Folding Bikes - Tools to tightening the head set of NWT

The headset of my NWT has play and I can turn the top nut by hand. I saw several youtube videos that teach how to tighten it and it seems simply enough for doing it myself.

What kind of ranches do I need to do the job? Are all headset ranges the same or do they differ by size and quality (if it matters)?

Anything else I should know before tightening it?

Thanks,

Kam

I do not know what type of headsets Bike Friday uses, except they are 1 1/4. I can recommend you to visit a good bicycle mechanic that will point out the exact size tool. In the meanwhile check out parktools website for both tools and directions on how to tight headsets and how to tune derrailleurs.

http://www.parktool.com/

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=65

Not sure what headset you might have on your NWT - I have a Chris King on mine and the wife's Crusoe.

The first time I had the bike shop tighten mine (the guy doing it is a longtime NWT owner himself, so I had some degree of confidence).

It loosened up again in about six months, as did my wife's, too. It didn't look like rocket science, so purchased a headset wrench of the appropriate size for the top of the headset (yes, they do differ) and a Crescent wrench for the lock nut. Both headsets have done well since I tightened them myself.

You do NOT want to tighten the lower nut so tight that it binds, and you do not want to over tighten the lock nut especially, if it's Aluminum like our Chris Kings - Aluminum is "softer" than steel. The lower nut requires a thin "headset wrench", an open-end or Crescent wrench will not do, they are too thick.

Here is a good place to start for info: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/headsets.html

Also, here is the link to the Bike Friday website - they have a lot of maintenance info on their site, including the subject of headset adjustment: http://www.bikefriday.com/node/2284

Kam, I think you will be a lot happier with any bike you own if you learn how to "wrench" it yourself. Bikes are fun because they are simple and totally mechanical - no black boxes to date (reference to fact that electronic shifting, that will soon be tested on racing bikes).

You could email their service dept. to ask--the address should be on their website (www.bikefriday.com). I've always found them quite responsive and helpful. BF sells headset wrenches for their bikes, but they don't push them on you. I learned from BF's service dept that my Air Friday requires a 40 mm headset wrench, which I'm told is used for standard MTB (threaded) headsets, and I bought one mail-order from somewhere else.

I have a NWT and my wife has a Pocket Rocket. We both have the Chris King headset. The nuts on that head set use a 40 mm wrench. If you have two it makes the adjustment all the easier. I believe that the BF toolkit came with a multipurpose tool that had a headset wrench. It was kind of short and hard to use. For home use I use two Park HCW-9 headset wrenches. You can order them in just about any bike shop.

Speedo

Thanks everybody for the good info. I found at a LBS a Park Tool HCW-9 (40mm) and between it an a large crescent wrench I was able to take a way the play, without binding it.

Kam

You're on your way to fixing most of your potential bike problems!