[iowamtb]

I have a Soma Wolverine with a 1 1/8" in steerer on the traditional Wolverine raked fork. I have a Chris King headset. I've been noticing that even with the headset preload perfect if I pull the front brake and rock the bike I can feel the slightest amount of play. It's slight but I'm pretty anal about my bikes. I emailed Chris King thinking it might be a headset issue but this morning I think I determined it's a spacer issue. I have 35 mm of spacers under my stem and if I take two out and put them on top of the stem just for an experiment it seems as if the play went away. Now mind you I did this with a separate stem because I wasn't in the mood to mess with my bar angle again by taking them out of the stem they were currently in. So I'm not sure if I got the same accuracy by pulling the front brake lever with the bars loose in my hands and rocking the bike with an empty stem clamped on the steerer. But it sure felt this way.

I think what I'm feeling is steerer flex shifting the spacers the slightest amount. This isn't a new setup. I've been running this spacer stack for over a year although I recently ditched the 17° Bontrager riser stem for a 6° Race face Evolve stem for a better fit. I'm not sure if the problems been here all along and I've just never paid any attention or if it is indeed a new problem. Has anyone had this experience before?

 

[Arm&Hammer]

Stem heights are different, are you sure you are not bottoming out the top cap on the steerer?

 

[J.B. Weld]

Are you sure that slight amount of play you're feeling isn't the brake pads moving? I think holding the brake and rocking the bike is a poor way to judge headset adjustment,

 

[iowamtb]

Stem heights are different, are you sure you are not bottoming out the top cap on the steerer?

Yes I am sure of this. I'm running a 5 mm spacer on top of the stem and I've got a good 4 mm inside that spacer.

Are you sure that slight amount of play you're feeling isn't the brake pads moving? I think holding the brake and rocking the bike is a poor way to judge headset adjustment,

And yes I've had this experience in the past as well and this time that is not the problem. I can actually pull my front brake and turn my front wheel 90° and the sensation is still there. If I wrap my finger and thumb around the spacer stack I can feel the slightest amount of shift. It's not bad and I don't think I can even notice it when I'm riding but I guess knowing it's there drives me nuts.

 

[Mike Aswell]

On one of my gravel bikes that I've since sold, for whatever the reason, I really had to crank the preload before tightening the stem (way more than normal). I mean to the point of serious risk of ham fisting. But if I did that then backed off once the stem was tight it would hold. Otherwise I would always end up with the slightest amount of play.

 

[mikesee]

I quit using King headsets years ago because there was enough give in the o-ring within the top race that I could feel slop, even when everything else was perfect.

I think they've changed their design since then.

 

[RickBullottaPA]

I have a Soma Wolverine with a 1 1/8" in steerer on the traditional Wolverine raked fork. I have a Chris King headset. I've been noticing that even with the headset preload perfect if I pull the front brake and rock the bike I can feel the slightest amount of play. It's slight but I'm pretty anal about my bikes. I emailed Chris King thinking it might be a headset issue but this morning I think I determined it's a spacer issue. I have 35 mm of spacers under my stem and if I take two out and put them on top of the stem just for an experiment it seems as if the play went away. Now mind you I did this with a separate stem because I wasn't in the mood to mess with my bar angle again by taking them out of the stem they were currently in. So I'm not sure if I got the same accuracy by pulling the front brake lever with the bars loose in my hands and rocking the bike with an empty stem clamped on the steerer. But it sure felt this way.

I think what I'm feeling is steerer flex shifting the spacers the slightest amount. This isn't a new setup. I've been running this spacer stack for over a year although I recently ditched the 17° Bontrager riser stem for a 6° Race face Evolve stem for a better fit. I'm not sure if the problems been here all along and I've just never paid any attention or if it is indeed a new problem. Has anyone had this experience before?

Do you have the thin plastic shim in there too? And how are you defining "headset preload perfect"?

 

[iowamtb]

I quit using King headsets years ago because there was enough give in the o-ring within the top race that I could feel slop, even when everything else was perfect.

I think they've changed their design since then.

This is an older set. I've read elsewhere of a similar issue..I wondered the same thing as that would definitely contribute if the steerer had enough play inside the top piece.

Do you have the thin plastic shim in there too? And how are you defining "headset preload perfect"?

Tighten a bit at a time until play is gone. Maybe a smidge more. Spacers turn with resistance. I've never put a torque wrench to it but rather off feel. I've searched this problem up last night and apparently there's plenty of people out there that shouldn't be working on their bikes. I've seen threads where people were cranking down on top bolt without loosening the stem bolts. 😂

 

[Cleared2land]

...apparently there's plenty of people out there that shouldn't be working on their bikes.

Yepper

 

[iowamtb]

I just got off work and messed with it now that I'm home. I loosened the stem bolts and put my 5 mm spacer on the very bottom and the 3 10mm spacers on the top. I typically had the smaller spacer on top. I don't know if this made any difference or not but then I adjusted my preload and I tightened my top cap bolt a little tighter than I normally would although I wouldn't say I ham fisted it either. I tightened the stem down and it is play free now. I lifted the front of the bike up and flipped the wheel side to side and the bearing is still smooth. I've always read if you over preload a headset bearing it will be rough or turn hard.

 

[RickBullottaPA]

I just got off work and messed with it now that I'm home. I loosened the stem bolts and put my 5 mm spacer on the very bottom and the 3 10mm spacers on the top. I typically had the smaller spacer on top. I don't know if this made any difference or not but then I adjusted my preload and I tightened my top cap bolt a little tighter than I normally would although I wouldn't say I ham fisted it either. I tightened the stem down and it is play free now. I lifted the front of the bike up and flipped the wheel side to side and the bearing is still smooth. I've always read if you over preload a headset bearing it will be rough or turn hard.

You might also want to consider getting a single 30mm spacer. Just, because. Glad you got it sorted! And don't forget the thin translucent plastic spacer that Chris King headsets used to come with - it helps accommodate small variations in the spacers.

 

[iowamtb]

You might also want to consider getting a single 30mm spacer. Just, because. Glad you got it sorted! And don't forget the thin translucent plastic spacer that Chris King headsets used to come with - it helps accommodate small variations in the spacers.

I haven't seen a thin translucent spacer in this headset. I emailed Chris King today and we were discussing back and forth and after I solved it tonight I emailed them again and they replied that their headsets require quite a bit of preload so as long as it was turning smooth they doubt I over tightened it.

 

[RickBullottaPA]

I haven't seen a thin translucent spacer in this headset. I emailed Chris King today and we were discussing back and forth and after I solved it tonight I emailed them again and they replied that their headsets require quite a bit of preload so as long as it was turning smooth they doubt I over tightened it.

For future reference:

Chris King Headset Scuff Washer – Chris King Precision Components

 

[iowamtb]

For future reference:

Chris King Headset Scuff Washer – Chris King Precision Components

Yeah I seen an exploded view yesterday and I seen a picture of that scuff washer. This is an older set that is stainless steel and not anodized. I don't know if that's something they didn't use back on the older sets or what? I bought it used in 2016 from my bike shop. The main mechanic had just completed a build for himself and he used a different headset. I've been very happy with it

 

[RickBullottaPA]

Yeah I seen an exploded view yesterday and I seen a picture of that scuff washer. This is an older set that is stainless steel and not anodized. I don't know if that's something they didn't use back on the older sets or what? I bought it used in 2016 from my bike shop. The main mechanic had just completed a build for himself and he used a different headset. I've been very happy with it

Yup, they were used in the older headsets. I still have a couple!

 

[Jayem]

CK refused to license the dia-compe/aheadset design with a compression ring like every other headset manufacturer did in the 90s and 2000s. When users started experiencing this problem on larger scale, possibly due to longer axle-to-crown lengths from increasing travel and bigger wheel sizes, CK blamed it on the user and the "installation". It got to be pretty ridiculous after a while. Then, when the patent ran out, they changed their design to a compression ring and offered it as an "upgrade" to people with the older headsets, for a price (yes, after claiming it wasn't a problem and it was due to "poor installation"). Their headsets worked back in the early 90s, but as the sport evolved, their headsets fell short, and for whatever reason, they were absolutely adamant there was no problem with their headsets and it was all the user's fault. It's how they handled this that was the biggest problem, blaming it on the riders. In extreme cases, it led to scoring on the steerer tubes and nearly slicing them completely.

 

[iowamtb]

CK refused to license the dia-compe/aheadset design with a compression ring like every other headset manufacturer did in the 90s and 2000s. When users started experiencing this problem on larger scale, possibly due to longer axle-to-crown lengths from increasing travel and bigger wheel sizes, CK blamed it on the user and the "installation". It got to be pretty ridiculous after a while. Then, when the patent ran out, they changed their design to a compression ring and offered it as an "upgrade" to people with the older headsets, for a price (yes, after claiming it wasn't a problem and it was due to "poor installation"). Their headsets worked back in the early 90s, but as the sport evolved, their headsets fell short, and for whatever reason, they were absolutely adamant there was no problem with their headsets and it was all the user's fault. It's how they handled this that was the biggest problem, blaming it on the riders. In extreme cases, it led to scoring on the steerer tubes and nearly slicing them completely.

Wow that's interesting. So am I to assume if everything's always turned like butter and worked well and I got the problem fixed now there's no reason to worry about anything? I've never had any scoring on my steer tube. I've got Cane Creek headsets in my other two bikes and I'm very happy with them. When I bought my original Wolverine frame back in 2015, I went to pick it up from the bike shop where I ordered it. I told the manager I needed a headset and he said he'd make me a deal on this beautiful Chris King set that came used out of a bike. It was super smooth and I bought it for 50 bucks. I've been running it in two separate Wolverine frames since. I never noticed any problems until just the other day when I was doing some reach experimentation by swapping stems. I probably just wasn't preloading it enough but you know there's always that fear of damaging a bearing by overtightening it.

 

[Jayem]

Wow that's interesting. So am I to assume if everything's always turned like butter and worked well and I got the problem fixed now there's no reason to worry about anything? I've never had any scoring on my steer tube. I've got Cane Creek headsets in my other two bikes and I'm very happy with them. When I bought my original Wolverine frame back in 2015, I went to pick it up from the bike shop where I ordered it. I told the manager I needed a headset and he said he'd make me a deal on this beautiful Chris King set that came used out of a bike. It was super smooth and I bought it for 50 bucks. I've been running it in two separate Wolverine frames since. I never noticed any problems until just the other day when I was doing some reach experimentation by swapping stems. I probably just wasn't preloading it enough but you know there's always that fear of damaging a bearing by overtightening it.

If you are not getting any steerer play/rocking/knocking or scoring, then you are fine and I wouldn't worry about it. The most notable symptom was the headset would loosen no matter how tight the user put their stem on. So if there is never any play in the headset/steerer when you lock brakes and push the fork back and forth...I wouldn't worry about it.