Originally Posted by
roadnoob412
Guys,
My problem is this - when I went to tighten it back up I had no issue. I put the headset cap back on and the bolt and tightened it back down. Here's where my problem began. For some reason I couldn't get the cap to tighten down and stay in place. So, is there a specific order or process to follow when re-tightening these? I'd like to flip the stem on my road bike this weekend but I don't want to end up in the LBS again asking for help.
Any advice you guys can give would be great.
Thanks!
TB
The top cap and bolt are only used to preload the bearing system in the headset, and only works if the stem pinch bolts are loose. Once you tighten the stem pinch bolts, you can essentially remove the top cap and bolt and put them into your toolbox.
I'm not sure what you mean by "couldn't tighten down and stay in place". Assuming the pinch bolts are loose and you tried to tighten the top cap bolt, but nothing was happening, perhaps the star nut inside the steerer is slipping, or the bolt is not long enough to reach the star nut.