Bicycle Mechanics - Help My Headset!

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View Full Version : Help My Headset!


yourma
09-07-06, 05:13 PM
hey kids, this evening i decided, my oh my wouldnt it be a good idea to clean and grease my headset,

so i did, exactly the same way i usually do

anyways, on testing the bike after cleaning and greasing it blah blah blah, the steering was reall stiff, and tended to go to the left, so i thought my oh my that cannot be good better head back to the shed and my trusty multi tool to check it out, on dropping the fork out the bottom, all the bearings fell out of the bottom bearing ring,:eek: now, the headset is about 2 months old, but w/e bearings can be replaced, but i put it all back together, sans the bearings, and i presumed that it should still turn even without them... it doesnt!:(

HELP ME PLEASE ASAP


capwater
09-07-06, 07:07 PM
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=65

moxfyre
09-07-06, 07:20 PM
No, a headset will DEFINITELY not turn without the bearing balls :p The bearing balls are what allows it to turn smoothly under load.

Try taking two pieces of smooth but irregularly shaped metal and squeezing them together will all your strength. Can you rotate them freely against one another? NO! That's where bearings come in.

Don't try to ride the bike without the bearing balls in place. You'll destroy the headset races at a minimum, you won't be able to steer, and your fork will wobble unpredictably. Get new bearing balls, they'll cost you about 2 bucks. The bottom half of the headset is the part that bears most of the weight, by the way.