Carb7008@cs.com wrote:
> In summary: Rollers; slight preload. Ball/Cup/Cone; zero preload/zero
> freeplay.
And therein lies the rub! How are you going to tell exactly when you
have zero preload and zero play? In my experience, it's very hard to
tell when the wheel in mounted in the fork due to the extra inertia.
I've found that with the wheel out I can more easily feel any drag or
faint indexing when turning the fork.
A couple of years ago I was shocked to discover that my NR headset showed symptoms of indexing when tested as above. I was ready to begin looking for a replacement headset. However, after I backed off the adjustment less than half a flat, the indexing was gone and there was still no discernible play. The bike also became more stable riding hands-off, so obviously it had been adjusted too tight. -- John Betmanis Woodstock, Ontario Canada