Originally Posted by
sstorkel
There are a number of operations where it's more economical to have your LBS do the work than to buy the specialized tools necessary to do it yourself. In this vein, I would recommend having your LBS:
- Face and chase the bottom bracket if needed. Most manufacturers do this at the factory, but if you buy a custom frame or a super, super-cheap frame it may be necessary.
- Reaming the seatpost if necessary. Again, most manufacturers will do this at the factory.
- Cutting the fork to length, installing the crown race, and pressing headset cups into the frame (if required). The tools for this stuff aren't that expensive, but if you're not planning to build lots of bikes they're a waste of money. My LBS will do all of this for $20 or $25, IIRC.
I agree. I hope I didn't give the impression that only the steerer tube should be done at the LBS. What I meant is that on a complete LHT, the crankset, crown race and headset are already installed. Just that it comes with an uncut steerer tube. If a frame only is bought, then it would be a good idea to have an LBS face the different areas and to install the items where specialized tools are needed.
We have a customer that builds (manufacturers) his own frames, about 8 now that I can think of, and he still comes to us to face the bottom bracket and head tube. I can't remember if we press the headset for him or not. Those tools can be made pretty cheap.