Where's your headset at . .

Commuting on the single speed cinelli has been a maintenance free experience this summer - partly thanks to the roasting sunshine the UK is currently enjoying, but after a recent downpour I felt that the headset had come a little loose.  After checking and setting the headset several times (instructions from Park Tool can be found in the link below) the problem got slightly better but wouldn't go away.

After some internet and book research a common cause was dirt or grit entering the assembly preventing it from tightening properly, probably during the rain.  Other than a failed or worn bearing there didn't seem to be many other candidates for the cause.  As the bike had been built for about 18 months, and probably covered 7/800km, dirt seemed the most likely candidate, and a strip down, clean and re-grease would remove most possibilities. 

The ever excellent Park Tool website has detailed instructions for removal, re-fitting and setting of thread less headsets, and their article can be found here:

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/threadless-headset-service

I started off by removing the front wheel and the front brake from the fork, slotting the handlebars into the bottle cage to keep them out of the way.

Cinelli Bootleg Mystic with fork and handlebars removed

Next I removed the headset bearings and cleaned all the relevant parts, working over a towel meant if any of the balls from the ball bearings made a break for it they couldn't get far, and they show up well against green.

Fork with front brake removed and both the upper and lower bearing races

Upon inspection the parts were in good condition but dirt was present, and the old grease was very dirty around the outer of the bearing races and where they contacted the frame and the fork.  The bearings themselves had cleaner grease on them and both they and the races were in perfect condition.  I used wet wipes (baby wipes) to clean the relevant parts, ideally I would have preferred to rinse and clean them in a solvent bath but this wasn't possible.  I also gave the bearing cups and the frame a good wipe over to remove any dirt or old grease.

Cleaned upper bearing parts

Cleaned headset cups and steerer tube

I then turned to my trusty tube of Finish Line Dupont Teflon bearing grease - this has been with me for many years and is excellent stuff for bearing services such as this one.  It is now almost done so I will be sourcing a new bottle when I next do some bike bits shopping, a link can be found below for Chainreaction Cycles.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/finish-line-teflon-grease/rp-prod980

This was applied to the internal races and the bearings themselves, with a small flat blade screwdriver used to push the grease into the hard to reach areas.  Once well greased the parts were snapped back together and the bearing assembly was ready to be re-insterted in to the bearing cups and the bike re-assembled.

Greased and re-assembled upper bearing parts

The bike was then put together and the process for tightning the headset from the Park Tools link followed.  The headset itself felt smooth and tight while turning, but here was still some play when locking the front brake and pushing back and forth.  This lead me to the conclusion that there isn't enough of a gap between the top of the fork steerer and the spacers/stem which the top cap presses against.  

This enables me to hit two birds with one stone (has anyone ever actually done that?) as the steerer has needed cutting down for a while.  Much to my good buddy Russ T's disgust I have previously shied away from cutting down fork steerers for two very good reasons; 1 - I might sell the bike, 2 - I might mess it up and cut off too much.  However, aesthetically I do hate that bit of steerer and spacers sticking out the top and now was the time to get rid.  So this is a job for the LBS (Local Bike Shop).  While I now do most jobs myself I've always believed you should support your local shop, and days like these are proof why everyone should.  

My local shop is Pearson Cycles in East Sheen, I ride past there regularly going to Richmond Park or further afield and aside from some very nice machines and tasty coffee, they have very helpful staff and excellent mechanics.  I have previously stopped in to borrow a torque wrench for a slipped saddle, and had an errant wheel trued and their service has been top notch.  

So the bike has been dropped off and I eagerly await her return, both to see if the headset is fixed, and to see what she looks like without that ugly bit of steerer sticking out the top.   

Peasrson Cycles can be found online here, and in addition to being an excellent bike shop, they are also the oldest in the world so well worth a look:

http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk