
I got my son a used mongoose bike off Craigslist, the bike works pretty well but the headset is loose as you can see in the video, I don't think that by tightening the nut it will fix it, but I also don't have a big enough wrench to try to tighten it. Anyone knowledgeable enough to tell me what I need to do to stop it from wobbly back and forth? Side to side it's solid, just forward and backwards it wobbles
Thanks
thank you for everyone's advice, I finally found a wrench big enough to take that nut off, I found that the nut underneath it was loose, once I tighten it then it wasnt wobbly anymore. I did take the whole fork off the frame and some ball bearings came outta the tube, not sure if that was suppose to happen. at first I thought it might be the bottom of the cup that lost its bearings, but when I tried to put in the bearings from the top of the cup to the bottom of the cup, it doesn't seem like it belong. I just put everything back together and it seems like it's working fine now even though there is a possibility that the bottom of the frame to where it matches the cup at the bottom might not have bearing?
Bike headset loose, how do I tighten it?
byu/truwrxtacy inbikewrench
by truwrxtacy
5 Comments
The headset isn’t even pressed into the top of the head tube. Either the headset is the wrong size of the head tube is messed up.
The cup (part that is touching the top of the bike frame) has come out. That is not supposed to happen. That cup requires quotes a bit of force to press it into the frame, so coming out on its own in not a good sign.
It’s a good chance that the frame is damaged and that’s why it is loose.
Best to take it to a shop for further inspection.
Good news is that the bike is not a high cost bike and if it is damaged beyond repair, is not a big hit to the checkbook.
You can buy some generic decent headsets on Amazon just have the right specs. You can make a headset press by using some cheap tools.RJ the bike guy in youtube has a great video or perhaps try going to your local bike co-op.
Can you insert that cup into the tube fully using just your hands? If it slides into the tube easily then the frame is damaged
Return bike, save money, buy a used quality bike that’s the right size