Chris King NoThreadSet bearing service
05-20-22, 04:59 PM
#1
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Chris King NoThreadSet bearing service
I have a 1990's titanium Veritas road bike that has a pretty silver Chris King 1-1/8" Nothreadset that is acting funny. I get a faint "index" or "brinnelled" feeling when I turn the handlebars slightly and if I turn the handlebars further I get a "crack" sound. I have not set out to remove the fork but I have ruled every other cause for this front end noise out.
I had thought that Chris King bearings were expected to be pretty much maintenance free for life but apparently this is not the case. I bought the bike used and I believe that the bike did get ridden hard because the original Dura Ace 7800 bottom bracket bearings were also shot.
In a way I just would like to install a new headset, pull out the Chris King and sell it at a reduced price on eBay and let the new buyer deal with the wonky bearings. Or is it worth it for me to service them and check/see if this makes the indexing and the extreme cracking sounds dissipate?
I had thought that Chris King bearings were expected to be pretty much maintenance free for life but apparently this is not the case. I bought the bike used and I believe that the bike did get ridden hard because the original Dura Ace 7800 bottom bracket bearings were also shot.
In a way I just would like to install a new headset, pull out the Chris King and sell it at a reduced price on eBay and let the new buyer deal with the wonky bearings. Or is it worth it for me to service them and check/see if this makes the indexing and the extreme cracking sounds dissipate?
05-20-22, 06:31 PM
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"For life" That's the crux of the question. Nost all manufactures don't consider normal wear to be a warranty issue. A nearly 30 year old bike will show wear.
Please don't sell that headset without learning about what is worn and how to represent that fact ethically.
CK's are fine units but still suffer from miles of use, exposure to less than best cleaning and maintenance and ham fisted adjustments. They are rebuildable, or for the home guy, able to be taken apart and cleaned/regreased. But if bearing surface brinelling has happened all you'll get is a quite and notched result (or a loose adjustment to avoid the indexing). Still if you can do this yourself why not see what improvement you can attain?
The cracking might be indexed shift cable housing ends scraping on the older 5mm metal end cap interiors, of indicative of rusted/pitted bearings. Usually by the time a headset makes noises it long past it's life span. Andy
Please don't sell that headset without learning about what is worn and how to represent that fact ethically.
CK's are fine units but still suffer from miles of use, exposure to less than best cleaning and maintenance and ham fisted adjustments. They are rebuildable, or for the home guy, able to be taken apart and cleaned/regreased. But if bearing surface brinelling has happened all you'll get is a quite and notched result (or a loose adjustment to avoid the indexing). Still if you can do this yourself why not see what improvement you can attain?
The cracking might be indexed shift cable housing ends scraping on the older 5mm metal end cap interiors, of indicative of rusted/pitted bearings. Usually by the time a headset makes noises it long past it's life span. Andy
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05-20-22, 08:48 PM
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I have a 1990's titanium Veritas road bike that has a pretty silver Chris King 1-1/8" Nothreadset that is acting funny. I get a faint "index" or "brinnelled" feeling when I turn the handlebars slightly and if I turn the handlebars further I get a "crack" sound. I have not set out to remove the fork but I have ruled every other cause for this front end noise out.
I had thought that Chris King bearings were expected to be pretty much maintenance free for life but apparently this is not the case. I bought the bike used and I believe that the bike did get ridden hard because the original Dura Ace 7800 bottom bracket bearings were also shot.
In a way I just would like to install a new headset, pull out the Chris King and sell it at a reduced price on eBay and let the new buyer deal with the wonky bearings. Or is it worth it for me to service them and check/see if this makes the indexing and the extreme cracking sounds dissipate?
I had thought that Chris King bearings were expected to be pretty much maintenance free for life but apparently this is not the case. I bought the bike used and I believe that the bike did get ridden hard because the original Dura Ace 7800 bottom bracket bearings were also shot.
In a way I just would like to install a new headset, pull out the Chris King and sell it at a reduced price on eBay and let the new buyer deal with the wonky bearings. Or is it worth it for me to service them and check/see if this makes the indexing and the extreme cracking sounds dissipate?
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Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
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05-21-22, 05:01 AM
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cyccommute - thanks for the encouragement! I’m going to try it. I’d love it if I don’t lose too much time head scratching on this. But I’m quite motivated to hopefully be able to visualize as well as feel (tactile) what the real malfunction of these bearings is.
05-21-22, 08:27 AM
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cyccommute - thanks for the encouragement! I’m going to try it. I’d love it if I don’t lose too much time head scratching on this. But I’m quite motivated to hopefully be able to visualize as well as feel (tactile) what the real malfunction of these bearings is.
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Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
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