Winspace G2 Headset Spacer Nightmare

[3aughtmaxon]

I am in the process of assembling a Winspace G2 frame and I am having difficulties getting the headset sufficiently tight. I realized that likely this spacer needs to be included, but it has an odd shape and it's not clear to me where. Pulling my hair out over this, and the spacer in the position of the second photo does not seat properly. When I actually seat it all, the spacer in this position creates too much space between the cover and the bearing.

It's possible that I deformed the spacer too much that it's not seating. It's also possible it's in the wrong location or it's not actually supposed to be included. Has anyone had experience with a similar headset?

[Mr.Gib]

Ha, I too am building up a G2 for Mrs. Gib right now. Sorry can't help with your specific situation as my build is a parts bin special with mechanical shifting and will be only semi internal. I looked at that conical headset cover and that little ring and was glad I didn't have to use them.

Did you make sure that the expander plug is well anchored in the steerer tube? If it's not holding well it can cause issues.

It really is a shame that Winspace does not have online assembly manuals. There are a few tricky areas of the frame and it would be nice to know the details without pulling it apart. The cable guides are particularely unusual.

[3aughtmaxon]

Mr. Gib-- thanks for your reply.

Winspace advised me to remove the silver ring and use only the black ring. That did not solve the issue. I pressed the expander plug in but it is still quite loose. Maybe I need to push it farther in? (EDIT: Pushed it in super far, no dice)

[Mr.Gib]

Oh yeah, the silver split ring is for the other low headseat cover only. The black one for the conical integrated headset cover.

Re the expander plug - it's got a lip that rests on the top of the fork steerer cut. It can't go any deeper than that. Be sure to remove the round top cap and pre-load bolt. That will give access to the huge (10mm?) hex bolt that tensions the expander against the inside of the fork steerer. I found the expander to be very well designed and manufactured, and was able to get it well anchored. Also make sure that you have enough stem or spacers above top of the fork steerer to allow for adequate pre-load. If the pre-load bolt bottoms out before it gets adequate tension, you will never get it right.

[3aughtmaxon]

Thank you for the clarification. So the plug is not supposed to go under the conical headset cover like I have it in the photo? It looks like the play in the headset is coming from the gap between the split ring and the D-shaped steerer tube. I figured the plug needed to fit in there to make it tight.

[Mr.Gib]

Not sure I fully understand you. Once the steerer is cut to the desired length, insert and secure the expansion plug. Then proceed with headset assembly.

The headset will not feel properly secure until the pre-load bolt in the top cap is adequately torqued (assuming all parts are assembled correctly). Unlike with some round steerer framesets, the D shape allows for more slop before the pre-load is set. In the case of my frame, the top bearing seat is a bit oversize, which accentuated this play. Though I had to tighten the pre-load a bit more than I wanted, final assembly did produce an adequately solid fork frame connection. Not the best, but good enough (for my 48kg wife).

When you are done, sit on the top tube, squeeze the front brake and rock back and forth with one hand wrapped around the head tube/headset junction. That will tell you if you have a problem.

Good luck, my build came out very nicely - it is a really nice frameset.

[Mr.Gib]

Hmm, are you referring to the tuning fork looking thing when you say plug? Regardless, AFAIK that piece does support the stem clamping forces and should be installed. It also has a small lip at the top, which like the expander plug, will sit at the top of the cut edge of the steerer.

[3aughtmaxon]

I was indeed confused on the terminology, thanks for the clarification.

For any wayward googlers, the issue was actually that I didn't cut down the steerer tube enough below the spacers. I probably had about 2.5 mm but it appeared to need it more. I torqued the top cap to 10 Nm.

We'll see how it holds up. Despite that, it feels ok for now but I'm not particularily stoked how tempramental the D-shaped steerer is. I'll be bikepacking and riding this rig hard next summer. For now... time for the road.

[Mr.Gib]

Also make sure that you have enough stem or spacers above top of the fork steerer to allow for adequate pre-load. If the pre-load bolt bottoms out before it gets adequate tension, you will never get it right.

the issue was actually that I didn't cut down the steerer tube enough below the spacers. I probably had about 2.5 mm but it appeared to need it more.

Glad I wasn't wasting your time.

We'll see how it holds up. Despite that, it feels ok for now but I'm not particularily stoked how tempramental the D-shaped steerer is.

Should not be a problem. Not my favourite either but many D shape steerers doing just fine. Just make bloody sure that the headset properly torqued - zero play and not overtightened.