simnorm

Should I get this checked out by a pro or am I worrying for nothing? The headset fit looks really good on the back part of the headset/frame (down on the picture) but there's a wider gap on the front (up on the picture).

The headset is a Crane Creek and I got the bike from Jensonusa, it's a Focus Cayo.

laura*

Which model Cane Creek headset is this? If the headset uses cups pressed into the head tube, who installed them?

simnorm

Not sure which model. I'll take a closer look when I get home and post back if it helps. I was under the impression that it's pressed. I'm wondering if such an uneven gap is common. I don't know if jensonusa installed it or if it comes installed as is from focus

It's a Cane Creek VP-A66ACM Detailled Specs

JohnDThompson 

If the frame was properly prepped, it should fit evenly all the way around. Does the headset bind or seem loose in any position?

simnorm

Here's another pic.

laura*

OK. That's not technically a Cane Creek headset. It is a VP Components headset designed with technology licensed from Cane Creek.

It is also an "integrated" headset and thus there are no cups to press.

In the second picture, it does look like something isn't sitting right. The spacers at the front (where you've got the big gap) are pressed tightly together. At the back, the spacers look like they aren't touching each other. I'd guess that the cartridge bearing isn't sitting squarely in the head tube.

Take the stem off, take the headset apart, and see if you can find the part that isn't sitting square.

ultraman6970

A focus using that headset? thats interesting.

simnorm

Thanks for your help.
I took it apart and reassembled it. The cartridge looked like it is sitting pretty square, I tighten everything up nicely and the gap is smaller now. I can squeeze my nail in the back but in the front my nail wiggles a little bit. So perhaps an extra mm in the front.
On the 2nd pic, they are not gaps between the spacers, but they didn't line up perfectly.

So I guess it's fine now. I must have messed it up when I upgraded the stem and bar. Thanks again for your help.

simnorm

Interesting, how so?

ultraman6970

Focus is a good brand and that headset is not something I would put in their bikes, maybe in a wallmart one but not in a 2000 bucks one. Besides there is so much stuff in the market now adays that why go with a cheap manufacturer when u can go with one a little bit better? Maybe i been lucky but all the stuff i have bought came with SS bearings and carbon parts.

Happy u fix it OP.

simnorm

the gap is back and I can hear some creaking. It looks like it's coming from the headset. My LBS is booked until next Monday.

So I took it apart again and moved one of the spacer above the stem. The gap got smaller but it's still creaking.

How tight is the expansion plug inside the steering column suppose to be? It's not very tight, less than 5nm for sure. Could that cause the creaking and the gap to get larger over time?

oldbobcat

Your second photo shows what appears to be some amateur "machining" of the top of the head tube. Is there any explanation for that?

rcb78

I've seen this happen a few times even when the headset and frame are perfect. If the headset spacers are carbon, they can vary in thickness from around the circumference, i've mic'd as much as a .005 difference side to side. Take a couple and stack them the right way and it adds up. The other thing I've seen is stems that have bad facing. My S-Works stem was off by a solid .010" out of the box and needed a little dressing up to make it square. Seen a few other 'high end' stems that were off too. That's usually the first place I look now, not the headset or cups.

simnorm

That's white grease that you see in the gap on the second pic. The top of the head tube looks fine but I will have it checked Monday if I still can't fix the problem by then.

Good tips there rcb78. My spacers are alloy and when I rotate the handlebar the gap remains in the front, it's not rotating to the side with the bar. So I guess that rules out the stem?

I took it apart again yesterday and the expansion plug had become loose and was slipping up when tightening the top cap. That particular plug can be tighten with a larger hex key, so I torque it down real good, I believe the specs call for 9nm but I don't own a torque wrench. Hopefully that was the source of the creak.

igknighted

Is the steerer tube of that fork carbon (since you mention an expander plug, I am guessing so... usually aluminum steerers would use a star nut)? If so, stop what you are doing and make sure you have all the proper supplies. Before messing with carbon parts, make sure you have a torque wrench and carbon paste. There's simply no way to tell by hand what 9nm really is... and if you miss on either side, bad things can happen. Carbon paste (or assembly compound) is grease with pieces of special grit suspended inside. This keeps the parts from freezing together over time, and also increases the friction between the parts (so a stem holds the steerer better at the same torque than it otherwise would).

I think your problem is simply not having the proper tools to assemble this. With assembly compound and a torque wrench it should go together nicely, and without those things you are risking your $2,000+ investment (and your health in the case of catastrophic failure). These tools could be bought for less than $100 and are great investments for anyone dealing with carbon.

If your steerer is aluminum you have a little more leeway, but I would still take it in to your LBS to get it looked at. Better safe than sorry.

simnorm

Yes it's a carbon steerer. I'm pretty sure that everything is under-torqued right now.

I need to invest on tools, agreed. I ordered a Ritchey Torqkey from PBK last week to do the stem and seatpost, I didn't get it yet.
I asked a friend to borrow his torque wrench to do the compression plug. 9nm is correct, right? That info is hard to find on the net.

My LBS will take a look at it Monday if I can't fix it by then.