patm1313

I've never installed a headset, and knowing that I'm at risk of messing something up, I'm considering paying someone at a shop to mount it and my fork. Is it worth the money as compared to putting it in my self? What's the average cost for having a headset/fork mounted? I haven't been able to call anywhere because all of my local places are closed on Sunday.

Thanks,
Patm1313

kenhill3

You need to have (or make) a special tool to do it.

I would have a competent shop do it. $20-$30, money well spent considering it is easy to screw up by not getting the races parallel or cutting the steer tube too short.

nachomc

Agreed. $20-$30 (I actually think it's $15 at my LBS) and having it done right is much better than wasting the headset and or headtube and having to replace the headset or frame.

sirtigersalot

i'd def get the headtube pressed professionally, just not worth the risk imo ot save a $15 job, some guys on here have homemade presses, but i'd not wanna risk a several hundred dollar frame on a home made rig,

the for you can def do yourself, the only thing you can screw up is cutting the steer tube to the right lenght, but as long as you can cut in a strait line... oh and don't do somthin stupid like cut it super short, but even if you cut it a hair off from where u wanted just gotta fiddle with the spacers to make everything line up

yellowjeep

I built my own press, if you search google for homemade headset press you will find a bunch of links.
That said, I had a hard time using my because I used nothing to center the cups thus leading to me pushing them in at an angle at first (about 1/4 of the way in). I had to use a rubber mallet to straighten it out. After that it went in straight with any other issues.

As for the race I bought a piece of PVC that fit on the out side of the race and a PVC cap. Judicious use of the rubber mallet set the race flush on the fork crown.

After that I put it all together and messured the steerer (twice) and cut it with a pipe cutter. I finished the edges with a file and sand paper and then carefully tapped the star nut in with a punch.

I made sure every thing was cleaned really well so there were no metal shavings left and assembled the whole thing.

Edit.
If you go this root go SLOW!

Edit 2. I did this because I build up a lot of frames and it was more economical. I believe the parts cost me about 15 bucks, and before I do it again I will get a something that ill act as a centering device.

Edit 3. If you have a bench press or know somebody who does, this makes the job really really easy.

sirtigersalot

oh a note one star nuts, what i do is screw in a bolt into the star nut and hammer on that to get it started, then pop in a socket thats just barely small enough to fit in the steerer, and tap on it with a hammer, the socket should straiten the star nut (as long as your carefull) and you can also try to manually straiten it by hitting the bolt but the socket should take care of it as long you don't pound it in at a ******** angle with the bolt

edit lol didn't know *mentally handicapped* was in the swear filter

Pocko

Star nuts without a proper tool are a real pain to install if the steerer tube is aluminum because the "star" has to bend more due to the wall thickness being thicker so steerer tube bore is smaller.

Yeah for a one-off install just get your LBS to do it... but go watch if you can, just so that you can see how it's done (maybe for next time you might want to have a go).

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jcook1989

Never installed a star nut I'm afraid it will try to kill me.

I install headset cups with a hammer and a block of wood. It's not hard. I've used a press to but I felt it was overkill. Seriously you won't break the frame and if you use a block of wood you won't mess up the cups. The only thing is the fork race you might want a tool for that or you could use a screw driver with a pinch of care and patience.

Pocko

^ yeah I use a hammer and a block of wood too when I haven't got a proper tool handy... I just hammer and check, hammer and check and not try to do it in one blow so I know the headset is going in straight.

I use a surplus steel pipe that fits over the steerer tube to install the bearing race onto the fork crown. I support the bottom of the crown against my wooden bench corner or a piece of 4x2 so the fork isn't resting on the floor by its drop-outs. Some forks also have rebound damper knobs extending far below the fork drop-outs so that can be damaged if the fork is rested there. Plus the suspension absorbs the hammer blows so its a pain doing it that way.

The star nut isn't that bad to install on a steel steerer tube. Even if it goes in slightly wonky it can be straightened out by inserting a long cap bolt and pulling it to one side while hammering it in. A proper starnut tool looks like a fat chisel with a threaded part at the end, so the principle is the same, exept to gives much more control. Having said that, you wouldn't want to hammer it in too deep while trying to straighten it. If it gets really messed up, on some forks you can just hammer it thru and out the bottom end of the steerer tube with a dowel and start again with a new one. But it's not always possible on some forks.

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Pocko

When installing star nuts on aluminum steerer tubes with smaller bores, pre-bending the stars with a bit more slant with pliers helps a lot.