Walking through the new bike park in Denver, I saw at least a dozen kids on bikes with dangerously loose headset bearings.

It's a basic safety check that takes 30 seconds, and I'm convinced half the parents buying these big-box store bikes have NO idea their kid's steering could literally fall apart.

2 comments

2 Comments

graywright5d ago

Those big box bikes are assembled by overworked seasonal help.

ellis.felix5d ago

You're right about the assembly, but the loose headset is often a factory preload issue, not just the store build. The bearings come from the maker way too loose sometimes. A parent tightening that big top bolt might not know it needs a specific feel, not just cranked down. It's a design flaw on cheap bikes as much as a store problem.