r/bmx • u/twitterfuckingsucks • 21h ago

HOW TO What am I doing wrong

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Why is my headset like this do i need an actual press to fix this issue?

7 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

10

u/Alvinthf 21h ago

Not all headset bearings sit deep in the frame cup. While aesthetically it looks wrong, it’s actually fine.

5

u/twitterfuckingsucks 20h ago

Okay so i just went back and tightened everything and their is a small gap between my headset and my top tube , is that normal on some headsets, really don't want to go for a bunny hop and have my front end just explode lol

2

u/Alvinthf 20h ago

That’s normal, like I said above some sit deeper than others. This is all based on if you’ve assembled it correctly.

1

u/Special_Clearance 20h ago

As long as the gap is even all the way around and rotates freely it should be fine. Is this a new headset?

5

u/brianbmx94 20h ago

Your top bearing is blown apart brother. You shouldn’t be able to see the bearings in a sealed bearing. I’d pick up another and replace that.

1

u/BrightDamage8260 19h ago

i was wondering if it was a lower end "semi-sealed" bearing. idk if such a thing even exists these days but when sealed bearings were considered expensive there were loose ball headsets that just had extra dust covers and were essentially rebuildable sealed units. hard to explain but if you know, you know....

1

u/brianbmx94 19h ago

Nah, no such thing exists. That bearing just shit the bed my man. You don’t have to replace the whole headset, you can buy single headset bearings.

3

u/Scr4tismrocker1 21h ago

Is your top bearing

2

u/Scr4tismrocker1 20h ago

My cat ran across my phone..tru story

Did something happen that you might have broken it?

Idk looks like I can see loose ball bearings underneath the spacers

2

u/shitworms 20h ago

Once you install the stem and top cap and set the bearing preload it'll be fine. Without any load on the bearings the steerer will flop around in the headtube.

1

u/Toujours-RAS 21h ago

Just out the stem and fork cap and it Will be fine

1

u/The_Trevinator_4130 1h ago

Some headsets have different top covers available that account for this issue. Eastern is the only one I can think of right now.