[John Jameson]

I recently purchased a WTB Team internal headset for a Jamis Parker that I have been building up. Cups and crown race have been installed, and after I tighten everything up there is still some very noticeable play, almost like the steertube is too small for the headset (which is obviously not the case). Something is not lined up right, and I am officially stumped. I have installed traditional headsets in the past, but this is my first experience with an internal one. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks monkeys.

 

[HAB]

Pics of the setup would help. Ideally take it apart again, and try to do some sort of "exploded" view with the parts in order on the steerer tube, so we can see how it went together.

 

[JRogers]

A few things come to mind that you might have already done or are obvious to you, but are at least somewhat common reasons for this sort of issue.

First, if you can find an exploded view to make sure you have all the parts and whatnot installed and in the right places, that would be helpful. Missing seal rings, compression rings, etc can cause problems like this and might not be obviously missing when (or incorrectly oriented) you install it.

Second, try switching around stem, spacer and topcap combinations to make sure nothing is wrong up there (like the stem not pressing properly on the bearing cover if there's no spacers under it or the topcap bottoming on the steerer tube).

Third, make sure the starnut is not pulling out of the steerer tube and the threaded part is not separating from the surround star-shaped part. This might not cause the problem you are describing, but I have had it happen before.


I did have a similar problem with a fully integrated headset a few months ago. It needed a few thin shims/spacers under the bearing cover on top of the compression ring. I think the headtube was very slightly out of spec or something like that. But I'm not exactly sure; I just know what fixed it. That might not help much with an integrated setup that has separate cups, but figured I'd toss it out there since my end problem was similar- a constantly loose headset that would not get tight enough.

 

[FBinNY]

The first issue is whether the new headset and frame are compatible. There are a few headset standards out there and the headset and headtube must be on the same system.

Next make sure that the stack is such that the stem or spacer press only on the centering cone, and not touch the upper bearing cup at all. In some cases you'll need at least one spacer below the stem, and on some model headsets a specific shim is needed over the centering cone.

Otherwise, the most common error folks make with non-cartridge bearing headsets, is installing one of the ball retainers upside down. Most headsets have cones pointing up below the cups on both lower and upper stacks, so the retainers go on the same way (area open to the inside, down). ---- A few have the top stack with an upward facing cup and the cone above. If so,don't forget to invert the upper bearing retainer accordingly.

The last possibility, rare these days, but common on older forks. The wider seat for the crown race may extend beyond the top of the crown race and bind on the inner lip of the lower head tube cup. If so, the only cure is careful filing of the inside of the cup with a half round file to make clearance. (Do not under any circumstances file the steerer column)

That covers the most common issues, if you've eliminated all, re-post with more details.