masi61

I've got a mystery click on my road bike that I am beginning to wonder if it is coming from the cockpit of my titanium road bike. The ticking sound can be heard while standing to climb mostly but also during seating climbing. I have a Tom Ritchey C260 carbon/aluminum stem with torx bolts that I believe are torqued to the correct spec. I had some braking chatter (slight) so I tightened the top cap (didn't torque it to spec, just went by feel) then re-torqued the stem bolts. I may have gone a bit too far because the bike while taut, is less easy to ride no handed now.

This is my only experience with Chris King headsets. I was just wondering if anyone ever experienced any "clunk" or "click" sounds emanating from the bearings. I believe I have done my due diligence sorting out the usual suspects from the cranks, pedals, cassette, quick release skewers, seatpost, and rear wheel. The wheels are new and custom made with only about 300 miles on them. My LBS wheelbuilder provides a complementary "re-tension and true" for all the wheels he builds so long as you bring it back in a reasonable time frame. I did take the rear wheel back to him and he trued it and tightened all the spokes a wee bit more. I did not have him do the front yet since it is not out of true. The lightweight butted DT Swiss spokes are built 2x into a 24 hole Dura Ace 7800 front hub. It is possible that the clicking is coming from the crossing of the spokes in the front or loose spokes, and I will have him check that.

But right now I am investigating the possibility of whether Chris King headsets ever make noises. Let me know if you have any experience with any of this...

ljsense

It would surprise me if it were the headset. I've had them on several bikes and have never experienced any noise.

I'd check the brake lever clamps, maybe, if you think it's coming from the handlebar area.

But if you want to further investigate the headset, you could pull the fork and make sure the cups and baseplate are fully seated and the bearings feel smooth. If all that is ok, I think your hunt for the noise lies elsewhere.

fietsbob

Not if properly adjusted & not damaged.

I bought a bike with a CK Grip nut 1.25" in a Bike Friday .. collet system not assembled properly.. I had to redo its assembly..
after a few years it had a centering detent feel, But it was not making a sound..

CK Company gave me a new one as they have a 10 year guarantee..






....

trailangel

ChrisKing headsets make a kind of laughing-taunting sound while the bike is sitting...... you paid $150 for a $50 headset. You can hear it at night if you keep the bike in your home.

Kapusta

Chris King headsets had a reputation for creaking in the MTB world a while ago. I don’t know if this is still the case.

Had something to do with not using the wedge expansion ring thingy that practically everyone else uses. Maybe that has changed.

Iride01 

When you are out of the saddle putting some power into the pedals, you and your bike are surging forward with a bunch of rapid acceleration on every pedal stroke. That'll shake up everything and get cables, wires, zipper tags on your bags and lots of other stuff pounding on the frame.

But if you over or under tightened the headset, then you might have a click. Though I'd think you'd feel it more than hear it.

Erzulis Boat 

I was having fits with a 1 1/8" CK headset on my race MTB years ago. It wasn't the headsets fault, but was traced to the Syncros stem and it's horrible clamping design. It was using a perpendicular cylinder to secure the stem to the steerer. No matter what, after hard riding it would work just a tiny bit loose, and...................................................click, click.

Once I swapped the stem to a more robust setup, it solved the issue. That bike is still in use today (by my nephew).

ETA- As to due diligence, I found the source of a click one time, and it was coming from a cracked aluminum spacer within a freehub body! Talk about a lucky find.

HillRider

I have a 14 year old 1-1/8" CK threadless headset on my Litespeed with almost 51,000 miles and it's completely smooth and silent. Mine is the previous design that uses an O-ring as the centering device, not the newer inverted cone expansion ring type.

​​​​​​Despite that It feels like it will last forever.