Also, do the whole round. Rotating the fork by 1/8 of the circle. Work slowly and gently, without much force so the steerer tube doesn’t get cut, or damaged. NOTE: If you are not removing bars completely, use care not to kink or damage housing when hanging bars on bike. Mounting a new headset will be explained in a separate article. Now, just a note: after placing a new fork crown race, clean all the excess mounting paste so it doesn’t get mixed with bearing grease. Remove fork crown race from fork. Use the Park Tool CRP-2. For specific use of CRP-2 see Crown Race Removal. A rider opting for an ‘aggressive’ racing position cuts the fork to fit the stem with no gap between the top of the headset and the stem.

If play is present, repeat steps “6” and “7” above until play disappears. Adjustment is finished when there is no play in any position as the fork rotates.

Using the CRP-1

Unthread and remove threaded race. Hold fork to prevent it falling to the ground. Note orientation of bearing retainer (if any). We researched other brands and found that they were appalling quality straight out of the box and often more expensive too. What’s in a headset? This is an external cup headest. Right to left: crown race, lower bearing, lower bearing cup, upper bearing cup, upper bearing, cap or “dust seal”.

Finance is subject to application, financial circumstances and borrowing history. Performance Cycling Limited FRN: 720557 trading as Tredz are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are a credit broker not a lender – credit is subject to status and affordability and is provided by Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC. Terms & Conditions Apply. These two gentlemen could not be any more accommodating if they tried, quality service that is a rare find in today’s crazy world, I can not recommend this company enough! The exception to this rule is for threaded headsets that use sealed bearings which are much less sensitive to the amount of torque applied to the top race. CAN I USE A THREADED FORK WITH A THREADLESS HEADSET? Here you can see a set of bearing cups pressed into the head tube with a second set alongside it for reference. A threaded top race screws onto the fork threads, then tightens onto the bearings which are either caged in a retainer or run free in the race.

Headset Removal

Engage sliding press plate onto hex shaft, and push plate upward until headset cup meets head tube. Release lever. Sliding press plate lever must be engaged in one of seven hex shaft notches. Pull downward on lower press plate to test engagement. The key to making a threaded headset work properly is by tightening the top race or preloading the bearing, noting the point where fork rotation becomes stiffer. Use a hammer at end of RT-1 and drive cup from head tube. Use care as cup approaches end of tube, as tool may fall to ground on last blow of the hammer. The biggest job is frame refurbishment. You need to remove all components; strip the bike down to the frame, then take it to a paint shop

The result is even better when you add an attractive new stem. There is still much work to be done on this bike however. A rider wishing a more upright position opts for a longer steerer, filling the gap between stem and headset with one or more spacers. Put the fork on a wooden plank/surface, so it doesn’t get scratched or damaged. An old towel can be added beneath – just in case.Place upper headset cup on top of head tube. Hold one cup guide onto top threaded press plate and lower assembly through top headset cup. Headset bearing races are held by an interference fit into the head tube. An interference fit occurs when parts are held together by internal and external surfaces forced together. There must be a slight diameter difference between the two pressed surfaces. Typically, the pressed headset race outside diameter should be between 0.1mm and 0.25mm larger than the head tube inside diameter. When the cups are pressed, the head tube will flex and enlarge slightly to allow the cups to press. This tension is what keeps the cups tight in the frame. When replacing the headset (i.e. fork, or steerer bearings), removing the fork crown race (fork cone) can be problematic. Especially if the fork crown is wider than the race, so it can’t be punched off from the bottom. This post will explain the short and simple procedure and note the needed tools. A bike stem is not inserted into the steerer but slides onto the steerer. Tightening the stem bolts secures the stem to the steerer. A messy pile of components fit under the headset umbrella. Beginning from the base, there’s the crown race. This is a thin ring that slides onto the fork’s steerer tube and sits against the fork crown, allowing a specific headset to interact with a fork. The lower bearing in a headset can have a different shape depending on how it’s designed, so the included crown race “pairs” these two components.