Picked up a trick from a shop owner about bearing preload

I overheard a guy at the co-op complaining his new headset felt rough after 50 miles, so the shop owner told him to back off the preload by a quarter turn and retighten the stem bolts. Tried it on my own bike that had the same issue and it smoothed right out. Has anyone else found that over-tightening bearings is more common than people think?

2 comments

2 Comments

paulperry19d ago

Maybe it's just me but I feel like half the bearing problems I see are from people cranking down too hard. Did you notice if the shop owner said anything about checking the bearing play after you loosen it again? I'm curious if there's a specific feel they told you to look for, like a tiny bit of wiggle or zero play. Seems like the line between too tight and just right is really thin on some headsets.

richard13719d ago

Yeah it's like when folks crank down on jar lids too hard and then can't get em open.