Headset installation without specialized tools?
 

Alright, so i'm now pretty deep into my Xtracycle conversion, which is proving a pain. Not because of the Xtracycle, that went just fine! However, had the wrong kind of brake levers and it was STI. No problem, Travel Agents are nice.

Then it was the chain mucking up against the chainstays in certain gears. Sorted that out. So in the end it was completely useful and working out fine, loving the Xtracycle..

Then comes the 150lb load.. Next thing I know, there's a *very* noticeable amount of play in the headset. I picked up another headset today, a higher quality one which should be able to take the pain, but now its occured to me that i've not got the proper tools to put this thing together. Lacking the crown race press, and the headset press.

The headset is 1 1/8ths threadless, its a Cane Creek AheadSet SE. In the situation where you're not equipped with the optimal tools, is a headset one of those parts where you just *dont* want to come up with your own solution? Or, are there ways to safely and adequately install?

If there aren't, i'll take it to the LBS and have them do it, bought it from them after all.

Edit: Sorry, found what I was looking for. Those homemade presses don't seem too hard at all, nor am I worried about the frame being reamed, as its being replaced, not installed for the first time.. Isn't there a way to delete threads? :D

Those homemade presses don't work well at all. At least mine didn't. I could not find the correct size bushings or washers to fit into the cups on the headset I was installing. I went to three different hardware stores too. Buy the tool, or just have a shop install it. If I have to do it again, I'm buying the tool.

I found a way of doing it on Google. It's hard finding pvc to go inside the headset, and when I did it was $12 for a 10' piece so I bought 5 1"couplings with a ridge on them and the OD comes to 1 1/8 which you need. Then I bought some 5/8 all thread a foot long, with 2 large washers and 2 5/8 nuts. Before you put the head set on, put it in the freezer, that will make it smaller. Then put some grease on the cups and you got it. Like I said, just check out Google and look around and you'll find some different ways. There's even some with pictures, to walk you through the whole project, good luck.

A homeade headset press works just fine. You don't need bushings. Just a large bolt, nut, and washers. I've installed everything from the cheapest headsets to Chris King headsets with mine, never a problem.

+1. Never had trouble with my homemade press. Hell, old-schoolers swear by a block of wood and a hammer. Washers don't need to fit inside the cups, just wide enough to overlap the race of the headset.

I use a bit of soft wood(2x4) and a hammer-just like tellyho says.One thing that makes it easier is to take a file,and then some fine sandpaper to the headset.File,sand the parts that are being hammered into the frame.You want to take off a tiny bit of metal,so the fit isn't so darned tight.Check the fit first-try pushing the cups in by hand,and see how deeply they go in.If they barely go in,attack with the file.Then use sandpaper to smooth out any file marks.Oil or grease the parts to make then easier to hammer in.
Get someone to hold,and back,the frame.If possible brace the opposite side of the head tube on soft wood also.
Obviously,this isn't the sort of thing I would do on a zillion dollar bike, but it is fine for most bikes.
Luck,
Charlie
PS Be very careful with the hammer-no big swings-12" arc is plenty.You don't want it to slip and hit the frame.You can also use a 2 foot length of 2x4 for a hammer.Use a helper to hold/steady the frame.

I find it easier to drop by my favorite LBS with a six-pack of something interesting every now and then; the result is they do stuff like press headset cups & races no charge (or better yet, they let me use their tools).

You might be willing to buy cheap HS tools but what are you going to do when you have to "chase & face"?

My previous homemade tools (I eventually coughed up the money to get some real tools, but these worked in their day):

Get a length of 1.25" diameter copper pipe (about 12" long), cut 4 slits in it lengthwise. Get a pipe cap for the other end, epoxy on the other end if it doesn't press fit securely. Cut the handle off of an old wooden baseball bat, hammer copper pipe onto baseball bat. Voila! Head cup remover. Copper is soft enough not to damage most head cups or frames. Won't last nearly as long a Park or VAR one, but is perfectly fine for home use.

A long bolt, nut and a stack of washers can make an effective press. I used washers big enough to contact the outside of the headset cups. Be careful though, some aluminum cups are very thin and can bend if pressure is applied here. Headset presses come with stepped bushings that apply pressure to the cup skirt (if they don't have a cartridge bearing already pressed into the cup). I usually press one cup in at a time.

Removing the crown race can be a ***** sometimes. A dull knife blade works on suspension forks, followed by a flat-blade screw driver you don't care about screwing up (heh, no pun intended) or a small chisel punch.

For installing the crown race I had an old frame tube that happened to be the right diameter for 1 1/8". I've heard of people using PVC, but I'm not sure if you can get PVC pipe with an ID of slightly larger than 1 1/8". Some crown races on cartridge bearing head sets are soft aluminum and can be damaged from direct impact. For expensive headsets, this may be the one task to have a shop do.

I use PVC. Can't remember what dia, but I like it because it's softer than the race.

+1 on PVC. You can get it in 1" and 1 1/8" inside diameter, so that covers most steerers. I guess if you were shopping for some it might be a pain that you have to pay for a full length pipe. I've got a pile of various PVC pipe in my basement leftover from several plumbing projects over the years, so it's been the obvious choice for me for setting crown races-

+2

(no photo this time!!:D)

I was wondering where you were!:D