Hey guys, newby question here.

my t1 frame arrived, and i tried installing the headset, a stem and top cap so the fork wouldn't drop out if i hung the bike up, but i noticed that after i installed it, the fork was essentially tightened into place. it wouldn't move. i took it apart and i noticed that one of the ACBs had come apart and i could see all the little bearings inside. Also it was all gritty and when I rotated the little seal around the bearings, it sounded nasty as ****.

first of all, is that seal not supposed to come apart? the other one is fine and spins nice and smooth, but this one's apart and all gritty.

how do i clean the bearings/piece the acb back together?

also, am i even installing this thing correctly? i put one bearing in below the headtube, one above, then compression ring and the top cover.

any help appreciated!

photo:

Clean the bearings like you would a normal headset. Just be careful, as the bearings are obviously much smaller, and the "cage" which they sit in isn't as rigid as a normal caged bearing.

Apply fresh grease, and put the bearing back together. The seals and everything should "click" back into place. Sometimes they do take a bit of persuasion though.

Is that a new headset? It shouldn't fall apart, and especially shouldn't feel gritty. And yes, that is how you install one.

It's actually used. I'm guessing something happened while the guy was removing the fork for shipping, and he hoped I wouldn't notice or something. Oh well.

How do I go about cleaning it? Also can I get just the bearing unit from a shop or do I have to buy a whole new headset? Parts around here are bloody expensive.

If I'm seeing things correctly, the inner race of that bearing came out. That is not supposed to happen. I would buy new bearings especially given that they feel gritty. It's possible that the inner race separated due to wear.

If you can read the specs on the bearing, you might be able to find them through a bearing warehouse for much less than through a bike shop.

You guys have no idea what you're talking about.

Integrated headsets, of the cheaper usually OEM variety have bearings that are easily disassembled and "overhauled", exactly as his pictures describe. Camp 45/45 integrated headsets for example are like that. The bearings/cages can be removed from the actual "cartridge" and maintained as you please. The bearings are *designed* to be taken apart in such a fashion.

That's EXACTLY what I was getting at in my post.

My NRS has similar bearings to these, I can quite easily disassemble and give them a good clean before reapplying some fresh grease and reassembling them.

alright, so i'll try giving it a good cleaning first. i have never owned parts cleaner/bike grease before (always took my stuff to the co-op here on campus) so i suppose it's a good thing anyways. always like getting my hands dirty and learning something new.

thanks guys!

edit: i had a look at this website below and it looked pretty easy. i'm assuming the shield that hides the bearings is actually quite easy to remove?
https://homebikemechanic.com/maintena...e-headset.html

Yeah, very easy. You need to pry it off with a small screwdriver or a pick, but be very careful not to damage anything.

You don't neccessarily need specific "bike grease" either. Just get an aerosol can of the cheapest degreaser from your local auto parts shop, and a tub of grease. I generally use Castrol HTB (Wheel bearing) grease, or a Castrol "Boating" grease.

I wouldn't use WD-40 like in those pictures...Maybe it's just me, and I can't explain why, but it just doesn't seem right.

If you use degreaser, make sure that it is mostly gone before applying grease. Otherwise, repacking the bearings will be futile, as large amounts of remaining degreaser will go after the grease.

So as I was popping the bearings out of the cage, I snapped the cage in half. It's made of some flimsy rubbery plastic.

I'm just going to pick up a new one at my LBS or online. They're like $10. Hell, I might even pick up a new headset.

Thanks guys.

Yeah, that's correct. Like I said, the cage is no where near as rigid as normal bearings. Bad luck, but as you said, at least they're cheap.