Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice: I recently acquired a Schwinn Super Le Tour, and I noticed immediately that the steering seemed quite stiff and would likely require some adjustment to the headset. What I noticed after a little while was that steering is actually turning the entire upper portion of the headset with the fork and quill. I loosened the quill bolt so I was able to turn the fork independently of the quill, and turning the fork still turns the upper portion of the headset.

Has anyone got any advice on this? Is this likely to be that the headset has been tightened too much or too little and that a quick adjustment with a headset wrench should get it fixed, or does this sound like something that will require a complete tear down of the headset to fix?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, especially since I'm loath to even do any more test riding without fixing this, as I don't want to cause any sort of permanent damage to the frame or fork.

Thanks in advance!

It's normal for the entire portion of the headset that you can see to turn. I would tear it apart and clean and repack bearings personally.

The "Upper Head Tube Race" in this pic (and the corresponding lower one also) are the only parts that don't turn with the fork/stem and they're barely visible when assembled.



The job isn't that difficult and you'll just need a headset wrench of the proper size for the "Adjustable Race" (I'd guess a 32, but you'll have to determine what's on your bike), and a big Crescent wrench for the "Locknut".

Clean everthing well and repack with plenty of grease.

The most difficult part for first timers is getting the adjustment just right. I've spent a good hour on just this part of the job when first starting out. You have to get that adjustable race so that you can't feel any play in the bearing and hold it in place with the headset wrench while tightening the locknut against it with a Crescent wrench. (pros would use two headset wrenches, but I've never invested in a second one personally). It can sometimes be a long process of too tight / too loose until you get it dialed in. Sometimes it's hard to tell if the play is in your front brake or if it's from the bearing being too loose.

Search for "Threaded Headset Adjustment" and you'll find a couple of videos to watch.

A particular tool you need: a thin 32mm wrench, bike-shop tool, made for adjusting headsets.
1/8" thick to grip the hex on the adjusting cup .. space is limited ..
A big 12" adjustable wrench will work for the locknut.

Tear it apart and see what going on.If the upper bearing cup is turning and the headtube is NOT cracked,you can fix it.

If the upper bearing race is loose in the headtube and everything looks fine,you can use some bearing mount to secure it in place.There isn't much strain on the upper bearing,it's just along for the ride and centers the steering tube.

OMG do you own stock in a bearing mount compound manufacturer?

Anyhoo, Booger1 is right that you can use bearing mount if the race is loose, but even if it is loose in the frame, there should be much more friction between the frame and the cup than between the top race and the cup, and turning the fork should not turn the cup... there should be freely rolling bearings between the cup and top race. Perhaps the last time the headset was rebuilt the bearing retainer was put in upside-down, or perhaps the wrong size of ball was used - either of these things could contribute to excessive friction between the race and the cup, as can badly degraded or corroded bearings.


Good luck!

Just so happens that's the way to fix it.....If their good with a torch,they can shrink it back to size....

I'd think the only two things that would cause a cup to turn like that is excessive rust or dirt, or if someone put the bearings in it with the bearing cage in upsidedown. I'd take one like this apart. There's no other way to go.

It's very likely suffering from terminal rust. But start by totally dissasembling it and see what you find. It COULD be that someone with little skill had it apart for whatever reason and put it together wrong. For example the upper bearing race being in backwards COULD cause this. But more likely it's just suffering from long term neglect.


Clean out and carefully inspect the cups and cones for rust pitts. If the corrosion has eroded rough pits in the races then your only solution is a whole new headset. But if you catch it on the "cusp" where the balls may be shot but the races themselves are only a little discolored then new balls in the bearings will save the day.

Do you mean the upper race itself is turning? As per great pic above, the rest of the upper headset is supposed to turn. And you really can't see the upper race on a headset, as the upper cup covers it. So I think you are confused a bit. Regardless, it does sound like your headset needs service, or replaced.

Headsets are cheap, around $15. But without seeing pictures, not sure you should go this route.

You should replace all bearings and grease immediately (hs, bb, and hubs), as old grease tends to get hard, and instead of the bearings doing their job, you will start damaging cups. Replacing bearings is a lot cheaper.

I have yet to have found a 20 to 30 year old bike that the grease was not toast. This is out of several hundred bikes.

Hey all, I hate to pull up old posts like this, but I wanted to thank you all for your input. As it turned out, the grease was basically solid, but because the bike hadn't been ridden much in a long time, no damage had been caused to the bearings or cups. A clean up and re-grease has gotten everything steering smoothly.

Thanks, folks.