Chuck14

My daughter has a 2007 (I think) Specialized Myka Comp which she rides to school. On Friday, some of the local delinquents decided to take apart the headset while it was parked outside the school. I'm not sure if they were trying to steal it or what. I've taught her to lock it up securely with a big U-lock through the frame, so disassembling the front end wasn't going to get them anywhere anyway.

The problem is that after the took it apart, they stole some parts and I'm not sure exactly what they took. I know there's a spacer of some kind missing from just below the handlebars and the cap from the top of the fork stem. I suspect other parts may be missing too. I used to work on my own bikes a lot when I was younger, but I haven't taken apart any newer bikes in quite a while, so I'm not real sure what it's supposed to look like.

I've been Googling around trying to find a parts diagram or assembly manuals or even closeup pictures that would help me determine what I need to put her bike back together, but haven't had much luck. Does anybody know where to find detailed parts diagrams or manuals? If anybody happens to have the same (or similar) bike, some closeup pictures of the head end would be real helpful too.

Thanks,
Chuck

mechBgon

Those use a common type of headset, so it should have a bearing retainer in each of the two cups that are pressed into the frame. A retainer is a metal ring that holds the ball bearings, and it will need to be in the cup the right way so the balls can roll freely, instead of being pinned against the "spine" of the metal ring.

A cone rolls against the ball bearings. The lower cone is still pressed onto the fork crown like usual, and there may be a plastic seal that sits on the lower cone to shield the bearings. The upper cone slides down the fork, possibly with a plastic ring to shield the bearings from direct dirt & water, and it's centered on the fork's steertube by a wedge ring with a split in it.

Above that, you have spacers and the stem, then the top cap and bolt. When everything's assembled, the top end of the fork should be recessed down into the stem or topmost spacer about 3mm. Apply a light pinky-finger amount of torque to the top-cap bolt, then clamp the stem to the fork and rotate the bars to make sure it's not grinding or dragging, which most likely would indicate a bearing retainer is upside-down.