Headsets | GMBN Tech Essentials Ep. 11

Next up in our essentials series we're looking at an often overlooked part, the headset. Henry breaks it down into it's component parts, checks for wear, and shows you how to correctly reassemble your front end for buttery smooth steering🔧
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Brought to you by the world’s largest mountain bike channel, the Global Mountain Bike Network (GMBN), GMBN Tech goes deeper into the bikes, kit and technology stories that help fuel your rides.
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[@gmbntech]

Have you serviced your headset?

[@hanyaoyap1826]

Sure!🤘

[@khfjbfjvxjdk]

Nope only ruined it a few times

[@gogovitch66]

of course! ^^ Now I have to change the bottom bearing (IS 52/40), as I couldn't flush it out and regrease it after 3 years of abuse..

[@bobbyhempel1513]

A few times.

[@sickbassdrop]

Just replaced my OE FSA headset with a new Cane Creek 40!

[@Irogee]

This is the Bob Ross of mountainbiking. Edit: thanks for the likes hahhah

[@Adriano-do-Couto-Illustration]

Happy little bearings...

[@basmesa]

hahaha dead on

[@LyuboslavPavlov]

That sounds like a good bike related ASMR with that silky voice. Really loved it !

[@Hunter_Bidens_Crackpipe_]

He sounds like he had the hardest party imaginable the night before recording.

[@DynamicOwl13]

Yeah pretty relaxing. Just get to work on your bike very peacefully

[@simonhouston8443]

to have a world cup mechanic sharing his expert knowledge is greatly respected and appreciated. Henry's a brilliant addition to GMBN. Show some respect people.

[@uneulvedal2571]

He is not yelling at us in this upbeat-ish kind of way. Good.

[@Pienimusta]

Tech ASMR? 😂 Great video! Too used to Doddy's super energetic style.

[@stevent1565]

Lol both presenters r like night and day.. one as if on speed , the other on weed 😁.

[@jamble7k]

together they are balanced

[@hondacota4rt]

I prefer this calm and chill style instead of the adhd dude.

[@jakeelliott8059]

@@hondacota4rt noooo😂, can't say no to Doddy

[@ShiftMTB]

This guy is my new favorite. You can tell he's just holding back all kinds of information. It's difficult for him to keep his knowledge buried down there hahahaha! Keep him doing these, they are awesome!

[@hobmarg]

Love Henry's style and his WCDH experience is sweet addition to GMBN!

[@beardedvikingmtber]

Quality vid by the new guy 🤘🏻 very well explained

[@bluestraycat]

Great video Henry, very well explained. As an experienced mechanic you'll be well used to gauging the correct torque on bolts by feel, but as an amateur backyard tinkerer, I like to use a torque wrench on everything so I know it's right.

[@williamkeys5701]

As an experienced mechanic (albeit, not on bikes) I like to use a torque wrench also because I understand that even after 20 years my elbow isn't that well calibrated.

[@th_js]

Is this a bike maintenance video or an ASMR?

[@jme2049]

Great seeing Henry on his own, good to see him talking directly to the camera too! Tone of his voice is suited for tech videos where I personally don't want to be distracted by over expressive presenting. Good work!

[@gmbntech]

Thanks for the awesome feedback Jamie! 👍

[@andrewlee4938]

Fantastic presenter so chilled in his talking and could listen for hours 😊

[@Raymond-Gibb]

Never mind the headspace app, I've just found the bike mechanic version to sooth me to sleep! 😂🙏

[@Divocwax]

Helped me a lot. My poor old Giant Alias had a knock in the headset, as experienced when I apply the front brake. I saw the pitting of the balls and races after cleaning the disassembled parts. Now I go to good old KZbin to get some help keeping the parts reassembled in the right order.

[@rlkmtb6272]

I feel i need to drink more water while watching this video.

[@jackhargreaves1911]

Good explanation re purpose of spacers. None of the other channels I consulted covered this point.

[@thebikeguys6874]

Thank you so much now i can finally ride my bike again

[@wigzzborz6759]

Finally a decent explanation on how the system works!

[@Slideblues13]

Thank you for the useful information presented in an understandable way.

[@danervin2530]

F’ing A!!! Henry just solved my MONTHS long issue of loosening headset and cracked bearing cages issue. I have a works components angled headset. After disassembling and inspecting the bearings, I installed my previous bearing in the works headset thinking they were higher quality and would serve better. Turns out they were 36 degree, the Works requires 45. Obviously wasn’t sitting correctly so it destroyed my crown race and the bearings. Glad to finally have found the root cause.

[@retroonhisbikes]

Well done, I now have a better idea of the torque required for the head set.

[@brokenlegz]

Should have mentioned you have a spacer above the headset just so the bars are lower. And they don’t have to be like that. But you can adjust height by moving spacers above or below

[@gmbntech]

You are right they definitely don't have to be like that however for maximum stem purchase it's good to run a small spacer on top as Henry is suggesting. It also gives you the option to raise your bars down the line.

[@tehsimo]

This man has a very soothing instructional style

[@Raiderofthelostloam]

They way it's going Doddy n Jezza Kyle are gona be sharing something in common lol

[@LongLiveEnduro]

awesome video! loving the calm voice, just information, narrated like in "Planet Earth". More of this!

[@gtflyer]

Well done Henry..

[@M3PH11]

4:39 I recently changed the headset and forks on my XC bike. I used a snapped nylon tyre lever and a hammer to get mine off but you can also but a removal tool.

[@briancampbell4947]

There are torque settings for all this. Great explanation

[@leeedwards4068]

Thank you for the tip about removing the crown race. It's great that you tell us how NOT to do things too. I was sure whacking it with a screwdriver was not the right thing to do, so got my LBS to do it. Will save myself a fiver next time. Clear and well explained, thx!

[@Iheartdgd]

It would take a lot of work to damage your fork or the race that way, there is absolutely no reason you can’t remove a race with a flat head screwdriver or a blade.

[@Duncan23]

Great first solo vid henry :) Look forward to watching your presenting style come into its own over time

[@rynuelalmenianal5912]

Finally a much relaxed presenter😂

[@GNX157]

I prefer having the steerer tube sticking up above the stem slightly, so when the pinch bolts are tightened, its clamping on the full tube and not overhanging in open space. Then I use the proper spacer to ensure correct preload on the bearing stack.

[@jessereddragon7617]

Henry in his zone on that one, good video

[@wodstalker2819]

GMBN Tech going ASMR :D

[@jezoliver6464]

Just what I was looking for.

[@nickwatkins5227]

Well done Henry so well detailed

[@banananarwhal6591]

As much as I absolutely love Henry and how well he meshes with all of the other presenters, is he replacing Doddy or is he just an excellent addition to the team?

[@Sflhunter]

ill quit watching if so, hate this

[@gmbntech]

He's just a new addition to the team, Doddy isn't leaving don't worry!

[@mainzman7239]

Nice job Henry, you could really see you gaining confidence as the video went on. Obviously Doddy has a pretty big pair of shoes for you to fill but you've done a great job so far. Now, if you can just get that hair a bit higher and stiffer, don't go easy on the grease there ; )

[@mtbboy1993]

6:11 when you get a second hand bike, or even new from shop, check this, as wear in the headset can mean you can't tighten it down more sometimes, also it might be incorrectly assambled, also check for skewed star nut, damaged bolt, sadly I saw a rare k2 where this was the case the little kid rode it, but he cracked the steerer tube at the bottom, cus of the play,but it got the bolts loosened up to take the fork off. But I have seen silly mistakes from sport store assambled bikes, some get built up by summer job people, who know nothing, also having brakes shifter so tight they snap off is common.

[@jamdwan]

Good tip. My new reign, I didn't check headset, went on big ride and got the darn creaking from the headset, didn't have my tool in bag with me and my ears suffered. So annoying.

[@FIGHTTHECABLE]

I tend to hold the front brake and see if I still have any play. No play, but not too tight. Just tighten till nothing is wiggling about.

[@bigarnd]

That chest hair is epic!!

[@gmbntech]

🤣🤣

[@johnk7390]

Excellent video! Will give it a try. Thanks.

[@Ricochetmex]

I really enjoy his way of explaining things, asmr tech ;)

[@Sparvar1]

Fantastic, finally headsets make sense to me!

[@rupedog]

Great job Henry....👏

[@mtbboy1993]

3:22 also there are compression plugs, with carbon steerer that's the only choice, but compression blugs can be used with alloy steerer too, the nice thing is you can reuse them, and not have to hammer it in, but of course its another thing to make sure is not loose, but atleast it won't sit skewed this happen once it was straight but got skewed when used awhile, maybe bad star nut.

[@thomaslegendar-e4152]

Nice video. Nicely and very calmly explained.

[@Qyoon]

Yay good job new member !

[@michellemoore9840]

Great new presenter! "Bike Whisperer". Great Video!! Thank you for sharing.

[@JrC-l6v]

Great job

[@adanielweaver]

Didn't think about a top spacer to be sure the stem had full grip. Too bad that would mean time for taller bars

[@V0TR0N]

This guy needs his own painting channel.

[@neilcheshire5726]

Good job Henry!

[@Divocwax]

Not right - about "secondary plastic seals" at 6.19 in this clip. Those plastic "washers" are actually used to lightly secure the bearings in place by fitting into corresponding grooves in the hub. That stops the whole caged thing from falling away when you disassemble. And, it allows you to introduce the steerer tube more easily when you reassemble.

[@fullmetalyellowjacket8560]

Can I use a non-sealed crown race for sealed bearings?

[@martianmuppet]

Thankyou! Cool vid and lots of info.

[@sopadre77]

Was there someone sleeping in the shop when he made this video? Seems like he's trying to keep quiet, almost whispering. 😂😂

[@wickedreamz8743]

Great vid. I feel like I just watched a nat geo documentary lol

[@220Garage]

thanks it was very helpful

[@mtbboy1993]

Well done, but you did not mention evrything, but my comments and others below added some more info.

[@timostahl1043]

Gmbn Asmr

[@Theriver56]

Excellent work! I learned a lot 😁

[@jonatanheijmans6276]

Thank you, very helpful video :-)

[@nigeljohnson8022]

Nice one Henry !!!!!

[@johnprice1105]

Don't know if you can help I've stripped down some xc 60 sr suntour forks I wanted to replace a couple of components but don't know the terminology for them so here goes, the short rods that fasten to the lower forks I want to replace the rubbers on them which are about 3 1/4 " long, then I want to replace a small plastic sleeve that goes on the bottom of one of the rods I believe it's some kind of stop, and I want to replace the plastic shims that sit in the top of the lower legs, which I believe will take the slight play out of the lower and upper legs I've been on line which the plastic shims come up but without any dimensions and for the other items I don't know what the parts are called to search for the items, and also I have a spring in each leg so I have pre load on both but in one of the springs there is what looks like a plastic tube does the plastic sleave have to go on the bottom of the leg under that particular spring I don't know what the plastic tube inside the spring actually does, thanks

[@magnusfossland1543]

Superb!!

[@franzferdinand1]

do i need to have a spacer between compression ring and dust cover? by removing it i reduced the gap between upper dust cover and frame which was too big for my liking but im just not sure if the small silver spacer is a must

[@paulsweet6235]

great video. is it me or does this guy sound like Chris Eubank :)

[@26DV]

are the two interchangeable, if you have one type can you use the other type with no modifications.

[@punitsoni4200]

I love it

[@AAABUSY]

ASMR

[@philippeandreimalvar7371]

Is there a way that you can put sealed bearing on the same frame that used to have caged bearings?

[@ericrollins4607]

Is Park Tool's Polylube 1000 suitable for headset bearings or is something else recommended? Alloy frame.

[@skipper_mtb6644]

Whats the name of that part at 6:30? Another great video Henry!

[@danp2509]

Classic Connoisseur dust cap I think

[@skipper_mtb6644]

@@danp2509 thanks! I probably should have guessed that 😂

[@gmbntech]

Headset dust cover/dust cap 👍

[@jackbeames7643]

Great video can you do a video about bb? Also how do I measure my headset so I know what I need when buying a new one.

[@_Steven_S]

www.canecreek.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/canecreek-shis-poster.pdf

[@rayrvidal4199]

That's nice and all but can you about LOOK 989 RS now that MTB I would love to know about .

[@keirmata9539]

What is that nukeproof last piece being installed on 6:32 called? And what’s its purpose? Still new on mountain biking and have been searching its name and purpose for months but haven’t found any answer

[@jakovkulusic8496]

Where is doddy

[@joco118]

headset ASMR

[@legendbound2115]

I just put a headset on a bike I’m building, and I followed you steps, but when I turn the bars I can hear a soft rubbing sound coming from the headset. Is that normal?

[@DimagoDiesel]

Can you change the open bearing with a sealed bearing in the and headset?

[@maestro1918]

HI, I really need your advice. I want to change the headset on my Giant SCR 1 2014 but don't know what to buy. Could you help me please?

[@jamesharmer4253]

My headset was seized and I had to go to town on the steerer with a mallet to get the forks out. Now the forks are out I can't slide the stem back over the steerer tube, it appears to have misshapen slightly. Can I cut off about 1cm from the top of the steerer and remove a spacer? I run 2 thick spacers and a thin one.

[@Dangarangg]

I have a really tiny gap just big enough for me to put my finger nail between the headset and the frame on my 2019 stumpjumper headset after I installed a new stem, is that ok to ride?

[@DylanDavidVindasLopez]

How do i chose the rigth headset for my bike if i only have the bare frame?

[@yurianimation9103]

can you put sealed bearings in an unsealed headset?

[@quintinlarson9499]

The bearings just slip into the cups? I had to pound mine in... Did I wreck it?

[@gmbntech]

Possibly! Check if they're running smooth by spinning the inner race with your finger. If they're notchy, then take it to a bike shop and explain

[@p199a]

i cleaned my headset and i still have clicking / cracking noises when i put my body weight on the front wheel and brake hard

[@Whitehawkvisionfilms]

If my steerer tube top is about a 0.5mm (1/2mm i.e. a couple of frog's hairs) below the top of the stem so my steerer cap cannot compress correctly and I add 5mm spacer above the stem top and compress the steerer cap... is 5mm too much? Do I need to use a 3mm spacer? or is it not crucial? And why is 3mm the magic space between the steerer tube top and the steerer cap?

[@berendotto]

What Garmin mount is that there on the top tube?

[@redcloud4741]

i have a gap between the bottom of my headset and the stop of my forks. there is no play with the fork but there is a gap which is exposed to the elements. anyone know how to fix this?

[@juanpablodeobeso7189]

I felt asleep with this dude

[@Johnnyprague]

It's mechanics video, not saturday evening show.

[@TopReasons]

What means adult. my size should be around 27 inches wheels and 18 inches frame. help me to choose the right size. i'm 5.7

[@tomluscombe3154]

His voice just so smooth makes me fall to sleep

[@poormansmtb5204]

Can you use a sealed bearings on a bike that has the cage style bearings?

[@_Steven_S]

If it uses "press in cups," yes you can. Just buy the appropriate sealed-bearing headset. If the caged bearings (or loose balls) sit directly in the head tube, not easily.

[@villimagg]

#AskGMBNTech I just found out about Reach Adjustment Headsets and I need it. Problem is I don't know what to look for, what to look out for, and where to buy these accessories. Can you please help? This is obviously because the reach on my current bike is too short and I'm trying to not go for the "long" stem solution even though my stem is 45 mm and I will probably also get a 50 mm stem plus a wider handlebar. Thank you!

[@keananconnor4221]

Ok now how about we move to the bottom bracket /crank,pedals.

[@dynamitegamer2.05]

I changed my bearing 2 times in a month bcz it was torn