Originally Posted by
CliffordK
I had a bike a while ago that I could never quite get he headset in adjustment. It was like there was a sweet spot straight ahead, then it became tight when turning the bars.
Recently I've started wondering if that was a sign of hidden damage.
Could this have been due to "indexed" head tube bearings? I overhauled a head tube recently because the steering felt slightly notchy. Examining the races, I saw evenly spaced shiny spots. After cleaning and re-greasing, and replacing the ball bearings, everything seems fine. (I showed the races to an LBS mechanic who also thought they were salvageable.)