Jlec67

Hi all, I have a 2017 Specialized Roubaix which is great but recently it has developed side to side and forward back movement/play in the front forms in addition to the up down which the Future shock delivers. Has anyone else experienced this and got a solution please?
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GlennR

Sounds like the stem is loose. If you don't know how to fix that, bring it back tot he shop you bought it from. They should adjust it for free.

cyccommute 

Not stem but headset. I agree to take it back to the shop, however.

Jlec67: It’s an easy fix if you have experience with a bike. But in asking the question, I feel it might be something better addressed by your bike shop.

GlennR

Doesn't the stem and end cap hold the headset in place?

Koyote

Not really. You loosen the stem bolts to adjust the headset (by adjusting the end cap bolt) and then torque down the stem bolts...But they don't "lock in" the headset adjustment, and hence a loose headset can cause problems even if the stem bolts are torqued properly. So, a headset can go wobbly even if the stem is torqued properly. Ask me how I know.

GlennR

I agree, maybe I didn't explain it correctly. Yes you adjust the headset by the ends cap and then torque the stem with also locks it in.

Koyote

Yep. But when the headset goes wonky, it will feel loose even if the stem bolts are still torqued properly.

badger1

This. Also, the op's bike has Specialized's Future Shock. Adjustment of the headset is entirely different from that for a conventional A-Headset. Even I can adjust the latter; I'd have no idea how to deal with the FS, which I too have on my bike.

Jlec67 , take your bike in to the shop ... sooner, rather than later.

RiceAWay

Headsets usually DO NOT come loose. There is the possibility that you were adjusting your stem and insufficiently tightened the stem allowing the headset to gather slack. The top cap doesn't hold the headset in tension. It will hold it there while you tighten the stem. It the stem is loose it can pull the cap-lock slowly outward. This is a DANGEROUS condition and I recommend having the shop look at it since you have a lifetime warranty.

There is a third possibility - the steering tube is pulling out of the fork. Or perhaps is broken or breaking off. While this is very rare you should have the shop look at it to eliminate that possibility.

trailangel

Future Shock = Future Slop

tallbikeman

Trailangel you are so right. Any bicycle with suspension components is a wearing out continuous maintenance headache. So many suspension bikes start having wheels that lean a little due to wear and don't trail right. Lots of cheaper suspension bikes have these problems but I've seen it in pricey suspension bikes also. Being cheap I would confidently try to repair the bike myself. If my confidence fades then to the shop with it.

Atlas Shrugged

I have 10’s of thousands of km on my Future Shock bike with no issues or abnormal maintenance issues. The adjustment is different than a traditional headset but no more difficult. Old school headsets were definitely more of a hassle with poor seals and the eventual indexing that occurs.

MattTheHat 

This has not been my experience. I’ve owned 3 FS-equipped bike without a single issue. I’ve got around 12,000 miles on my Roubaix. The wheels have never even needed to be trued. And I’m no lightweight.

tallbikeman

I've had to replace a front fork on a Trek 4500 bicycle. This fork locked up due to no maintenance a couple of years after I bought it used. I soon found out that this fork needed regular maintenance. If you look at the maintenance requirements for your suspension components you will find that they need a regular schedule of maintenance. Anything that moves at pivots or on stanchion tubes is a wear item. If your suspension components are kind of rare then the cost of maintenance goes up. I could not replace the original fork on the Trek and had to carefully spec a replacement. The original used a stem and the new is an Ahead Set type. So I had to replace the stem also. That is when I started noticing how many suspension bikes did not trail well. A lot of them are actually quite a ways out of trail. Wheels that are not dished right will cause trail problems but the problems I see go beyond what wheel dish problems can cause. I see this less in expensive bikes.

cyccommute 

The problem isn’t with the suspension fork but with the quality of the suspension fork. In theory, bicycle suspension forks need maintenance. In my experience, they need a whole lot less than what is recommended. I’ve got lots of bikes with suspension and lots of extra suspension forks. I’ve only ever taken one apart for maintenance and that was a elastomer Manitou long ago. I even have lots of used suspension forks that I use as soon as I’ve purchased them without service nor have I serviced them since I’ve obtained them.

Lower end forks like those that come on the Trek 4500 aren’t as high a quality as the ones I use but even those don’t require constant maintenance. In fact, many of that type of suspension fork can’t be serviced. There simply aren’t parts available. When the fork fails, it’s easier and cheaper to just replace the fork...with a high quality used fork.

It’s not that hard to replace a fork nor does it require special specifications. You just need a steer tube of the proper diameter and threaded if you have that type of headset. Threaded suspension forks are not impossible to find...very difficult but not impossible.

If you are going to rigid, you have to take the suspension into account but for a Trek 4500 with a threaded headset, I doubt that the suspension correction is going to have much of an impact. That kind of bike had an 80mm suspension fork on it which doesn’t make much enough of a difference to even consider a suspension corrected rigid fork.

Both forks have a “stem”. The threaded one is a quill stem and the threadless one has a threadless stem.

I’m not sure what problem you are describing here. Bicycle “trail” describes the distance the tire contact patch is behind the steering axis. That has nothing to do with wheel dish. Are you describing “tracking” or how the front and rear wheels are rolling in the same line? Most every tracking problem I’ve ever seen is caused by the wheels not being engaged in the frame properly rather than a frame or suspension problem. Frames can be twisted out of alignment but that is a very rare problem.

However, a frame issue has nothing to do with a loose headset.

tallbikeman

However, a frame issue has nothing to do with a loose headset.[/QUOTE]

Quill stem is the correct word. I am a fan of quill stems. You are right on tracking instead of trail. Trek had a 1 1/2" threaded steerer tube. These were only on the market a couple of years when ahead set came along and everything went unthreaded. I could not find a new 1 1/2" threaded steerer tube suspension fork, only 1 1/2" unthreaded ones. My wife did not want a solid fork. I thus was stuck with buying the right ahead set type steerer bearings and the appropriate 1 1/2" unthreaded fork along with an ahead set stem. Finding the right size steering bearings and cups was a maze of measuring because several different headset bearing standards have been sold over the years. The Trek has been a favorite bike of my wife's for years now so it got repaired.

cyccommute 

Quill stem is the correct word. I am a fan of quill stems. You are right on tracking instead of trail. Trek had a 1 1/2" threaded steerer tube. These were only on the market a couple of years when ahead set came along and everything went unthreaded. I could not find a new 1 1/2" threaded steerer tube suspension fork, only 1 1/2" unthreaded ones. My wife did not want a solid fork. I thus was stuck with buying the right ahead set type steerer bearings and the appropriate 1 1/2" unthreaded fork along with an ahead set stem. Finding the right size steering bearings and cups was a maze of measuring because several different headset bearing standards have been sold over the years. The Trek has been a favorite bike of my wife's for years now so it got repaired.[/QUOTE]

I will almost guarantee that the Trek 4500 didn’t have a 1 1/2” headset at any point in time...especially if it had a threaded headset to begin with. It had a 1 1/8” external cup headset. The conversion is relatively straight forward and finding a headset isn’t all that difficult. Internal bearings are kind of funky but external cup is fairly easy. I’ve done the conversion many times.

tallbikeman

I will almost guarantee that the Trek 4500 didn’t have a 1 1/2” headset at any point in time...especially if it had a threaded headset to begin with. It had a 1 1/8” external cup headset. The conversion is relatively straight forward and finding a headset isn’t all that difficult. Internal bearings are kind of funky but external cup is fairly easy. I’ve done the conversion many times.[/QUOTE]
My bad Trek 7100. I recently repaired and sold a Trek 4500 which had ahead set technology.

cyccommute 

Still only a 1 1/8” external cup headset.

tallbikeman

Your are right again. All that happened was a threaded 1 1/8" threaded suspension fork was replaced with a 1 1/8" threadless suspension fork with appropriate headset change and change to a threadless stem. Memory fails me again.

cxwrench

All of you are posting about loose headset this and that...with the future shock there is a possibility that the FS unit has worn out and is moving. As posted previously the headset adjustment is completely unique to the future shock. On the first gen FS there is a top cap and screw but they don't adjust the headset. On the newer adjustable units there is not a screw on top to hold the cap on, nor is there a top cap. There is the dial that controls the lockout on the FS. The headset is adjusted w/ the 2 screws on the side of the steerer tube. This can be adjusted perfectly but there is still movement that looks just like a loose headset. The FS unit can wear out and have slop as someone posted earlier (future slop). It is very easy to replace and it seems like many times Specialized will warranty it.