timo888 

Am I reading this Cane Creek document correctly? The top-cap torque should be between 1.1 and 1.7 Nm? And what does the feather icon mean? That rotational movement should be as light as a feather? Or that the hand on the torque wrench should have a feather-light touch?
https://canecreek.com/wp-content/upl...structions.pdf

Crankycrank

I never use torque numbers to set headset preload, much more accurate to use your human feel. Tighten the top cap enough so there is a slight drag when turning the fork then back off until it turns smoothly but no play. Tighten the stem clamp bolts and check again. Yeah, that feather symbol seems to suggest light torque but who knows.

Rolla

I use a torque wrench on the stem bolts, but not the pre-load bolt. My method is to tighten the pre-load bolt until it's snug, and then check for headset looseness by applying the front brake and rocking the bike forward. Then I lift and tilt the front of the bike, and see if the bar/stem/fork turns easily just from gravity. If it passes both of those tests, I'm good to go. I think that's what the feather indicates -- that the steering tube should turn at the touch of a feather.

timo888 

My main concern was having to go considerably higher than 1.7Nm to eliminate play.

timo888 

There was still some play in the headset at 1.7Nm. Had to go to 3Nm to eliminate it. I was worried that Cane Creek had made the top-cap so thin it could buckle.

Crankycrank

If you just keep an eye on the top cap while tightening watching that it doesn't start to buckle you'll be fine as you can just loosen the cap bolt after the stem pinch bolts are tight. I've never come across any caps that would buckle with the torque needed to remove play in a headset but that's not to say it's impossible.

shelbyfv

I'd still like to know for sure what that feather means.