If you over tighten the headset then bearings will blow out in no time, even if you are a smooth rider. If you nip up the compression bolt abd have it at the correct tension, it's fine for years.
Also depends on how smooth you are, flat landings and casing put a lot of strain on the bottom bearing.
random question...but how much abuse does an integrated headset take on a bike? I've got a suspension fork, but my steering was binding lately...took bars off and looked at the bearings and one bearing had a loose inner race. I've got an Animal headset. It's only the lower bearing. And the person I bought it from said it was a fairly new headset/bearings...and I've not had it all that long. I put the bike together and it seems to spin freely now..might've just had too much preload on the top cap somehow.
Sometimes the issue is that the top "dust" cap is rubbing on the top edge of the frame's head tube (especially if you mix and match headset pieces), if you put a slim spacer between the dust cap and the compression ring, then it works. I had this issue on one build.
See how he's about to put the dust cap on top of a spacer?
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I once had this problem for around 10 minutes, until I realized that the top wedge was bent/twisted making it impossible to adjust the preload properly. I used one from an older headset and it works fine to this day.
Try taking the wedge out and take a look. If it's damaged it has kind of a 'spring effect' on the headset. When you tighten the bars don't spin, when you loosen, you get that infamous 'wobble'
The old skin walls, which are probably what you'll find online, have an added layer of the gum colored rubber inside the tire and outside on the sidewall. They are roughly 100 grams heavier and definitely more secure feeling in corners in my experience. I have had no problems with them.
The new skinwall looks to be assembley from three separate sections- gum rubber for the sidewalls and regular for the tread/center. These new versions are the same weight as the black version and have not seen much testing.
Alright, sorry about all the questions on rigid forks, but I think I'm gonna pull the trigger soon since I just got some money for my birthday. Probably gonna go with the Rebate, but real quick, is it suspension corrected?
Alright, sorry about all the questions on rigid forks, but I think I'm gonna pull the trigger soon since I just got some money for my birthday. Probably gonna go with the Rebate, but real quick, is it suspension corrected?
Suspension corrected. It means does the fork have an A-C that would be similar to a 80-100mm suspension fork, and therefore fit on most DJ/Street frames without damaging the geometry, or is it cruiser style, with the tire being close to the arch.
Suspension corrected. It means does the fork have an A-C that would be similar to a 80-100mm suspension fork, and therefore fit on most DJ/Street frames without damaging the geometry, or is it cruiser style, with the tire being close to the arch.
Piman, it's suspension corrected.
I thought the regular version wasn't but it says it is in their site. Is a 425mm a2c close to short travel forks?