headset help?

novarapid

hi everyone looking for some help with a headset problem.
I've a rattle coming from my bike and i believe its coming from the headset, 99% sure anyway. Ive taken it out and cleaned and greased it up and the noise is still there.
its doing my head in? its fine on smooth road sometimes but on country roads you can hear me before you see me!
chainreactions said return the headset to them and they may replace it but what do i send back? the ballbearings, spacers and top nut or just the ballbearings.
any ideas to try before i return the headset?
thanks

Morgan

Trying to picture a headset making a noise like that - can't. Could it be something else?

petethedrummer

Is it definitely from the headset?

Do you have a carbon seat post with alu frame? I had a terrible creaking noise that I was convinced was coming from the headset, so I took it apart as you did several times. After lots of head scratching I found it was actually coming from the sleeve the seatpost sits in. I cleaned and greased between the sleeve and the frame and it went away.

What bike do you have?

sy

Have you a cable running thro the top tube? This happens with my bike, when I hit rough ground the cable vibrates inside the carbon top tube

novarapid

thanks for the replies, the bike i have is a beone briza from chainreactions.

I'm probably exaggerating the noise a bit, but its very annoying. Ive tried the seatpost with grease and te noise is still there even out of the saddle.
The cables aren't at fault, cycled the bike without them touching the frame. Changed the wheel aswell, noise still there.
The reason i'm sure its the headset is because when i drop the front wheel, you can hear a small rattle/creak.

blorg

novarapid wrote: »

The reason i'm sure its the headset is because when i drop the front wheel, you can hear a small rattle/creak.

Could it be the bearings in the front wheel? Probably wouldn't rattle though you would see some "give" when shoving the front wheel with the brake on, similar to a loose headset. Bear in mind you might have an issue there unrelated to the rattle. (My own front wheel needs new bearings at the moment.)

novarapid

hi blorg the sound is still there when i change the wheel so i'm ruling out the wheel being at fault.

victorcarrera

Might seem obvious but have you checked the following.

1. Lift front wheel off the ground and turn handlebars fully left and right. It should move freely and not bind.

2. Put your weight on the handlebars and apply the front brake. Rock forward and back. There should be no noticable play in the headset.

3. Check handlebar clamp bolts are tight.

4. If above are OK I would suspect bung or star nut is loose or did something fall into steerer during assembly.

5. Hope its not something serious like the head bearing seats in the frame.

victorcarrera

PS. Remove front brake and tape it up to handlebars and go for short spin.

novarapid

1. Lift front wheel off the ground and turn handlebars fully left and right. It should move freely and not bind.

It moves freely, no stopping

2. Put your weight on the handlebars and apply the front brake. Rock forward and back. There should be no noticable play in the headset.

there is no play in the handlebars, slight creak or pinging sound.

3. Check handlebar clamp bolts are tight.

tight and greased

4. If above are OK I would suspect bung or star nut is loose or did something fall into steerer during assembly.

how would i know its loose, is it difficult to remove?

5. Hope its not something serious like the head bearing seats in the frame.[/quote]
is this a job for an amature?

thanks for your help, i think cycling with mp3 player might be the easiest solution.

petethedrummer

Take it to a bike shop, they probably won't charge to diagnose the fault.

It might be a cheap fix, cheaper than sending the bike or parts back to chainreactions.

victorcarrera

there is no play in the handlebars, slight creak or pinging sound.

Does the steerer move relative to the steering tube?


how would i know its loose, is it difficult to remove?

You should have seen this when you removed and installed the headset.
Aluminium steerers have star nuts, carbon fibre steerers have bungs which can be removed with a hex key. Next time you have the fork off shake it to ensure nothing loose inside the steerer

kincsem

I had a rattle at the front of a new bike on its first run. It ran quietly on the flat but downhill / on rough ground it rattled. I had bought a frame and had it built up. I was convinced it was a problem with the front wheel.

I brought it to Joe Daly's, Dundrum (they did not do the original build). It was a loose headset. They fixed it and the bill as small.