[Warp]

Mada, Tiger, Rzoz and any other with a CK headset....

Since a few rides ago, I had a ticking sound coming off the front end of the bike. Never could track it exactly down.

First thought was the fork... I cleaned and tightened the stanchions, checked for proper lube on the stanchions, baseplate, steerer... all ok.

Brake caliper... OK.
Wheels... loose spokes, but not related (I think, I'll elaborate after).

That leaves only the headset area. No cracks, headset was properly installed, frame comes prepped from Titus (as far as I know).

A few things I noticed on the headset area...
- Stem lower surface is not square, it pushes the top bearing cap a bit off, but not enough for the headset to bind or the topcap to touch the bearing cups.
- When I craked it opened, it was very dirty!!!! It has only four months of use (on my bike) without maintenance. There was dust and dirt on both bearing cups. WTF?!
- Bearings are perfect, no looseness, no tighteness, no play.

So, before installing the AM1, I cleaned everything, greased up and put it back together.

No ticking sound now. I doubt it was the fork. Not likely and I checked the fork very carefully. Not the wheels... nothing has changed in there, still loose spokes. Brakes are the same (okay, I bled them, but that's not even closely related).

Only thing changed was cleaning of the headset and change of the fork... but I still doubt the fork is the culprit.

Anyone has had this experience with their CK headset?
It shocked me to see as much dirtiness in there!

Any comments are welcome.
Thanks!
Warp

 

[ritopc]

Mada, Tiger, Rzoz and any other with a CK headset....

Since a few rides ago, I had a ticking sound coming off the front end of the bike. Never could track it exactly down.

First thought was the fork... I cleaned and tightened the stanchions, checked for proper lube on the stanchions, baseplate, steerer... all ok.

Brake caliper... OK.
Wheels... loose spokes, but not related (I think, I'll elaborate after).

That leaves only the headset area. No cracks, headset was properly installed, frame comes prepped from Titus (as far as I know).

A few things I noticed on the headset area...
- Stem lower surface is not square, it pushes the top bearing cap a bit off, but not enough for the headset to bind or the topcap to touch the bearing cups.
- When I craked it opened, it was very dirty!!!! It has only four months of use (on my bike) without maintenance. There was dust and dirt on both bearing cups. WTF?!
- Bearings are perfect, no looseness, no tighteness, no play.

So, before installing the AM1, I cleaned everything, greased up and put it back together.

No ticking sound now. I doubt it was the fork. Not likely and I checked the fork very carefully. Not the wheels... nothing has changed in there, still loose spokes. Brakes are the same (okay, I bled them, but that's not even closely related).

Only thing changed was cleaning of the headset and change of the fork... but I still doubt the fork is the culprit.

Anyone has had this experience with their CK headset?
It shocked me to see as much dirtiness in there!

Any comments are welcome.
Thanks!
Warp

YADA YADA YDA... BLA BLA BLA....

The problem is you're too much concerned about the ticking sound, while you should be concerned about POSTING PICS OF YOUR NEW TOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:nono:

TBH We couldn´t be careless about the ticking sound; we are just wanting to see pics of the Bladezoke!!!!:madmax: :madmax:

....j/k dude... hope there isn´t any problem with your CK:thumbsup: (I'm almost sure it was the fork)

 

[Warp]

TBH We couldn´t be careless about the ticking sound; we are just wanting to see pics of the Bladezoke!!!!:madmax: :madmax:

I need a friggin digital camera!! :madman: :madmax:

Need to get one soon... I'm putting the Phaon for sale too and can't take pics!

 

[ritopc]

I need a friggin digital camera!! :madman: :madmax:

Need to get one soon... I'm putting the Phaon for sale too and can't take pics!

Yeah, i know, i need one too.

Regarding the sound, here is a crazy idea:

Why don´t you put the Phaon again on the bike and you can find out whether it was the HS or the Fork?

I'd be too lazy to do it, but maybe you'd like to do the experiment just to be sure.

 

[elmadaleno]

Never had this problem, but I would check to see if all the seals are inside the headset and if they are in the right order. On the other side, was it the top cup or the lower cup? Maybe the "ring thingie" that you had on the Phaon was not CK but another brand...

I would just ride the thing, check it in two months and worry if there is dirt there! :thumbsup:

 

[Warp]

I'll check as Rito sugests... maybe it was just the dirt... a little dirt can make your seatpost creaky, so a headset could do it too.

Everything is in order and it was apparently the upper cup. The baseplate on the fork was a brand new CK (Thanks, Tiger!!)

Mada... I couldn't care less as the bearings are OK., but I was a bit worried on the frame.

I'll keep you posted.

 

[tigerdog]

That's what you get for buying used parts from dodgy foreigners who skip town. :nono:

I never had a problem with it, and if I remember correctly it was pretty clean when you go it.

By the way. Just had my King hubs serviced. Perfect after 2 years of not doing anything to them. :thumbsup:

Hoping to get my XR rockers before I head up to Colorado.

 

[rzozaya1969]

That's what you get for buying used parts from dodgy foreigners who skip town. :nono:

I never had a problem with it, and if I remember correctly it was pretty clean when you go it.

By the way. Just had my King hubs serviced. Perfect after 2 years of not doing anything to them. :thumbsup:

Hoping to get my XR rockers before I head up to Colorado.

what are the XR rockers? some guys with long hair and funky pants?

 

[Warp]

That's what you get for buying used parts from dodgy foreigners who skip town. :nono:

I never had a problem with it, and if I remember correctly it was pretty clean when you go it.

By the way. Just had my King hubs serviced. Perfect after 2 years of not doing anything to them. :thumbsup:

Hoping to get my XR rockers before I head up to Colorado.

Yeah, it was fine and clean when I got it from you.
Actually, I cleaned it before mounting it.

I'm kinda surprised and at first I thought I had something missing, but I just checked CK diagrams and everything is fine.

May it be the fork... but it looks fine too. It was maybe just some dust somewhere. The noise came after that Desierto ride... who knows.

Kudos on the CK's... I'm still wondering if going Pro II F/R, Bulb R/XC F or ProII R / XC F.... the XC front hub is cheaper by 20 bucks and virtually the same (maybe a bit heavier) hub as the Pro II. The rear Bulb is heavier and just a hair more expensive, but has a titanium carrier and 36pts of engamenet... it's more burlier too. I don't like much the Al carrier on the Pro II... may hold just as fine, but for parts subject to lots of stress (not that I pedal really hard), I prefer the weight penalty. Call me crazy or dumb, but only my very first bike has left me on the trail. I like it that way.

Well.. first I gotta sell that Magura off.

The XR rockers ais a different set of rockers to give a bit more than 4" of travel to the Burner. Talking about hair-metal bands and stuff... the Racer-X was an electric guitar made by Ibanez, back in the 80's. It had a horrible sound, but it was made to play FAST.

I hope you can get the rockers soon, Tiger... but I'm positive you'll smoke them on your "short legged" ride with all the altitude training you had here. :thumbsup:

 

[Whafe]

LOL Hey man, the fork is mint, no town skippers with that fork, It was perfect for me, honest.................Perhaps now that I left the CK base plate on the fork, it maybe slightly different to the base plate you had on there on the Magura fork. Could be something that simple.......................No ticking is good, but does it sound a major bad tick, ya know what I mean.................

 

[Warp]

LOL Hey man, the fork is mint, no town skippers with that fork, It was perfect for me, honest.................Perhaps now that I left the CK base plate on the fork, it maybe slightly different to the base plate you had on there on the Magura fork. Could be something that simple.......................No ticking is good, but does it sound a major bad tick, ya know what I mean.................

LOL!!!

Don't sweat it, Whafe!

Tiger was referring to the fact that I got the headset from him and he just left!!

No, I don't have the ticking sound with the AM1... actually, it was the cure!

I wasn't a really worrying sound... it's just that I'm kinda paranoid with noises. I can't stand something making noise and not knowing where it comes from. My front brake rubs bad (operator's error, rotor warped) but as I know where the noise comes from, I don't care much.

But this sound was driving me crazy as I didn't know where it came from.

BTW... the AM1 is soooo nice and plush! The Maggie was no slouch, but the AM1 is just better. THANKS!

 

[Whafe]

LOL!!!

Don't sweat it, Whafe!

Tiger was referring to the fact that I got the headset from him and he just left!!

No, I don't have the ticking sound with the AM1... actually, it was the cure!

I wasn't a really worrying sound... it's just that I'm kinda paranoid with noises. I can't stand something making noise and not knowing where it comes from. My front brake rubs bad (operator's error, rotor warped) but as I know where the noise comes from, I don't care much.

But this sound was driving me crazy as I didn't know where it came from.

BTW... the AM1 is soooo nice and plush! The Maggie was no slouch, but the AM1 is just better. THANKS!

Its all good its sorted. I knwo that feeling re odd noises, one has to know the source. Especially you engineering types, more so.............. Glad its rocking along though.......