Grease for Open/Unsealed Bearings - Recommendations?

[Nessism1]

Headset bearings on bikes usually get index like that either form severe over tightening or from extensive use on an indoor stationary trainer.

Any half decent grease and a properly adjusted preload and the headsets last for years if not decades.

I know better than to overtighten, and I don't ride a trainer much.

Back when I was riding big miles, and experiencing too many damaged headsets to suit my sensibilities, I bought a Chris King headset for my bike, and problem solved. King headsets are legendary for this reason. They have gotten crazy expensive these days, though. After several years, the grease in the King dried out, so I cleaned it out and added fresh. The bearings were perfect. I've never seen another headset that didn't indent the races. It pretty much happens to all of them...other than high-end headsets like King.

 

[Carlostrece]

How do you know what the preload is supposed to be? We always just guess because there's no repair manual for my Golden Buzzaround 3 wheel scooter. Golden (and other mobility scooter companies) guard repair info/specs and repair manuals as proprietary info they only sell to their dealers. They're John Deereing me.

I'm supposed to only get it serviced by a dealer, but my cousin and I just wing it and guess how much preload.

He tightens the bearing race/cup nut as much as it can be without causing resistance to turning steering column. If anything, we might be erring on the side of not being tight enough because a few weeks later it needs to be tightened a little more. Then it's good for a few years (until it wears out).

We seem to be getting decent results, but we are just guessing and there's no service manual available.

Advice from bicycle, scooter, or motorcyle mechanics would be appreciated. How much should we tighten the preload (when we have no torque specs)?

 

[Nessism1]

Sounds like you guys are doing it right. Tighten just enough to eliminate a clunk/movement when braking. I'm amazed that your headset isn't indented. Maybe because of the geometry of the scooter, and the low weight on the front wheel?

 

[Carlostrece]

I know better than to overtighten, and I don't ride a trainer much.

Back when I was riding big miles, and experiencing too many damaged headsets to suit my sensibilities, I bought a Chris King headset for my bike, and problem solved. King headsets are legendary for this reason. They have gotten crazy expensive these days, though. After several years, the grease in the King dried out, so I cleaned it out and added fresh. The bearings were perfect. I've never seen another headset that didn't indent the races. It pretty much happens to all of them...other than high-end headsets like King.

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Too bad you're so far away from me. If you were closer, you could help me figure out if my mobility scooter could have a fully upgraded headset. I only know how to upgrade the balls (by using highend bicycles balls instead of cheap Chinese mobility scooter balls).

I don't know how to find compatible cups/races or if they exist that would fit my mobility scooter. My cousin is a reasonable skilled DIY auto mechanic. He's never worked on a bicycle. I was a slightly skilled DIY motorcycle guy. I did once replace headtube bearings in a motorcycle. At this point most of our headtube experience is with my mobility scooter. We learn as we go. There is no scooter repair manual available for non dealers.

Though maybe upgrading my balls would be good enough. It's always my balls that fail. My races have never failed yet and are now 3 years into their 3rd set of balls. My races are now old enough that they should be replaced next time my cousin replaces balls.

 

[buck91]

I, and everyone I ever knew, adjusts headsets by feel. Tighten up until slack is gone when rocking it back and forth then loosen as much as possibly then tighten the slack out. Done gently in tiny increments until.... perfect. It'll be harder to get it quite as perfect if you don't have a brake to hold but still can be done fairly easily.

I usually find that the last tiny gnat's hair of perfection is best accomplish while backing the top cone off into the locking nut.

 

[facility1]

finger tight with wheel off, and up off ground ,turning back and forth until no play ,but not feeling gritty or binding.

 

[Carlostrece]

I, and everyone I ever knew, adjusts headsets by feel. Tighten up until slack is gone when rocking it back and forth then loosen as much as possibly then tighten the slack out. Done gently in tiny increments until.... perfect. It'll be harder to get it quite as perfect if you don't have a brake to hold but still can be done fairly easily.

I usually find that the last tiny gnat's hair of perfection is best accomplish while backing the top cone off into the locking nut.

That sounds like approximately what we've been doing. I especially like the advice about it in increments. I don't think we were doing fine enough increments, nor enough increments. That's probably why he had to tighten it a little more a few weeks later.

 

[Carlostrece]

finger tight with wheel off, and up off ground ,turning back and forth until no play ,but not feeling gritty or binding.

That's been our goal, but your precise instructions will help us finetoon it. Especially the part about "wheel off and scooter up off ground". I don't recall if my cousin did that detail. He probably did.

 

[willbur]

That's been our goal, but your precise instructions will help us finetoon it. Especially the part about "wheel off and scooter up off ground". I don't recall if my cousin did that detail. He probably did.

you want to tighten top cap preload so all play is removed and then some more. That "some more" is to eliminate false tightness due to grease taking up space, and then loosen to no play point. Check for play by grabbing brakes to lock wheel and then rock wheel back and forth as hard as you can on pavement. When there is no discernable play in handle bars, you are good to go. Lift wheel off ground and let it swing back and forth with no load. If it does without binding anywhere, bearings are adjusted (and no need to post a billion posts LOL)