Cannondale supersix himod headset issue

[ToughInTheStreets]

I've seen that youtube rant before, seriously that guy needs to have a lie down. Of course this could be your issue but I think the main problem is the plastic compression ring as it just doesnt seem to stay tight. Sometimes it would last for months but eventually I would notice a tiny amount of movement. I also have the Hi-Mod disc frame and swapped it for an aluminimum compression ring and havent had to re-tighten my headset since.

Not going to argue with you there , little too much gloom and doom for me

[Roy2018]

I've seen that youtube rant before, seriously that guy needs to have a lie down. Of course this could be your issue but I think the main problem is the plastic compression ring as it just doesnt seem to stay tight. Sometimes it would last for months but eventually I would notice a tiny amount of movement. I also have the Hi-Mod disc frame and swapped it for an aluminimum compression ring and havent had to re-tighten my headset since.

Not going to argue with you there , little too much gloom and doom for me

Anyone got a link to a suitable compression ring online?

[tarmackev]

What does headset wobble mean? Vibration? Loose or vague feeling? Clicking or creaking sound?

There is no sound, just a movement of the steerer forward and back and therefore a feeling of instability when braking via the front brake.

Exactly what I had, no matter how tight the stem is it comes back. Fitted the alloy compression ring and all good now.




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[octave]

very interesting.

my headset had come loose on a few rides on my supersix evo hi-mod (2016) that has a newer cannondale headset. when i was installing it, i noticed that the compression ring was plastic, but thought simply, cool, must be lighter... i have since, literally 5 minutes ago, swapped it to an alloy compression ring. bonus-- the alloy ring had a higher stack than the plastic so i could do away with a LOT of shims i had to install.

i feel better already.

[Roy2018]

What does headset wobble mean? Vibration? Loose or vague feeling? Clicking or creaking sound?

There is no sound, just a movement of the steerer forward and back and therefore a feeling of instability when braking via the front brake.

Exactly what I had, no matter how tight the stem is it comes back. Fitted the alloy compression ring and all good now.




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I have put an alloy shim over the plastic compression ring. Will report back after a few more rides.

[samarskyrider]

I've checked my headset - it has an alloy compression ring, upper bearing has a slight play in its seat (overall, the bearing needs replacement, but I don't have a spare).

I decided to run a twist of electric tape on both upper and lower bearings to compensate for ovality. Will give it a try and see how it goes






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[MAJ]

What does headset wobble mean? Vibration? Loose or vague feeling? Clicking or creaking sound?

There is no sound, just a movement of the steerer forward and back and therefore a feeling of instability when braking via the front brake.

Exactly what I had, no matter how tight the stem is it comes back. Fitted the alloy compression ring and all good now.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have put an alloy shim over the plastic compression ring. Will report back after a few more rides.

If you search in google you can find compression ring like this:

https://www.bike24.com/p2158190.html

I don't know if fits well with Cannondale aheadset!!

[kgt]

From Luescher Teknik fb page, a few hours ago:
"When the crown race and the bearing don't quite fit perfectly. "

[Roy2018]

After riding for an hour I still notice some back and forth movement and can visibly see the dust cap move as I apply the front brake.

I want to try an alloy compression ring. Any online links to an appropriate ring would be appreciated.

[MAJ]

After riding for an hour I still notice some back and forth movement and can visibly see the dust cap move as I apply the front brake.

I want to try an alloy compression ring. Any online links to an appropriate ring would be appreciated.

what I have noticed is that this fork flexes a lot in the direction of the movement of the bike but is very rigid laterally. Let's see if that flexion is what makes you believe that there is slack?


have you tried to turn the direction 90 ° and force to see if there is lateral slack??, in affirmative case it means that slack exists, if not, perhaps the flexion of the fork makes you think that there is slack, without such slack

Regarding link for the alloy compression ring I have wrote one example some days ago!!!

[Roy2018]

After riding for an hour I still notice some back and forth movement and can visibly see the dust cap move as I apply the front brake.

I want to try an alloy compression ring. Any online links to an appropriate ring would be appreciated.

what I have noticed is that this fork flexes a lot in the direction of the movement of the bike but is very rigid laterally. Let's see if that flexion is what makes you believe that there is slack?


have you tried to turn the direction 90 ° and force to see if there is lateral slack??, in affirmative case it means that slack exists, if not, perhaps the flexion of the fork makes you think that there is slack, without such slack

Regarding link for the alloy compression ring I have wrote one example some days ago!!!

Hey mate, I can visible see the dust cover move forward and back. Appreciate the link but it looks different in shape from the standard plasric one I have installed.

[octave]

hi, sorry i don't have a link for an alloy compression ring. i just used one from the FSA headset i bought to replace the bearings on my girlfriend's Felt VR3W

https://feltbicycles.com/collections/ro ... 8-to-1-1-4

two rides since replacing the plastic ring and all feels good.

also, i was setting up an S-Works Tarmac SL6 and noticed that it, too, has a plastic compression ring.....

[Roy2018]

hi, sorry i don't have a link for an alloy compression ring. i just used one from the FSA headset i bought to replace the bearings on my girlfriend's Felt VR3W

https://feltbicycles.com/collections/ro ... 8-to-1-1-4

two rides since replacing the plastic ring and all feels good.

also, i was setting up an S-Works Tarmac SL6 and noticed that it, too, has a plastic compression ring.....

That's interesting. Maybe the reason for plastic rings is to minimise the risk of damage to the carbon fork. I've seen quite a few posts complaining about alloy rings making impressions into steerer tubes.

[kgt]

That's correct. Luescher has posted many pictures of fork steerers 'curved' by alloy rings.

That's the main reason TIME designed its own headset system which has none of these issues.

[Roy2018]

***Update***
After a 1.5 hour ride and a few kerb jumps, the headset seems to be holding up with. There is no visible forward back movement of the dust cap and steerer.

This is after I replaced the cannondale expander and topcap with a Carbon-ti expander and matching titanium top cap to add additional load. I also raised the stem with the stock 5mm spacer.