masi61

I am reasonably mechanically inclined and for the life of me I am about to scream "total crap!!" when I talk about the expansion plug system that came with my Reynolds Ouzo pro fork. Even when you tighten it as tight as you can get it and install it at the correct depth, the preload cap piece will not be able to be fully tightened down. I have cleaned the inside of the steer tube and the plug itself with alcohol to minimize slipping. After snugging up the preload what seems to ALMOST be enough, the preload cap just turns and turns. When you take everything back apart and check, it becomes obvious that the inner plug is moving. The problem, I think is the plug design. there are slits cut every 90 degrees and the plug piece is held together with an O ring. Well the O ring is not needed because the lower part of the plug does not separate fully. It's slits are cut only part way through. This causes the "expansion" plug to be more of a "V" shaped expanding plug. Bad, bad, bad design! No matter what is done this thing expands out in a "V" shape - not what you need! The top nut preload piece WOULD POSSIBLY BE a good design but I will never know due to this slippage. I will get about one decent ride in before I have to do some heavy braking on a downhill and the fork oscillation during heavy braking will accentuate the fact that the preload was never fully tightened originally, VERY FRUSTRATING! When I do the brake test and apply my front brake and rock back and forth I can almost make the knocking go away but really it is subtly still there. I am using an ACROS headset that is high quality and I don't believe it is the culprit.
Please help! I have made sure that the top cap is not touching the steer tube (there is a sufficient gap). Please suggest an alternative brand of 1-1/8" expansion plug that will just plain work and give me my sanity back!

HillRider

Profile Designs expansion plugs have always worked well for me.

Soil_Sampler

Zero problems with mine, and I have three of them. I run mine with a small spacer above the stem.
Make sure it is adjusted to the proper length before inserting and tightening the 5mm bolt.

Do a search for plugs, inserts and expanders in this forum, lots of info.

https://www.reynoldscycling.com/uplo...stallation.pdf

hueyhoolihan

forget the expansion plug. loosen pinch bolts until stem easily slides up an down on the steerer. then just push down on the stem, hard, while keeping the handlebars straight and tightening one of the pinch bolts. if still too loose, try again. or if too tight, ease up a bit on 'push down on the stem' bit.

you can even fashion a windlass with a bit of string and a stick to aid in keeping the stem tight enough, if that's a problem. i know it works, because i've done it on the side of the road a few times with just the stuff i found there.

masi61

Thanks - I'll review the instruction sheet some more.

masi61

Sounds doable on the side of the road but I am trying to take out that last bit a backlash out of my road fork in a repeatedly reliable way. This lack of confidence in whether the front end of my bike will be tight enough is affecting my riding - I'm less willing to plow over rough pavement & constantly seeking a smooth line.

Kimmo 

Yeah, the kind where the expanding bits are all one bit of metal with slits in it is crap. What you want is one with the separate wedges, where the spring or o-ring really does hold it together, preferably covering at least the height of your stem's steerer clamp. Also, if the design tries to combine the clamping and preload adjustment into a single operation, it's almost certainly gonna suck hard.

This Deda one looks like a beauty: https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...s.php?id=29439

masi61

Bingo! Thank you! I think that looks like 2 rows of articulating wedges. I would feel more confident in that. And like you said, it would be confidence inspiring that the plug expand out over a distance roughly the same as the stem height.

dsaul

That Deda one is the only one I use and I recommend it to everyone who asks. Every other one I tried would slip eventually.