

Should there be this distance, between the handle parts and the main part of the bike? Because when I was riding my bike and I felt like it was jutting back and forward when I was going downhill and trying to brake. I feel like it shouldn't be there.
What do i do? I'm new to biking and don't know any bike fixers where I'm at.
by StrawberryEast1374
7 Comments
I got a new bike and looks the same. The bike shop said it was ok because it was sealed. I’m interested to know if that’s the case. Mines doesn’t feel like it’s jutting tho
The bike looks brand new right? Take it back to the shop you bought it from, they’ll fix it for free.
There should not be that amount of distance.
The “jutting back and forward” tells me the preload needs to be tightened up, which may or may not help with the distance you see here.
However, it almost appears to be a stack up issue, but it is really hard to tell without taking it apart.
My guess is that one of the headset bearings is in upside down, or it’s a lack of spacer length (add one or swap one for a larger one)
Serious question – are those welds supposed to look like that or is that a bad weld job?
Is the bike new or secondhand?
Might be the bearing and/or dust cover that aren’t seated properly or potentially somebody replaced the bearings without paying attention to the bevel angles.
I’d take it apart or, if you are not confident doing this yourself, find some tech savvy friend/family member/neighbour/… who’s willing to do it for you. It isn’t rocket science, with some YouTube tutorials and a torque wrench it’s an easy job.
That gap should not be that big. There are several possible causes, most likely that one of the headset components is installed upside down. Watch that Park Tool video. If you’re still unsure what to do, take it to a bike shop and pay a mechanic to fix it.