MTB Diagnosis

[pwntifex]

Not sure which section to put this in actually
Anyway, was out on my mtb earlier and after a couple of casual kerb jumps and a bit of rough terrain, the front end suddenly started squealing whenever I turned the bars.

My first thought was 'headstock bearings'. Is this likely to be correct?
Is it an easy job to do on most MTBs? Don't fancy putting it thru the local bike shop, they charge mucho moolah.

Ta
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the warped one: This is a follow up from the thread 'my willy hurts'

[rzren]

I think you're on to something. Check the area around the headstock for hairline cracks or busted welds then pull it apart.

[EuropeanNC30R...]

The two sets of ball race bearings are fairly easy to take out/ clean/replace etc. I had to clean mine after getting mud in there when the seal popped out.

Squealing sounds a bit odd though.

[Dazbo666]

Make sure you rule out an obvious cause like a caught or trapped brake cable
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[KLR600]

Do you have disc brakes? If so give them a good going over.

Working on MTB's is really easy, you only need to undo 5/6 allen key bolts and the forks will drop out. I'd re-grease all the headset bearings and check all around that area but I'd be surprised if it was that causing a squeal.
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[fenton]

Take all the headstock apart, make sure all the bearings are still in place. I know its unlikely, but when i last took the CB apart to spray it i was missing four or five. get a rag and clean out all the inside of the frame. then do the same with the forks. Make sure nothings bent and or missing. Then grease them back up. I know what you mean by its squeaking because i had exactly the same problem but with the GT this time. ( i do tend to rag my bikes ) I did all of the above, and it seemed fine.

If that doesnt work take your wheel hub apart and clean and re grease that. it could be that youve bent the pin.

Fenton
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[KLR600]

Having thought about it a little bit more I realised it could be your headset cups (the ones pressed into the frame) moving very slightly in the frame causing the squealing. The only way to check this though is to replace the headset, perhaps with one that has longer cups that go further into the frame. It's also a bike shop jobbie as they have a special tool for pressing headsets into frames to make sure they go in straight.
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Now: '00 Kawasaki ZRX1100R - Past: '84 Yamaha DT125, '89 Kawasaki KLR600, '97 Yamaha XJ600N
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[pwntifex]

I went up and down the road on it about ten minutes ago, tried everything from sedate riding to throwing it about, but couldn't replicate the sound.

Now that I think about it, it was less of a squealing and more of a sort of rubbing sound, as if the brake pads were locking onto the wheel, but it only happened when the bars were turned. It may have been a trapped cable as Daz mentioned, iuno.

There was a faint sort of hint of it earlier, but nothing major, so I'm not too worried.

I'll have to give it a good going over when I receive all my shiny new bits in the post, though.

Thanks for the advice, you guys. Karma all round!
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the warped one: This is a follow up from the thread 'my willy hurts'

[Cigaro]

I had a similar thing on my MTB, turned out to be a bent front wheel that was binding on the brakes