The specs of my bike lists the headset size as "NECO 1/18” Threadless". However, I am skeptical on the sizing because 1/18" is 1.41mm . How do I determine my size?

I was adjusting my handlebars, then lifted my bike and the frame/ fork separated. My bearings now make a bit of noise now- like there's sand when I turn my handlebars. Do I apply more grease to the bearings? Get a new headset? I'm afraid I don't know what I'm doing...

1 1/8". What you're seeing is a typo.

Hard to say what's causing the headset noise without being in front of the bike. My best guess is that when you reinstalled the fork, you over-tightened the bearings. That could cause them to grind and feel gritty. If the bearings are cartridge, or if they're loose-ball with a bearing retainer, then it's possible they were installed upside-down when you put the bike back together. In any event, as long as nothing's broken/missing, your LBS should set you straight with a minimum of expense.

My bearings are loose ball- I will try to do so with the bearings the other way around. When I assembled it back and picked up the front half of the bike, the "slack" felt the same. I'm not sure if they are "over-tightened".

I try to avoid my LBS. If I bought another headset, what would be the advantages?

Headsets with cartridge bearings require less maintenance.

you are afraid you don't know what you're doing, but you don't want to take it to someone who does? sounds like the advantage of buying another headset is you can **** it up too.

as said above, it's very difficult for people on the internet to problem-shoot a bike they cannot see or feel

+1

If you've had bad service from you LBS, go try a few others. A good LBS is a cyclist's best friend.

Well, now it sounds fine. It wasn't severe sounding- just something noticable. It turns smoothly, but I guess I'll take pictures later. If you guys cannot help me, then I'll give it a ride to my LBS. About how much would it cost me?

In all honesty, how are we supposed to know what your lbs charges? We - or you - don't even know what's wrong (if anything at all).

We're not your LBS, nor do we know what the problem is. Therefore, we cannot speculate as to how much "it" (whatever it may be) will cost.

If nothing's broken, probably $10 or less to fix whatever you screwed up.

If anything's broken, the cost of the headset + labor to install.

Mine charged me $5 to adjust a threadless headset. YMMV

Thanks for the honesty. I think one bearing was on the other way- the one closest to the wheel. Here are some pics of the assembly. There is a gap between the spacers and the part that goes on top of the bearings- I cannot seem to close it. Also, I've added more grease to the bearings, because the first time it came off, I wiped away some to remove sand-like sounding particles.

If you didn't thoroughly clean the grease off the bearings when you disassembled it the first time, chances are you just pushed dirt and grit into the existing grease when you added more.

When I figure out how to close that gap, I'll clean my bearings and re-grease them.

lawl. I went to my LBS. They said my top bearing was on backwards -_- Said my bearing was warped, and I will eventually need a new one. He offered a FSA cartridge bearing for 50 + 25 labor, but I figure I'll run my headset till it is diminished. I ended up paying $7 for labor. He did not clean my bearings. I do not think it is necessary to clean/re-grease my bearings because they do not produce any peculiar noises. Lesson learned.


P.S. Turns out my area has quite some hills. Guess who had fun riding to the LBS?