You’re riding along, taking in the scenery, enjoying life, but something seems weird with your e-moto. Something feels rattly. You brake and feel a very slight jolt that you haven’t noticed before. It’s a bit unnerving. You accelerate and it happens again, a very subtle, small jolt. Intrigued, you brake again, this time trying to pinpoint where it’s coming from.
You hone in on the handlebars, and more specifically, the headset. It’s rattled loose. You’re kind of relieved. You know it’s only a few simple tools to fix, but you’re thinking, ‘Is there a better way?’ Let’s head back to your garage, walk you through fixing the headset wobble, and explain why and how to stop it from happening again.
Why the Surron headset becomes loose
Surron headset freeplay occurs when the stem mount loosens, or the stock star nut that’s inside the steering tube loses its grip. This can happen over time, especially if you do lots of wheelies or stoppies. As the star nut is only held in by ‘gripping’ the inside of the tube, it can get weak over time and needs to be tightened up.
As with any slight wobble or free play, you need to get it fixed as soon as possible. If you leave your headset loose, you can risk damage to the steering tube, or worse case, lose your ability to steer while riding. That would suck! Fixing it is simple, here’s how:
How to tighten a loose headset on your Surron
Once you feel a slight freeplay in your handlebars, you need to get onto fixing this as soon as possible to avoid any long-term damage. The Surron LBX comes with a stock standard stem mount, but many used bikes have been modified with a direct mount stem riser. Let’s go over how to adjust both types of headset on an LBX.
Here is a great video that explains how to fix a loose headset:
If you’re not sure which stem mount you have on your LBX, take note in the video of what the differences are between the stock standard stem mount and the direct mount.
Standard stem mount
- Loosen both side bolts on the mount
- Loosen the top fork crowns
- Loosen the middle pinch bolt
- Tighten the top lock which grabs the star lock inside
- Re-tighten what you’ve loosened in steps 1-3
Direct mount stem riser with stem lock:
- Loosen to the top fork crowns on both sides
- Loosen the middle pinch bolt
- Tighten the top lock with T45 Torx, and tighten it until it’s just tight. Make sure you still have free movement
- Tighten the fork crowns and the middle pinch bolt
- Check handlebars are straight
What does a stem lock do?
A stem lock replaces the somewhat flimsy star nut inside the steering tube. Instead of something gripping onto the inner tube, a stem lock firmly clamps down from the top to the bottom of the steering tube.
This gives a much stronger clamp to attach your handlebars to your steering tube. There is less chance of getting any free play. You still need to check these bolts periodically, but it won’t be as often as the stock mount.
TB Electric does a great job explaining what a stem lock does in this video:
How to install a stem lock
- Remove the top of the stem.
- Use a screwdriver or similar and hit out the star nut. Let it drop out the bottom of the steer tube.
- Remove the fender and allow the star nut to fall out.
- Place the spacers on the steer tube. Make sure they are above the top of the steer tube by 2-3mm.
- Put anti-seize on the top bolt.
- Put the top bolt in the top of the steer tube and put the bottom part through the bottom. Tighten together.
- Loosen the top triple clamp bolts and middle pinch bolt.
- Tighten the stem lock until it is firm.
- Retighten the triple clamp bolts and the middle pinch bolt.
- Replace the fender. You will need a spacer to allow room for the stem lock. This should be included in the stem lock kit.
What is a stem riser and what does it do?
A common ergonomic upgrade many riders do is to upgrade the direct mount stem for a riser. This one from GritShift gives you a 2” rise, which places the handlebars in a better position, especially if you’re taller or stand up on the pegs often. You can use the stem riser with either the stock star nut or a stem lock.
The stem lock gives a much firmer ‘gripper’ connection and is the best option for strength. However, it is possible to still use the stock star nut. Be aware that you’ll need to tighten the headset more often with the star nut.
Once you get your stem situation locked down and your bars raised up, your LBX will look and feel like a much more substantial piece of kit. You’ll no longer have to worry about the flimsy stock stem setup leaving you with an unsteerable bike several miles into a trail. Because e-motos are made for riding, not pushing!
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