[leon2982]

I just finished putting together a Leader LD735R with all DA components. The forks are Easton EC70. Headset is Cane Creek integrated. The head tube came with the bearing races built-in. I'm having a weird problem and I'm not sure which way to go with this. When I'm riding the bike the steering is too stiff. Cleary more stiff than any bike I've ridden before. For example I can't ride no-hands because slight lean left or right does not turn the wheel. If I loosen the headset adjuster to the point where there is a little play the stiffness is still there. I do not feel any stiffness if I'm off the bike. When off the bike the headset feels normal. I'm sure the bearings are right-side up with the beveled edge in the cups. The only thing I can think of so far is maybe this will loosen up a little as I ride the bike.

 

[Mr. Versatile]

Strange. I was just going to mention upside down bearings, but you've checked that. If it feels all right with no weight on the bike, I'd check to see that everything was seated and aligned correctly. Was the fixed cup pressed in all the way, and is it straight?

 

[leon2982]

Maybe I found the cause

I installed one of those cone spacers just above the upper cover and I think maybe that is putting pressure on the outside edges of the upper cover. I'm going to dismantle the whole thing tomorrow, double-check the bearings, and put a short carbon spacer between the upper cover and the cone spacer.

 

[leon2982]

still trying

I tried replacing the cone shaped spacer with a regular spacer but it made no difference. I tried a different expansion plug, stem, front wheel, just throwing things at this hoping to see some difference. It feels like the steering adjuster is too tight when I'm riding. But when I stop and straddle the top tube the steering is clearly adjusted right. When I'm riding there is no suddeness or jerkyness, no clunking, no noise, just what feels like the steering is adjusted too tight, but only when I'm on the bike. Next I will try a different fork. Maybe the forks have a crack somewhere. The only other thing I can think of is trying some different bearings.

 

[Kerry Irons]

Feelings

I tried replacing the cone shaped spacer with a regular spacer but it made no difference. I tried a different expansion plug, stem, front wheel, just throwing things at this hoping to see some difference. It feels like the steering adjuster is too tight when I'm riding. But when I stop and straddle the top tube the steering is clearly adjusted right. When I'm riding there is no suddeness or jerkyness, no clunking, no noise, just what feels like the steering is adjusted too tight, but only when I'm on the bike. Next I will try a different fork. Maybe the forks have a crack somewhere. The only other thing I can think of is trying some different bearings.

Try putting some weight on the bars and seeing if that stiffens the steering when not moving. It really sounds to me like your bike is just more stable than you want it to be, not that the bearings in the HS are binding.

 

[leon2982]

maybe

I just do not trust it at this point. The problem I have is that the stiffness from no weight load to me on the bike is very noticeable. These forks are used so I'm going to replace them with a new one I have here and if it still feels the same I'll have my lbs ride it and tell me what they think. Thanks for the input.

 

[leon2982]

I never claimed to be a rocket scientist

I left the compression ring out. duh. case closed.

 

[Mr. Versatile]

Glad you found out what the prob was.