# orca fork expander



## quickKarl (Dec 25, 2004)

have had my orca for 4mths now and love it. but ive been having a problem with keeping the torq for the head set, the expander down in the fork will creep up loosing the torq. and eventually the head set is loose. seems to only happen when rode over rough roads for an extended time, like brick roads. i've tried to torq the expander more the the torq for the headset, but eventually it loosens. ive cleaned the inside of the fork, the expander, even sanded the expander a small amount.
has anyone else had this problem and what have you done?
i've emailed orbea usa for suggestions and asked for a new expander but have not heard back yet..

thanks,
karl


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## bedazzle410 (Sep 26, 2005)

I have a 2006 Orca and have not had any problem with my head set. I understand that the expander is only used to get your iniial preload of your head set. Once you install your stem it holds everything together so that you could take the expander out or loosen it without efecting the pre load on the headset.


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## crisbay (Apr 9, 2006)

I have an Orca 2006 and faced with a similar issues. The expander that came with my fork would never grab the CF steerer tube and I had to change it with Profile Design. Im also under the same belief that once a stem locks on the steering tube, the preload compression cap becomes nothing but an ornamental item.


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## crisbay (Apr 9, 2006)

quickKarl said:


> have had my orca for 4mths now and love it. but ive been having a problem with keeping the torq for the head set, the expander down in the fork will creep up loosing the torq. and eventually the head set is loose. seems to only happen when rode over rough roads for an extended time, like brick roads. i've tried to torq the expander more the the torq for the headset, but eventually it loosens. ive cleaned the inside of the fork, the expander, even sanded the expander a small amount.
> has anyone else had this problem and what have you done?
> i've emailed orbea usa for suggestions and asked for a new expander but have not heard back yet..
> 
> ...


I changed mine to Profile Design, it's a compression cap designed for CF. Also have you ever explored using True Temper Alpha Q Compression Insert?

But really, it's the stem that locks the steerer tube and prevents the headset from getting loose. CF steerers are slippery and they recommend a little bit of sanding on the part of steerer where your stem is positioned.


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## quickKarl (Dec 25, 2004)

thanks for the help, i like the looks of the profile, a lot more contact area than the one i have. i'll get one, reset all and sand steerer for stem. 
thanks all
karl


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## crisbay (Apr 9, 2006)

I'd be curious to know what is Orbea's take on this. Please keep us posted if ever you get a reply from them. If not, I would give them a call. There's guy there by the name of Jason Cranch, he's their Quality Engineer and he seems to be the GO-TO guy when it comes to technical questions about Orbea frames. 'Got to talk to him once when I was looking for various torque specs on Orca.


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