Step One - Pressing in the Lower Bearing Cupįirst, we’ll have to take apart the bearing cup press, which depending on your specific brand of tool, can be done a number of ways. You can press in both headset cups at once, but we’ve found that cup alignment issues can arise, so, for safety’s sake, we’re going to press them in one at a time. But, don’t rush this step, as it can damage both your frame and your headset. We’re almost done at this point, with only having to press in the new cups and reinstall the fork after this. This is becoming less and less a concern these days, but it’s always good to check, even if you’re using grease made specifically for bicycles. NOTE: If you are working on a carbon frame, make sure your grease is carbon safe. That includes the bearings, the cups (inside and out) and the area in which the upper and lower headset cups rest in the head tube. You’ll want to apply grease to every part that will come in to contact with something. If everything looks good, move on to Step Three. Give your head tube a close look for any cracks or damage, a flashlight or using your phone’s flash here can be useful. Check the cups for any uneven discoloration in the anodizing or cracks. Give the bearings a spin with your fingers to make sure they’re still smooth. Give everything a good wipe-down with a rag to remove the old grease and grit.īefore you put everything back together, you’ll want to make sure it’s all still in good working order. Now that you have all the pieces of your headset successfully removed from your bike, it’s time to thoroughly clean them. Cleaning, Inspecting and Re-Greasing Headset Cups and Bearings Then, following suit with Step Two, give the removal tool a few good whacks and extract the upper cup, remembering to have a hand ready to catch everything. Repeat Step One and insert the headset removal tool, making sure it’s snug against the upper cup. If you have a sturdy stand, we suggest rotating the bike upside down for this step. Step Three - Removing the Upper Headset Cup It’s a good idea to now put one hand under the head tube to catch the cup and the removal tool when they finally break free. You should see the lower bearing cup starting to push out of the head tube at this point. With some downward pressure on the tool while holding it centered in the head tube, take your dead blow hammer and give the closed end of the tool a few whacks. Step Two - Removing the Lower Headset Cup Make sure to check that the tool is resting only on the inside edge of the lower cup, and not snagged on the head tube, down tube or top tube junction hole of your frame. You can squeeze the flared ends with your hand or just pull the tool through until the flared ends snap in behind the lower headset cup. If your headset removal cup is adjustable like ours, be sure to set it at the right size for your specific headset size, which in our case was 1.5". With the bike in the stand and your headset bearings removed, slide the headset removal tool with the closed end up, through your head tube. This step is pretty basic, but there are a few things to check for while inserting the headset removal tool. Step One - Inserting Headset Cup Removal Tool Once you have removed your fork and bearings, jump back into this article and continue to the next section. Please refer to our At-Home Fork Installation guide for a step-by-step on how to remove your fork and headset bearings. Headset Cup Remover Removing Current Fork We’ve seen bearing cup presses in shops that are likely as old as the guy working on your bike (and maybe even the building itself). If you’re someone who likes to work on your own bike and wants to have nice tools, the sting isn’t too bad knowing that professional-level tools like these are built to last and you should only have to buy them once. While this job is pretty straight-forward, it does require a few specialty tools which can be expensive. We’ve indicated when you’ll want to jump back to this how-to and you’ll need to perform the procedures up until that point, in order, to access your headset. If you haven’t already read our At-Home Fork Installation tutorial, now’s the time to do so. Doing this little bit of preventative maintenance can go a long way toward keeping your bike’s front end running quietly and smoothly. Since our last From the Workbench article covered how to remove and install a fork, we thought we’d show you a very useful bit of "how-to" regarding removing, cleaning, re-grease, and installing your headset.
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