Loose headset cups after 200 miles bothered me for months

I kept chasing a knock in the front end of my gravel bike, replaced the bearings twice and even the fork, turns out the cups were just barely loose in the frame. I finally checked with a torque wrench set to 5 Nm instead of guessing, and now I always grab the crown and rock the bike before every test ride. Anyone else had a headset that only showed up as noise on rough pavement?

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fiona_clark26d ago

Feel for you man, that knock drove me crazy for two whole seasons on my hardtail. I swapped hubs, checked spokes, even re-greased the whole steerer tube, and it turned out the crown race was sitting just a hair off center. Now I do the exact same grab and rock test before any ride, and I also put a thin layer of grease on the cup edges so I can feel any tiny movement with my fingers. Rough pavement really exposes the smallest slop, it's like the bike only talks to you when you're already tired and frustrated.