Need to know how to fix tight steering on a bike? One of the more difficult bike maintenance tasks is fixing overly tight steering on a bike. Tight steering can be a symptom of any number of problems and, generally, should be dealt with by an experienced bike technician. However, it isn't impossible to loosen up the tight steering on a bike yourself. With a few steps and the right tools, and a lot of patience, your bike will be handling like a charm in no time.
-
The headset. Take the top screws on your tube out while making sure the fork doesn't drop out when you remove the final top screw. Keep a firm grip on your handle bars and remove them. Tap the forks with a hammer and a block of wood to get them loosened up, and then remove the spacers. You should see your bike's bearings. If you've replaced any of these parts before you should know what you are doing.
-
Get your bearings. Now that you are staring at your bike's innards, take a water-proof grease and grease your bearings up. Make sure you get it not only on the bearings but around the inside where your bearings go. Be generous; you can always wipe off the excess after your tight steering is fixed.
-
All together now. Now follow everything you did and do it backwards. You may need some help holding things in place while you do. Put the fork, spacers and headset back in and make sure your handlebars are on top. Tighten the screws carefully, don't strip them, and make sure your top plate is snug. You don't want a lot of play with any of these parts, you just want to make sure that the bearings are greased up enough to remove the friction of the seal. Make sure everything is aligned and safe and take it for a spin! Your tight steering problems should be a thing of the past.
