Fork/Pivot Clamp adjustment

[BentAero]

I'm struggling with the adjustment of the pivot clamp. If I tighten it up where it feels nice and smooth, it ultimately leaves play in the headset bearings.
If I squeeze the stack tight enough to remove headset play, the fork drags and doesn't feel smooth or turn easy. (Built-in steering damper? )
Is it unreasonable to expect all play/slop to be removed from the bearings, or is a tiny bit of movement normal?

 

[ratz]

Try this

fork maintenance and greasing is an every 2 year event (I hate squeaks)... The Silvio meant learn some new ideas.

Assuming it's the same as the Silvo stack and clamp...

1. Grease the bevels of the stack lightly; I apply inside the frame.
2. Install the fork horizontally
3. Lightly grease the bottom edge of the pivot clamp to facilitate torque.
4. Torque down the stack and clamp so it is smooth; doesn't squeak and doesn't have any slop. Do this with just the pressure disc/cap.
5. After that is done; align the rotation orientation of the pivot to the fork is correct it should still rotate with some light effort.
6. Finally tighten both bolts a little at a time alternating between them. Don't over tighten about 15-20nm should be plenty. if you don't have a torque wrench use LONG ARM allen wrenchs $15 at Lowes, when the wrench arm flexs that is about 20nm

?Everything will snug up when you install the full front triangle; which will link the fork dropout \ to the pivot clamp via the boom and bottom bracket assembly. The pivot clamp only carriers part of the steering load so the most important thing to remove is the vertical play.

 

[Jeremy S]

I wouldn't put up with either

I wouldn't put up with either condition since you could be damaging your headset and negatively impacting your ride. I would suggest removing the fork, unpacking the headset bits and comparing to the pictures in the Cruzbike installation instructions to make sure you don't have anything out of order or upside down.

It's also possible that if you don't have the weight of a wheel attached, the fork may feel stiffer than you expect, even if things are adjusted properly.

Also:
http://sheldonbrown.com/headsets.html

 

[Eric Winn]

Using the screw at the top of

Using the screw at the top of the stack through the star nut inside the fork, my Vendetta goes smoothly from loose to removing play and still feels the same after connecting the pivot cage and everything else. I did snug it down a bit more after I reassembled it following my accident but just by a small amount.

-Eric

 

[Supertramp]

There may be an issue caused

There may be an issue caused by repainting the frame, where too much paint on the rims of the headtube may lead to a binding of the headset's top cap. There are micro spacers available for fixing that.

 

[BentAero]

The races of the headtube are

The races of the headtube are perfectly clean, bare aluminum. Even if they weren't, the V uses sealed bearings; when installed in the headtube, the shell of the bearing doesn't move, the two halves of the bearing only move with each other, so in reality cleanliness of the headtube itself is not important.

The fork 'drags' when rotating it by itself. But once the entire front end is put together, (wheel, boom, handlebars) you don't notice it.