It’s been a few days of maintenance again. Mostly this time centering around the headset.
For a long while I’d had issues with the bearings coming loose, and causing headset knock. No amount of tightening would seem to cure it long term. I just could not get it tight enough to stay put. It was all down to the carbon steerer bung. Tightening the top cap would pull out the bung up, negating it’s very function.
I tried everything I could thing of to get it to stay in. Tightened it to 8nm, slipped. Added carbon paste, slipped.
This was with the factory bung. Which to be honest is pretty crap to start with, as it only expands at the Base. This puts less surface in contact with the steerer, and also causes a bulge. So that was pretty much consigned to the bin.
Nipping down to the local bike shop, they only had one in stock.
Worth a try for £7. Fitted it at 8nm. Still pulled out. This one had slight knurling on the barrel, but it was alot shorter, and had no lip on the top so would fall down the steerer tube, and was a complete and utter pain to install due to the three independent plates that pressed out onto the steerer.
On to wiggle and ordered a Deda version. This one arrived, unlike the Pro version, it had a lip, and was longer offering more support to the stem clamp, it was also more knurled.
So, bunged it in, did it up a fair bit tighter this time. And it didn’t pull out as much, allowing me to tighten down the top cap.
All seemed good on a quick 10 mile ride where previously it would give me grief straight off the end of the first down hill.
So time will tell if this is now cured.
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