riderlife

I have a giant tcr advanced and i recently discovered that my headset is making a snapping sound (or maybe its a creek) but its only when you turn the bars to the right in one spot when there is some weight on it. I have my suspicions but id rather not have any surprises when i take it apart. take note that it has giants overdrive 2 headset which is 1-1/4" top bearing and a 1-1/2" bottom bearing.

Andrew R Stewart 

riderlife- This should be pretty straightforward. As you dissamble the headset take notes to the arrangement of the pieces. Spacers, caps, compression rings and bearings. When apart check the condition of the bearings. Do they rotate smoothly, feel like these's lube in them, have corrosion on them, the seals are still intact? Clean them off and trial fit them onto the fork and also in the head tube. Do they fit snuggly and flat or do they have some slop or sit unevenly? I won't be surprised if the bearing (cartridge) needs replacement. I would be surprised if they don't fit the frame/fork well. Decide if replacement is warranted (a good idea anyway), might have to go to your Giant dealer to get them, might be a special order item, might take a week to get. Apply grease to all surfaces, thin film should be enough. Reassemble in reverse order of the take apart, refeer to your notes to insure the proper order and sidedness of each part. Coat the steerer with a film of carbon assembly paste if it's carbon, grease if it's Alu. Clean and lube the stem pinch bolts. Same for the Stem compression bolt. When all is assembled do the bearing adjustment with the bike on the ground and the ft brake locked. Rock the bike fore and aft to feel the looseness in the head set (start with it purposely loose). Bit by bit tighten the compression bolt and feel the bearing slop tighten up by rocking the bike after each adjustment. Just at the point of the slop being gone stop and tighten the stem pinch bolts. Mind the tightening torque that your stem likely has as a limit. Repeate the rocking on the locked ft wheel. Sometimes the bearing adjustment changes slightly with a loose stem VS a tight one. This adjustment is critical to give the new bearings the chance to last as long as they should. Overtightened bearings will rotate smoothly when new but degrade quickly. Expect to recheck the bearing adjustment after a ride or two. Consider taking apart, cleaning and reassembling the stem/bar clamp at this time too. Be mindful of the bar's position (masking tape on the bar next to the stem with a sharpie to indicate the rotation compared to the stem's clamp edge) and any torque limits. Carbon paste might be needed to limit bar slipping. Lastly the gear cable casings can cause a cracking when the bars are steered. So maybe detatch the cables from the deraillures and recheck for your creaking. Andy.