Creak chasing - CSU vs. headset

Try a different headset and/or fork.  FWIW, I have had 2 Zeb Ultimate CSU's start to creak.  I sourced a zeb select chassis and scavanaged the parts I needed to get a non creaking csu and then sold the creaking/leftover parts in the zeb select on fb dumpsterfire marketplace for 250 bucks.  Each time, I've been able to replace a csu for under 200 cash out of pocket.  

I would try tightening the headset further - grease the threads and tighten it 1/8-1/4 turn at a time, bouncing the wheel on the ground a bit too to help it settle in. if its too tight it will be noticeably hard to turn so as long as its not that far you'll be fine. It's become super common that people only tighten them as far as "no play" but under load the parts can still shift and move, which causes creaks and damage to the steerer. I've had to replace a few steerer tubes recently as it seems to happen way more than it used to.

King headsets also have a lot of parts made to tight tolerances so will bind easier if not allowed to settle in - you shouldn't need crazy amounts of grease on the surfaces though. Also check your steerer doesn't already look like this-

if that doesn't help then take the fork out, clamp it super tight in a vice and pull it back and forward to see if you can make it creak out of the bike

Yeah big alloy bolt in to alloy threads can have a lot of friction which can give inaccurate preload for sure

If anyone owns any Specialized frame with their adjustable headset cups (SJ, Levos) and has a better solution to the recurring headset creaking, I'm all ears. 

I've resorted to upgrading to CK Dropset 5 and still persists. 

It requires a reset (disassembly, clean and relube everything) every two weeks or less. 

Ps. Tightening the HS preload is the best "steering damper" ghetto tech and it's free. :D

Lots of teflon grease and nice and tight seems to be the best you can do. The angled cups seem to be the worst, as the alignment isn't perfect plus once it starts I think the frame gets permanently deformed. So definitely a case of prevention is better then cure but that doesn't help much if its already started, but the fact the cups just loosely sit in the frame means it will always be an issue sadly

Ditched the SWAT preload system. Could not get it to preload tight enough without binding the SWAT tool release. Tried other variations that worked well with my DH bikes (especially during the dark days of the Angleset fad) including the headlock style preload system. Worked for a little while like all other system but eventually realigns under heavy loading -every two weeks or less. Pretty frustrating for an otherwise dead silent Levo. Tried every grease viscosity, plumber tape, red loctite, diesel (j/k).. no long term solution. Oh well... High performance shit require higher maintenance (conceded)

Yup. I've always run it on zero cup which has been better than the angled but still gets displaced... Oh well.. 

sounds dumb, but check under crown race for no dirt/debris

ultimate racing UR0906 solves the 'sit in place' headset cups like specialize use.

Sometimes removing, cleaning and regreasing the top caps from the stanchions can help.

Ordered... what's the worst that could happen? Continued creaking? :D

Thanks. I will update after this goop gets on my HS assembly. 

I would VERY MUCH generalize the CSU creak as a sharp sound like a twig snapping, once or twice, a little inconsistent in the force and sound. The headset sound is a little muted comparably, more metallic and more consistent in tone and when it happens. This makes sense to me, maybe no one else, but if it's a ZEB I'd say 80% chance it's the CSU. 

Similar to what was suggested above by TheSuspensionLabNZ, but a more simplified/hacked way of testing is to flip the bike upside down, remove the wheel and axle, then pull the lowers in opposite directions fore and aft (trying not to put any pressure on the steerer/headtube area). A resulting click/crack sound are probably the CSU. 

I took my Zeb off the bike and wedged the steerer in soft jaws on a vice then tested it fore-aft by hand.  Creaking then pretty well precludes the headset, frame and race.

I was convinced I had a creaking headset or CSU, as the sound seemed to be coming from the front of the bike. Turned out to be from the saddle rail clamp (my background is noise and vibration engineering, so I'm disappointed in myself for being so wrong!). So my advice would be make sure you've ruled out all the other potential culprits (bottom bracket, suspension pivots) as well as hunting down the CSU creak

Put the front wheel tight between your legs and twist the bars to rack the fork - if it creaks it’s the CSU.  If not it’s the headset.

This is the best way to check for creaks between the crown and steerer tube. Creaks can come from between each stanchion and the crown, but you need to drop the lowers to isolate and flex those. Best of luck!

Pull the fork out, clamp the steerer in a vice and yank on the lowers back and forth, this is what we do in a bike shop. If it creaks there then you have your answer. A 2 years old Zeb is likely to have creaky CSU, they all have it eventually unfortunately. 
If it’s the headset, usually a good clean and grease solves the issue 95% of the time

To be fair, I think the goop may have contributed to keeping the creaking at bay for maybe a bit longer than the usual interval.  The creaking came back on. I think at this point, it's just a potential matter of physical interface between the cups/bearings and the actual carbon headtube cup housings. I also think it's just going to be a certainty that it's just going to be a maintenance item that will require TLC. I'm saying it's a certainty because I believe you're asking a lot for the drop-in headset system to stay in place and tight when there are extreme forces applied to them that will eventually have something shift and come loose. It is what is it... Thank god the Levo is a ripper, otherwise, this headset would have been doused in diesel and set on a slow blaze (my OCD talking there). 

Anyway, I was a bit skeptical when I first lathered the Ultimate Racing grease because the viscosity seems "thin" to provide any perceived advantage over other waterproof silicone or polymer grease I've tried before. But I guess it kinda worked..??..?

Ps... did I go overboard this second time around in the goop? LOLz... 

That Ultimate grease should not look like that, It should be a very thick sticky stuff - + it should feel dry because its hard to spread.

I ordered that one specific grease you shared so I don't know.... 

No, it's not from Temu. 

thats so weird, I not long got a new small tub and its super tacky thick - might order anther and see if something changed.
It's the normal PTFE(yes ik bad) lithium like grease, a quick google will show how thick it should be.

This is going to sound odd but have u got a video of it so i can see the consistency?

i bought the same and its very liquidy, looks exactly as in the pictures posted above

I forgot to look at the packaging and maybe it needs to be stirred before use. lol.. Nah.. 

So far, after my goopy reset, I hammered my Levo for a solid 30 mile ride and no creak. 

Weird, They must've changed it or had a bad batch, ill post a photo of mine later, I've been using this stuff since its release like 15 years ago(rc cars) and probably had 15 lots at least and I've never had any being liquidy - It's usually a damn struggle to work with because its so tacky, hard to spread etc

sorry, I do apologize if they've changed it but I only bought a new one in march, it was thick and tacky. 

I quote from the UR release:
"ULTIMATE RACING gearbox Teflon grease is a white and sticky grease made of the best components you can find on the market. Specially formulated to cover the pinions surfaces in contact with a Teflon layer because its high adhesive properties allows the grease layer to stay on the pinions surface ensuring their lubrication even at high revolutions."

its ment to be thick and sticky asf and works so good on small gears such as ring and pinions in RC cars, I used it by accident in MTB when i was chasing a mtb pivot creak, Found it could make a barrier under the bolt heads and you could hammer the bike with a pressure washer and it wouldnt move or let water in.

 

Same. 

I’ve found the Rock N Roll Super Coat grease to be fairly sticky. Similar to the Chris King Silver. I was hoping the UR stuff would be even tackier, but that doesn’t look to be the case.