Easton EC90 SL fork nut slipping?

[Bob Ross]

My wife has a bike with an Easton EC90 SL fork. Since it is a travel bike built with S&S frame couplers, the top cap gets unscrewed whenever we remove the stem from the steerer for packing.

For the first ~4 years that she owned the bike removing the top cap was a non-event: Unscrew the bolt, & try not to lose the spring and washers. Done, no problemo.

But the last 2 times we travelled we've encountered a frustrating new development: The star nut equivalent (I'm guessing this is what Easton referred to as the ITT™ anchor nut) is no longer staying in position inside the steerer. Upon unscrewing the top cap bolt this anchor nut (which looks like a flat silver 1-1/8" diameter disc w/ a threaded hole in the center) slips down inside the steerer, and it's a real PIA to get it back out and in place when we re-attach the top cap bolt.

So my question is, is this broken, or is it just that the friction that held that nut in place when new has finally succumbed to age? I.e., was there originally something besides just friction that held the nut in place?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

[Hindmost]

I installed one of these forks a couple of months ago, it went together pretty slickly, and already my memory is hazy.

Iirc, there is an o-ring around the ITT nut that holds the nut in position within the threaded steerer. That is the magic; does yours still have an o-ring?

[pdmtong]

the "star nut" equivalent is that silver disc and all the friction is being generated by the rubber o-ring. The rubber ring has worn down due to constant removal/installation - which would not be the case with most one-tim non-travel set and forget set ups.

fix is easy - buy the enve style compression plug. this is a better design anyways.
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=49889

[tigoat]

You probably have an older model fork without a threaded steerer tube. Newer Easton carbon forks have threads inside the tube so the "starnut" can be screwed directly into it without relying on fiction hold of the old style expander plug. As suggested, just replace the whole cap assembly (nut and cap) with a different unit. That ENVE expander linked above is okay but not as good as the one from Specialized, which is also a lot less expensive. Actually, most expander plugs should work just fine for your application.

[pdmtong]

I thought the specialized version is out of production. Is it now possible to get one? Same idea as enve but longer meaning more grip surface area

[tigoat]

These anchor expander plugs should be available at a local dealer. Specialized's version is not just longer but thinner, lighter, and will require less torque to tighten to stay put. ENVE's version looks to be very high quality but the top and bottom inserts are very thick and it also requires more torque to hold tight. I have been playing with various expander plugs for a few years going back to those earlier ones for Ouzo Pro forks and none of them work as good as Specialized's version.