Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Bicycle Mechanics
Reload this Page >

hammering out headset cups?

Notices
Bicycle Mechanics Broken bottom bracket? Tacoed wheel? If you're having problems with your bicycle, or just need help fixing a flat, drop in here for the latest on bicycle mechanics & bicycle maintenance.

hammering out headset cups?

Old 11-03-05, 06:47 AM
  #1  
totally louche
Thread Starter
 
Bekologist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: A land that time forgot
Posts: 18,023

Bikes: the ever shifting stable loaded with comfortable road bikes and city and winter bikes

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 9 Times in 8 Posts
hammering out headset cups?

I want to replace/swap around a couple of headsets on my bikes. When I was a kid we used to just hammer the cups out with a big punch and hammer. Can I abuse modern CaneCreek or Aheadset aluminum cups the same way or do I have to fork out the $25 bucks for the fourpronged Park cup remover? I haven't seen alternate methods mentioned by Zinn or any other books i've read.

Does anyone have a good way to do it on the cheap? Thanks.
Bekologist is offline  
Old 11-03-05, 06:57 AM
  #2  
Senior Member
 
freeranger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 2,579

Bikes: 06 Lemond Reno, 98 GT Timberline mtn.bike

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 419 Post(s)
Liked 689 Times in 430 Posts
When I replaced mine, I used copper pipe-figuring copper would give before the harder metal in the cup. But I was replacing the headset anyway, so didn't matter. I have heard of using a piece of pvc (plastic plumbing pipe), cutting 4 slits lengthwise in it, then spreading out the ends with a cork or large bolt.
freeranger is offline  
Old 11-03-05, 07:48 AM
  #3  
a77impala
 
a77impala's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Central South Dakota
Posts: 1,521

Bikes: 04=LeMond Arravee, 08 LeMond Versailles, 92 Trek 970

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 28 Post(s)
Liked 13 Times in 8 Posts
I used a punch and hammer on my Trek 6000 which is aluminum, and my wifes Trek 920 which is cro moly,just don't use a lot of force and they should come out without damage.
a77impala is offline  
Old 11-03-05, 09:10 AM
  #4  
Senior Member
 
DiegoFrogs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Scranton, PA, USA
Posts: 2,570

Bikes: '77 Centurion "Pro Tour"; '67 Carlton "The Flyer"; 1984 Ross MTB (stored at parents' house)

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 169 Post(s)
Liked 93 Times in 61 Posts
When I replaced the 20 year old JIS no-name headset on my World Sport a few weeks ago (I ran it for a year with loose bearings before it was no longer useful) I didn't know that I could still get a decent Tange steel JIS headset. In hindsight, that's exactly what I would have done.

I bought the cheap nashbar threaded headset, punched off the cups and races with a long piece of all-thread rod (gently, but it didn't really matter because I was throwing away the old hs) or a punch. I don't think I'd ever do it with flimsy aluminum cups.

I also gingerly filed down the JIS fork crown race to ISO size with several grades of files and emory cloth until I got an absolutely perfect (feeling) fit, but maybe that's fodder for another thread. Honestly, to do it all again, I'd either replace the rather crummy bike or just get the proper sized headset. It does work like a charm, but it was an awful lot of trouble for a mediocre (at best) headset on a low end bike.
[note: I only added this because I didn't find, either searching here or the internet, any chronicles, either successful or otherwise, of a DIY low-budget fork crown machining and I thought this might be of interest to others.]
DiegoFrogs is offline  
Old 11-03-05, 09:20 AM
  #5  
Mad bike riding scientist
 
cyccommute's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,274

Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones

Mentioned: 150 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6147 Post(s)
Liked 4,092 Times in 2,325 Posts
Originally Posted by Bekologist
I want to replace/swap around a couple of headsets on my bikes. When I was a kid we used to just hammer the cups out with a big punch and hammer. Can I abuse modern CaneCreek or Aheadset aluminum cups the same way or do I have to fork out the $25 bucks for the fourpronged Park cup remover? I haven't seen alternate methods mentioned by Zinn or any other books i've read.

Does anyone have a good way to do it on the cheap? Thanks.
If you have an old steel fork, you can cut it off to the proper length (it needs to be longer than the head tube), cut 4 slots in it and flare the ends with the slots a little. Then you can pull it into the head tube (which is why it has to be a bit longer than the tube) and the flare will snap into the tube as soon as it clears the head set. Then you just drive the headset out with a mallet. All you are doing is making the same tool as Park sells (although the Park tool is really sweeeet ). I did this for a long time before I bought my Park headset remover.

[edit] The punch thing works too but it's not nearly as elegant.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!



cyccommute is offline  
Old 11-03-05, 12:04 PM
  #6  
Senior Member
 
askrom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 205
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I bought the cheap nashbar threaded headset, punched off the cups and races with a long piece of all-thread rod (gently, but it didn't really matter because I was throwing away the old hs) or a punch. I don't think I'd ever do it with flimsy aluminum cups.
Holy crap, I did the exact same thing 2 weeks ago: I used a 1/2" threaded rod (the same one that I was going to use as a component in a homemade press) as the punch.

Anyway, the secret is to simply tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap ... slowly but surely, it'll come out no problem.

A neat trick I learned for tapping a new crown race in place: Use the OLD crown race as an in-between layer, so that while you're directly tapping on the old race, it is in turn using it's matching rounded edge to push down the ring beneath it. The tight fit on the steering shaft prevents the old race from angling too harshly, making sure that the point of impact is fairly wide. Still, as above, tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap, slowly but surely.
askrom is offline  
Old 11-03-05, 01:38 PM
  #7  
Senior Member
 
DannoXYZ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Saratoga, CA
Posts: 11,736
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 109 Post(s)
Liked 9 Times in 6 Posts
With the punch/threaded-rod/screwdriver technique to remove the cups, be sure to alternate back and forth to opposite sides so you don't angle the cup.

Good trick to get the crown-race back on is to use an adjustable crescent-wrench. Put the jaws on both sides of the steerer, tighten the wrench so it's snug, slide down onto the crown-race. Tap with hammer on the sliding mechanism that joins the two jaws and you'll be able to apply force on opposite sides of the race evenly.

Last edited by DannoXYZ; 11-03-05 at 08:30 PM.
DannoXYZ is offline  
Old 11-03-05, 05:20 PM
  #8  
Senior Member
 
Brian's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Between the mountains and the lake.
Posts: 16,681

Bikes: 8 bikes - one for each day of the week!

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
I use the Park Tool. Easy to use, and it was $20 something on ebay.
Brian is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.