I suppose any of those things are possible. I know the issue went away when I installed a new headset. I have read posts where people say these B10s flex more, but I just couldn't get it where it wouldn't wobble a bit (you know, when you apply the front brake and push). I did mess with it for a bit, but when the bottom cup just keeps falling out of the bike (when fork removed), well, I just figured it was time to replace. It was too bad otherwise, the bearings and races were fine. I can't help but think that I wouldn't have had that problem with a metal headset; this is the only headset cup I've seen that just falls out of the bike. Perhaps it was a manufacturing issue and not endemic to the plastic. I wouldn't buy a NOS or used one in the future; that said, if I had one on a bike already and it didn't have the issue, I don't know if I'd go out of my way to replace it either.
Originally Posted by
rekmeyata
Weird, I never had that problem with mine, there was no play or flex in that fork even after 130K miles, I kept the headset because it has no issues, even the bearings are the original bearings!
It sounds like it was never adjusted or installed correctly either the bearing retainer was installed upside down which does happen more then a person would think, or the bearing races were installed crooked; either that of the fork was slightly bent, or the head tube and fork crown were not faced correctly or perhaps damaged in a crash. Unfortunately I never knew anyone who had that headset to know if there was an issue, however no issues were ever reported on the internet when I looked.