Head Set bolt - How tight?
06-28-09, 12:03 PM
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Head Set bolt - How tight?
I went out for a ride this morning on my Surly Xcheck, riding some tar and chip back roads. I kept hearing this awful rattle so I stopped and checked all of the usual suspects - bottle cages, brakes, seat post, QR's and any misc. accessories I have on the bike. Everything was tight so I went on my way.
The rattle was still there so I stopped again and looked for anything that might still be loose. On a whim and because I had the Allen wrenches out, I decided to give the Head Set bolt a turn, figuring it would be tighter that a frogs butt. It was not tight, so I gave it 10 full turns and it could still use a few more! I didn't crank down on it until I could ask for some guidance.
Should I tighten it as tight as I can then back it off a 1/4 turn like I do all my other bolts or is there some thing else I should do? Do I need to take it to the LBS for a look see?
The rattle was still there so I stopped again and looked for anything that might still be loose. On a whim and because I had the Allen wrenches out, I decided to give the Head Set bolt a turn, figuring it would be tighter that a frogs butt. It was not tight, so I gave it 10 full turns and it could still use a few more! I didn't crank down on it until I could ask for some guidance.
Should I tighten it as tight as I can then back it off a 1/4 turn like I do all my other bolts or is there some thing else I should do? Do I need to take it to the LBS for a look see?
06-28-09, 12:18 PM
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Do you have a "threaded" or "threadless" headset?
See attached: https://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...a%3DN%26um%3D1
See attached: https://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...a%3DN%26um%3D1
06-28-09, 12:29 PM
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To set the bearing pre-load on a threadless headset you need to loosen the stem bolts first... after that the stem bolt needs to be tightened until there is no play in the head set but it also needs to be able to turn smoothly and not bind.
After that the stem bolts need to be tightened as they are what hold things in place.
After that the stem bolts need to be tightened as they are what hold things in place.
06-28-09, 12:48 PM
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To set the bearing pre-load on a threadless headset you need to loosen the stem bolts first... after that the stem bolt needs to be tightened until there is no play in the head set but it also needs to be able to turn smoothly and not bind.
After that the stem bolts need to be tightened as they are what hold things in place.
After that the stem bolts need to be tightened as they are what hold things in place.
06-28-09, 12:50 PM
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06-28-09, 01:31 PM
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You probably toasted your stem's star nut by tightening the top cap bolt with the stem's clamping bolts in place, especially as many turns as you said...be sure to tell the shop what you did and have them check it.
06-28-09, 01:39 PM
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Ok. I followed the link to Park Tool and read it. Way beyond my ability, but thank you Sixty Fiver, for trying to help. I'll just take it to the LBS and let them deal with it.
06-28-09, 01:43 PM
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! But hey - at least the rattle stopped. I rode another 20 miles after I tightened it. I wonder what other damage I did.
06-28-09, 02:02 PM
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Probably nothing you did and easily fixed in any case. As long as the stem pinch bolts were tight, you were in no danger.
06-28-09, 02:09 PM
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Not a big deal, nothing the shop can't handle like the others say. If you tightened the top cap bolt/star nut (if it is indeed a star nut as wordbiker says, might explain why it solved a rattle, wasn't thinking that it'd be a wedge/expander type) as much as you did with loose stem pinch bolts, you wouldn't have been able to turn the handlebars!
