# Creaking headsets on Giant TCR Advanced



## bknut (Feb 27, 2010)

I was online looking for others who were having issues with creaking headsets on the 2009 TCR Advanced and came across a thread from 1/12/2010 "headset that wont stop creaking" posted by markrider. I have been working with my local bike shop that I purchased my bike from. We have discovered that the lower bearing cartridge floats on the lower bearing race and under load, i.e. standing up and sprinting or climbing hills, or sitting and climbing, the bearing rocking back and forth can create the creaking noise. The bearing has actually left marks (indentations) on the steerer tube. We have made a temp fix that holds the bearing in place (a shim) but has to be replaced every 300 or 400 miles. We are fairly confident that this is the source of the noise because when we installed the temp fix, the noise stops for 300 or 400 miles but I was extremely interested in the info about the larger frames with the longer steerer tubes ~ as I ride a medium/large ~ because this may be a contributing factor. Any more info you guys can give me on any repairs you've done or info you've found would be greatful as we've been closely working with an engineer at Giant to have a permanent fix for 2009 and possibly 2010 models.


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## roadboy (Apr 1, 2003)

I may be missing something but the bearing should not be "floating" If everything is tight then the bearing should be held in place between the headset cup and the race on the fork and it should not be moving. 
I have a 2009 TCR Advanced ISP bike, size medium and i just had it apart last week for cleaning. When I built it up I did apply grease to the cups and outside of the headset bearings and have never had a creaking issue. I have seen this on other bikes Tarmacs and Madones as well were the larger lower bearing can sometimes creak because water gets in there, thats were a light coat of grease has always fixed the problem. 

Also are you refering to the alloy steerer or carbon steerer forks in the TCR lineup.


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## bknut (Feb 27, 2010)

On the 2009 TCR Advanced, the fork has a carbon steerer tube ~ the diff btw the SL and the standard Advanced is the lower bearing on the SL rides on an aluminum cone whereas the non SL rides on a carbon fiber resin cone.There is a high degree of irregularity on that resin cone. With that said, I have 4 fairly large spacers underneath my handlebar stem and we r going to try to remove some of those spacers to eliminate some of the flex at top _ to see if this translates into less flex in the entire steerer tube. I will discuss with my bike shop the greasing issue & give that a shot.
Overall, I love this bike - it is a phenominal ride. It is that these creaks can get a bit annoying - i worry if i am doing damage when I hear the noise. I really appreciate the feedback.


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## UrbanPrimitive (Jun 14, 2009)

I'm rather concerned about the fact that the bearing is rocking enough to leave visible marks on your steerer tube. That's supposed to be a fixed relationship. I wonder if you got a lemon off the line and something is off spec.


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## bknut (Feb 27, 2010)

We were concerned about that too but the Giant rep said that according to his info, it was within his specs. So the owner of the bike shop has had a few conversations recently with an engineer at Giant. This might be a design issue with the TCR Advanced forks. We have noticed the bearing surface on the fork is irregular and it seems to be hit or miss with various forks. The obvious easy fix is to try another set of forks but getting a set of forks from Giant is like pulling teeth. The rep doesnt want to admit that there is a problem. If this is a reoccuring problem on other bikes, like we believe it is, I would like to find a permanent fix & pass it along to those who are also having this problem. We have gone so far as to completely replace the headset which was a cane creek headset to a fsa just to eliminate any possiblility of this being a bearing issue.
Thank you again for the input, I really appreciated it. If anyone has anything else to add, that will also be appreciated. I am going to try removing the spacer from under handlebar on tuesday and see if this changes anything.


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## piranha333 (Feb 7, 2010)

Just wanted to throw in my two cents! I have the exact same problem!!! Giant TCR advanced. I have the alloy steerer tube on the forks though. I hear some creaking sometimes and about every 200 miles or so, the steering seems to bind too. My local bike shop has taken out the headset three times to clean and it never seems to work perfect. I was looking at an FSA headset to replace it. Also, I have removed all the spacers from the bottom of the handle bar for a race position but still have the binding problem. Only every so often I hear the creaking now though.


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## Guest (Apr 27, 2010)

I have the same problem (2009 TCR Advanced w/ alloy steerer). I took it in today because I also hear loud creaks from the BB.


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## piranha333 (Feb 7, 2010)

I brought my bike to the LBS and they tried putting a spacer between the top bearing and the Cane Creek cone spacer. This put about a 3mm gap between the cone spacer and frame. It looked like crap and didn't help much. They threw some lube in there and after 100 miles, the binding and creaking was back. So, I brought it in again...they replaced the headset bearings and took out the spacer. WORKS LIKE A CHAMP! 140 miles and still smooth as silk! Hope this helps you guys out!


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