Originally Posted by
coolcamaro12
As I keep looking into this it seems like it would be much easier and cost effective to go to the bike shop and get a stem from them. They do a lot of small jobs like that free for me anyway because the rest of my family and I have bought TONS from them over the past 45 years.
Well, if they'll either swap yours out for no charge or sell you one for cheap & install it because you've purchased from them, great. If not, it's very easy to do and a good idea for you to get a feel as to how to set your headset bearings with the top cap before tightening. (Enough so the steering doesn't bind, but not so loose it rocks back & forth when you force the front brake & try to make it do so).
Originally Posted by
Raiden
Aluminum/Aluminum then no, skip the paste. Ticking is more likely a mis-adjusted bearing (headset or a wheel hub) or a worn bearing.
Bike's basically new, didn't do it til I changed the stem & have swapped a few different stems now & just can't get it to stop. (5nm, 6nm...nothing works) And my headset couldn't get preset any more perfect if I gave it to Dario Pegoretti. (well, maybe)
Somebody suggested I just take the whole front apart, re-grease everything just cuz & see if that doesn't get it. (new be damned)