Stiff Klein headset follow-up

"Matt O'Toole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

A few days ago I posted a question about a binding headset in my new Quantum
Pro. It seemed too stiff, and being pressed in there was no way to adjust it.

Well, I finally got the bike on the road today, and all is well. The headset is
the same, but it doesn't cause any problems. in fact it may be the sweetest
handling road bike I've ever ridden. No hands, no problem, at anything greater
than walking speed.

Matt O.

This is a pretty common phenomenom with the Klein headsets. Usually
they turn much smoother once they are "broken in". If not it might be
that excessivly used Loctite entered the bearing or sticks on the seal
between inner and outer bearing ring. You can look on top of the upper
bearing if you remove the stem and the plastic cover and check if you
see any Loctite there. Not much else you can do though other than
removing and cleaning or changing the bearings. But i would wait and
see what happens.

And of course this is one of the sweetest handling road bikes: Nothing
else even comes close 😉

Enjoy the ride like i do since 8 years now 🙂

Carsten

Carsten said:

This is a pretty common phenomenom with the Klein headsets.

So I hear, after poking around the web a bit.

Quoted message said:

Usually
they turn much smoother once they are "broken in". If not it might be
that excessivly used Loctite entered the bearing or sticks on the seal
between inner and outer bearing ring. You can look on top of the upper
bearing if you remove the stem and the plastic cover and check if you
see any Loctite there.

I don't see any. Actually it feels like the bearings aren't pressed in
straight. It's OK on center (though stiffer than it should be), then stiffens
considerably at about 20-30 degrees off center. Of course this is out of the
normal steering range, so it doesn't matter much. I'm happy as long as I can
ride no-hands easily, which isn't a problem.

Quoted message said:

Not much else you can do though other than
removing and cleaning or changing the bearings. But i would wait and
see what happens.

It really does seem fine on the road. I understand these bearings can't be
serviced without destroying them, and that Klein sells a special tool kit for
replacing them.

I find it weird that the steerer is pressed in too.

I know there's a German company making normal-headset adapters for Klein frames,
if it ever comes to that.

Quoted message said:

And of course this is one of the sweetest handling road bikes: Nothing
else even comes close 😉

I'm finding that out, that it's even better than I remembered. Now, if I ever
get a custom frame, I know whose geometry to copy!

Matt O.

Carsten Bueker said:

Quoted message said:

A few days ago I posted a question about a binding headset in my
new Quantum Pro. It seemed too stiff, and being pressed in there
was no way to adjust it. Well, I finally got the bike on the road
today, and all is well. The headset is the same, but it doesn't
cause any problems. in fact it may be the sweetest handling road
bike I've ever ridden. No hands, no problem, at anything greater
than walking speed.

Quoted message said:

This is a pretty common phenomenom with the Klein headsets. Usually
they turn much smoother once they are "broken in". If not it might
be that excessivly used Loctite entered the bearing or sticks on the
seal between inner and outer bearing ring. You can look on top of
the upper bearing if you remove the stem and the plastic cover and
check if you see any Loctite there. Not much else you can do though
other than removing and cleaning or changing the bearings. But i
would wait and see what happens.

I don't like the sound of that. What is "breaking in?" and if so, why
does it stop breaking. Bearing adjustments take place in a metal
support, metallically connected to the frame, so nothing should yield.
The only thing like this may occur in bearings that are filled solidly
with thick grease, but even that is not something one feels. It just
makes a mess when the grease gets pushed out.

Quoted message said:

And of course this is one of the sweetest handling road bikes:
Nothing else even comes close 😉

Quoted message said:

Enjoy the ride like i do since 8 years now 🙂

What is it that sets this ride apart from any other reasonably fitting
bicycle? If you ride as I do, over the last several 100K miles, you
may assess this differently.

Jobst Brandt
[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

What is it that sets this ride apart from any other reasonably fitting
bicycle? If you ride as I do, over the last several 100K miles, you
may assess this differently.

Handling characteristics are a personal preference, but Klein has hit the magic
combination for me.

Matt O.

Matt O'Toole said:

Quoted message said:

What is it that sets this ride apart from any other reasonably
fitting bicycle? If you ride as I do, over the last several 100K
miles, you may assess this differently.

Quoted message said:

Handling characteristics are a personal preference, but Klein has
hit the magic combination for me.

That's fine, but my question is, how do you feel that and what part of
riding the bicycle do you believe is different and why. I've ridden
various bicycles and other than fit and how well the brakes and
shifting works, I can't tell the difference. The only special feature
I have is long chain stays so that at my height, I don't do
involuntary wheelies on trails.

Jobst Brandt
[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Matt O'Toole said:

Quoted message said:

What is it that sets this ride apart from any other reasonably
fitting bicycle? If you ride as I do, over the last several 100K
miles, you may assess this differently.

Quoted message said:

Handling characteristics are a personal preference, but Klein has
hit the magic combination for me.

That's fine, but my question is, how do you feel that and what part of
riding the bicycle do you believe is different and why. I've ridden
various bicycles and other than fit and how well the brakes and
shifting works, I can't tell the difference. The only special feature
I have is long chain stays so that at my height, I don't do
involuntary wheelies on trails.

Well, compared to my previous frame, the Klein is a lot more stable at both high
and low speeds. It tracks straight and doesn't wobble because of sloppy body
english or pushing big gears. It also turns in more precisely, rather than sort
of flopping into a turn. I find it much more confidence inspiring on steep
mountain descents, diving into hairpins, etc. I can ride no-hands at any speed,
from less than 10 MPH to whatever. And I have yet to find a shimmy, which all
bikes seem to have at some point.

I'm sure the actual difference is a combination of head angle and trail that
just works. The wheelbase is a tad longer too, but I doubt that's noticeable.
My previous frame could probably be improved with more trail (less fork offset),
but the question is how much.

I have ridden many bikes over the years. Some steer sweetly, like my Klein,
while others do not. Some are ill-handling because of poor steering geometry,
or excessive frame flex -- I once had a Vitus with skinny aluminum tubes that
was scary on mountain descents. No matter how careful I was going into a turn,
I could never be sure where I'd come out.

Anyway, for me at least, Klein got this one right.

Matt O.