Greiham

Hello everyone, I have been biking for a couple of years now with a commuter bike, it was only this year that I have been addicted to it and when I got my trek fx hybrid, I fell in love with cycling. As I kept getting more and more knowledgeable about all kinds of bicycles and their cultures, I got into fixed-gear bikes. I sold my Trek fx 7.2 for a Canadian-based brand named xfixxi. Yesterday, I bought one used and it felt great to ride in single speed. I noticed that the handling is a little harder to control and thinking that I was just not used to a bullhorn handlebar I didn't think much of it until I heard a strange noise whenever I'm braking the front brake. Sure enough, it was the headset being loose. I adjusted it once and it was tight and does not wobble anymore, the problem is I adjusted it too tight. I couldn't properly control it so I went back inside and loosened the stem and tightened the top cap very carefully and slowly till I find that point where it was not wobbling anymore but I can still steer the bike. The problem is I can't find that point. Whenever it's not wobbling anymore it's too tight to steer, and when it's not too tight to steer the wobble comes back. Is it possible that the bearings are broken since the previous owner might have used the bike with a loose headset? I wanted to go to our local bike shop but they said inspection cost $60 and I simply cannot afford that since I used all my money to buy the bike. The play in the fork is only visible and noticeable when I break or when I hit a bump. Hope someone can help me figure out what is wrong with it and what I can do for the cheapest price otherwise, I would have to wait a couple more days and go to a bike shop. I even disassembled and reassembled the headset by removing the fork and putting it back on, but it did not do anything. I spent my entire day today adjusting and researching what I'm doing wrong. I followed each instruction from youtube carefully and it was still like that. I simply cannot tighten it to the point of it not wobbling since I won't be able to steer the bike. I tried tightening it slowly till it was not wobbling and then loosening it little by little but it still did not work. I noticed that even when it's not fully tightened yet and the fork was just a tiny bit wobbly the bike is still too stiff to steer. Thank you for reading my post. I hope everyone has a great week.

wolfchild

You should post this in bicycle mechanics sub-forum or take it to your local bike shop.

veganbikes

Welcome to the forums, we have a fixed gear/single speed sub forum that you might want to edit your post so it is readable and ask the moderators to move to. There is a lot of good information there and people who know there stuff. If this is more of a mechanic question we also have a sub-forum for that but again edit the post so it is readable and ask the mods to move it.

An entire wall of text is quite hard to read. With just a little spacing it will be readable and people could potentially be able to help you.

Rolla

Without being able to inspect it, it's hard to take a guess at what's up, but I would start by making sure the stem, spacers, and top cap are all installed correctly. You need enough space between the top of the steerer and the top of the stem that the top cap tightens fully. It should look like this:





Beyond that, I'd have to put eyes on it to be sure. It kinda sounds like something is missing (compression ring?) or assembled in the wrong order. The diagram below shows a typical set-up; not sure it corresponds with what you've got.

JohnDThompson 

Not finding the "sweet spot" that eliminates wobble without causing binding suggests that the bearings in the headset are not perfectly coaxial with each other and/or the head tube axis. This could be a simple matter of the parts not being seated fully or properly, damaged parts, or the head tube and/or fork crown race seat needing milling and facing to ensure that they are coaxial and perpendicular to the steer tube axis. In any case, it's probably a matter best suited for a bike shop to assess.

Greiham

Thanks, the local bike shop here costs quite a little bit too much above my budget so I would like to try to do it myself

Greiham

This was very helpful, after further research it might be the internal bearing headset that is broken. I bought a cheap 44 mm internal bearing style headset on amazon and some grease. Hopefully, I can fix it by myself. Thank you for your comment.

Greiham

Thank you so much, I have decided to buy a new internal bearing style headset and try to fix the problem by myself

79pmooney

+1 If the "faces" of the headtube are not parallel, the best headset in the world will have the issues you describe. This is a case where the bike shop might be the cheapest solution. Maybe not this particular shop but yes, a competent mechanic armed with the right tools should be able to get your headset right and perhaps going far longer between overhauls.

alcjphil

look carefully at the diagram in post #4. The compression ring is very important as is the crown race. If either is missing you will never be able to adjust your headset properly