I'm on a 2003? Raleigh Professional with Columbus carbon fork. I believe it uses a Columbus-style headset.

The problem is that the thing rattles. The streets in this part of Dallas are like the surface of the moon. I get what sounds like something tapping thin carbon fiber.

I adjusted the pre-load by slacking off the stem clamping bolts and taking the cap down to about 5 Nm. (There are spacers so it isn't bottomed on the stem.) That helped - the rattle is of a higher frequency and doesn't happen as often - but it isn't cured. I'm afraid to crank down on the cap much harder. Interestingly, I get no bearing bind when taking it down that even tighter. Should I get some bind?

Is there a chance the something else is out of whack, like the star nut working out?

TIA

Dennis