Elkie

Hi, I'm new here, please be nice...

Basically, I bought a used 2014 Pinnacle Arkose on eBay, which I'm having strange headset problems with...

There seems to be no middle ground between the headset having too much slack, and being too stiff to easily turn. I've never owned a bike with an integrated headset before.

After riding the bike for a little while with the headset fairly tight, there seems to be a lot of very fine aluminium filings within the headtube, on the bearing race

It seems that rather than rolling smoothly on the bearing, something is causing the bottom of the frame headtube to grind against the top of the fork where the bearing race sits!

On closer inspection, the fork seems to not be the original, but a Planet X London Road fork.

I'm wondering if maybe integrated headsets possibly have different stack heights for the lower bearing, and mine is shorter when I need a taller one?

I don't actually have the bike to hand so can't post any pics, but any advice would be hugely appreciated!

Thanks!

blamester

You need to take it apart and see what's wrong.
Could be a missing spacer or a bearing upside down. Who knows?
See where the filings are coming from?

Elkie

Thanks, as mentioned I don't actually have the bike to hand at the moment, and was hoping if the issue is the wrong bearing stack height I could save some time by ordering the part I need and replacing it when I'm next with the bike.

blamester

You could go ahead and buy a new headset but it could be the fork.
What is likely is they never switched the crown race on the fork when they put the new one on.

alcjphil

Ordering parts without disassembly and inspection can easily result in parts purchased uselessly

Elkie

Sorry, I thought "within the headtube, on the bearing race" would make it obvious that I'd disassembled and inspected when I was with the bike. Not sure how I'd know there were aluminium filings within the headtube without disassembling.