the steering tube.

As has been asked, is the top of your steering tube at least a couple of millimeters below the top of the uppermost spacer/top of the stem?

And, so as not to ignore the obvious, did you make the mistake of tightening the stem bolts before screwing in the top cap (in other words, do you know how a threadless headset setup is supposed to work?)?

And, so as not to ignore the obvious, did you make the mistake of tightening the stem bolts before screwing in the top cap (in other words, do you know how a threadless headset setup is supposed to work?)?

+1
The stem pinch bolts must be loose when tightening the cap bolt to set the compression. Tighten the pinch bolt(s) last.

Al

And, so as not to ignore the obvious, did you make the mistake of tightening the stem bolts before screwing in the top cap (in other words, do you know how a threadless headset setup is supposed to work?)?

Bingo! That was it. I loosened the stem and then tightened the top cap and it tightened RIGHT up.

This is the first bike I built from the ground up and I am super excited I was able to do it but there obviously were a few.. opp moments, this being one of them.

Thanks guys!

Bingo! That was it. I loosened the stem and then tightened the top cap and it tightened RIGHT up.

This is the first bike I built from the ground up and I am super excited I was able to do it but there obviously were a few.. opp moments, this being one of them.

Thanks guys!

Good to hear you got it figured out. Just a warning: Make sure you don't tighten up the top cap too much. It should only be tight enough to remove any play. Too tight and it will cause premature wear on the bearings.

This article will explain better than I could: http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=65#adjust (Scroll down to the "Headset Adjustment - Threadless Type" section of the page)

And, so as not to ignore the obvious, did you make the mistake of tightening the stem bolts before screwing in the top cap.....?

It's amazing how often this is the answer to the problem of "I can't take the play out of my headset".