Bought this off marketplace and think the fork has been changed, rides well but there is some movement in fork. First ever fixie so trying to learn still, any tips and advice would be appreciated!!
by Coyl44
Bought this off marketplace and think the fork has been changed, rides well but there is some movement in fork. First ever fixie so trying to learn still, any tips and advice would be appreciated!!
by Coyl44
10 Comments
Headset is loose
Loosen the stem and top cap, start by slowly tightening the topcap bolt to set bearing preload.
Youll know yoy have enough preload when the spacers under the stem stop moving up-down and spinning.
You also dont want to over tighten the top cap…
Once thats done just tighten the stem bolts and youre good.
Cleaning the old grease around the headset and replacing it with new one is highly advised.
If you got it off, I assume you tried tightening the stem cap bolt, if you tightened that and that alone and it still does this, you might have a steerer tube that’s a little long for the spacers and stem that you have, the steerer tube should slightly be shorter than the spacer/stem on the top so the cap could lower down to tighten everything, if not, it’ll make contact with the steerer tube which gets you a loose headset even with a tight bolt. If this ever was the case you can either add another spacer or cut the steerer tube a little.
This belongs in r/bikewrench mods
forks are basically 1 of 2 sizes so, previous owner could have used a completely diff fork – that just looks loose
but yeah YUCK – i’d give the top of the fork tube a nice flush trim cuz it looks like whoever cut it chewed it off
the entire vertical assembly is held straight in place via the compression of everything
Also make sure the steer tube compression insert is seated properly and torqued to spec, dont grease it but use friction paste. otherwise it’ll just slip out of the fork when you tighten the top cap.
the headset is not being properly preloaded; this fork was put on by someone stupid. Do ***not*** ride it like this.
1. check the expansion plug and ensure it’s torqued correctly, this is especially important with carbon forks. Over-torque can crack the carbon steerer tube. If you have a torque wrench use it (5-6 Nm). You can also use carbon paste.
2. Then you need to make sure there are enough spacers so that when you put the headset cap on it puts tension on the headset 3-4Nm is fine, the stem is what keeps your forks on.
3. Then you tighten your stem on the steerer tube. again carbon paste and 5-6/Nm. I have that stem and the torque spec is marked on it.
Do not ride that bike. The headset is likely fucked. Tighten down the top cap and see if that fixes it. If it doesn’t, you need to replace the headset because the bearings inside are fucked
first loosen the stem bolts THEN loosen the top cap. seat the headset down. slighly tighten the head cap. its recommended to use a torque wrench. use your front brake and wiggle the bike forward and back. keep adjusting the top cap until there is no play in the headset. tighten the stem clamps.
In that order.
Bring it to a bike shop, I’m all for doing stuff and learning. But it looks like that fork needs to be cut correctly and then everything checked