Headset Dead Spot

Fredster wrote:


I had a new Campag headset fitted to my bike about 6 months ago and it's
already developed a dead spot, causeing the wheel to point straight ahead
when I lift it up. I've tried twiddling the bearings around and regreasing
it but it still seems just as bad. Therefore, the question is, how do I get
rid of the dead spot?

Change the bearing surfaces, you have at some time smashed the bearing
surfaces into the bearings hard enough to cause a dent in the surface,
this dent is what you are feeling as a "dead spot" and probably results
in you "thruppeny biting" around corners.


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Fredster wrote:

: I had a new Campag headset fitted to my bike about 6 months ago and it's
: already developed a dead spot, causeing the wheel to point straight ahead
: when I lift it up. I've tried twiddling the bearings around and regreasing
: it but it still seems just as bad. Therefore, the question is, how do I get
: rid of the dead spot?

Buy new headset. If you got a shop to fit it and haven't altered it
yourself since then they should pay for it since the headset has be
set up too tight.

Arthur

Fredster wrote:
I had a new Campag headset fitted to my bike about 6 months ago and
it's already developed a dead spot, causeing the wheel to point
straight ahead when I lift it up. I've tried twiddling the bearings
around and regreasing it but it still seems just as bad. Therefore,
the question is, how do I get rid of the dead spot?

There are things you can try to reduce the symptoms or slow the
deterioration but really the cups (or whole headset) need replacing. It
would be a good idea to get the head tube faced first to make sure the
headset can be adjusted perfectly.

In the meantime you could try replacing the caged balls with loose balls
(will require aditional balls) - bottom race is likely to be more worn
than top. Turning the affected cup around to a different orientation is
also supposed to help (cup remover & press required) - as is polishing the
cups.

~PB

"Fredster" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I had a new Campag headset fitted to my bike about 6 months ago and it's
already developed a dead spot, causeing the wheel to point straight ahead
when I lift it up. I've tried twiddling the bearings around and
regreasing
it but it still seems just as bad. Therefore, the question is, how do I
get
rid of the dead spot?


As others have said, if the dead spot is due to bearing damage it will need
to be replaced. But it might be worth just making sure it isn't a
combination of a certain degree of rigidity in the cable/gear housings and
their routing which is tending to push the bars back to the centre. I had
started to think mine had a deadspot when I had it up on the stand - the
feeling was distinctly as if there was a point that they wanted to stay in
and not turn out of, but it was only that.

Rich

marc wrote:

Fredster wrote:


I had a new Campag headset fitted to my bike about 6 months ago and it's
already developed a dead spot, causeing the wheel to point straight ahead
when I lift it up. I've tried twiddling the bearings around and regreasing
it but it still seems just as bad. Therefore, the question is, how do I get
rid of the dead spot?

Change the bearing surfaces, you have at some time smashed the bearing
surfaces into the bearings hard enough to cause a dent in the surface,
this dent is what you are feeling as a "dead spot" and probably results
in you "thruppeny biting" around corners.

Contrary to popular belief, headset 'indexing' is not caused by the ball
bearings smashing into the bearing surface, it is caused by high
frequency vibrations,that eventually cause the dents.
Get a hammer and try to hit a ball bearing into a head race - you wont
mark it.
Jobst Brandt has wriiten a good piece about this in the FAQ for the
rec.bicycles.tech newsgroup.
I'd say the OPs problem was that the headset was tightened too much when
it was first fitted.The only thing to do is replace it.
Alan.
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