thanks

Shoes wouldn't cause the kind of squeak that I've been hearing.

i have this weird thing happening with my headset (?) where my fork sorta settles into the center position (i.e. going straight)
if i hold the bike up and turn the bars a bit and let it just spin it finds its way back to that same spot

for reference, im using the headset that came stock with my eighthinch scramber, and yes i also know that its junk

i noticed it a few days ago so i took the whole front end apart and cleaned and regreased everything, but im still having the issue, albeit a bit less than before
i didnt notice any "indexing" that sheldon brown talks about on either of the cups or the top/bottom races

before i cleaned and regreased everything my steering felt a bit weird, almost like a cross wind was blowing into my front wheel at times, now not so much but its still weird and is making me a little paranoid, any ideas as to what this is?

Are your caged bearings installed the right way? The balls should be facing the cups. If so, either your bearing cups are pitted, your headset is too tight or both.

bearings are both facing cups and the cups arent pitted either, probably just too tight then

am i just going by feel or is there a good rule to follow for tightness?

http://www.probikekit.com/us/token-a...oogle_base_usd

Any opinion on these cranks?

Need a new set of 165mm's and they seem to fit the bill pretty closely, that and sturmey archer ftc66; but can't find them in 165mm =[

Caged-bearing headsets can be tricky sometimes. Tighten it only until you feel there is no slack in it.

I've never seen them in person so I have no idea, really. They do look a lot like the EighthInch 144bcd track crank we just got in at the shop (which is nicer than I had expected) and I wouldn't be surprised if they're the same thing.

roger that, thank you friendly internet mechanic :)

No prob!

was definitely over tightened, seems good so far
gonna take it for a few laps around the park after i finish stuffing my face and see how it is after

/edit: wow thats what its supposed to feel like! was doing it wrong the whole time, feels like a whole new bike

So, some of my chainring bolts were a little loose, but not overly so. Tightened em up before heading to work. Rode home tonight, and the squeaking continued. Just as bad.

Is there a thread less stem with a drop that is shorter that 90mm in length? I'm having a hard time coming across one.

What clamp diameter? Mine is fairly short, and I want something longer. Tradesies?

You may not be looking hard enough. 70/80mm stems are common.

Almost all that I've come across have less than 6 Degrees of drop at 70mm including the selection on your website. I'm guessing there is a functional reason to the shorter stems not have much of a drop?

I missed tha part of your post regarding drop.

Why don't you just take some spacers out from under your stem?

I currently have a Cinelli Mash Stem with a 31.8mm diameter in nearly new condition. Would definitely be open for tradesies.

Keep it in the marketplace.

Ok, cool.

I don't have any spacers. I'm looking for a level aesthetic as well as a bit more drop. I think I need about a 10 degree rise/drop and about a 70mm length. Hard to find so far.

Oh, I see. Your pedalroom led me to believe otherwise.

Weird fit is weird.

+1

A few changes since then, I think the photos are probably two months old.

Just out of curiosity, are you saying a 10 degree rise/drop is uncommon without a spacer?

Nope. It's just that you are looking for a chode stem with a lot of drop.

You probably want a 17 degree stem if you're looking for that "level aesthetic". A 10 degree stem in the "drop" position will still have some rise from flat.

The Thomson X2 comes in 70mm with a +/- 10° rise. Pretty sure that's as close as you're going to get. I honestly can't see why anyone would want to use such a short stem with more drop than that.

Awesome, that's perfect. I didn't come across that earlier. Thanks.

17 degrees is helpful. Thanks.

Is your frame just too big?