i just got my LHT frame set this evening and after some research on the internet found out that i don´t have the tools needed for the job, also i think i need to size the fork length or something before i install the headset. all the parts and tools really give me a hard time, should i just take it to a lbs to get the job done or it´s not that daunting as it might look?

www.parktool.com repair section has the complete drill.One can improvise tools. It ain't rocket science,but the potential is there to make some real expensive mistakes. Consider the cost of cutting a fork too short. And don't think it doesn't happen alot.....Also check the current thread on crown race installation for starters.

The big 3 headaches for me, in ascending order, would be: 1 installing the head set cups. 2 chasing the bottom bracket shell (making sure the sides are absolutely true) and 3 building wheels. The first two require special tools that just aren't cost effective for the average cyclist to invest in. The 3rd is simply an art as well as a science I don't have the time to master.

That said; why not take your frame and fork to the LBS tell them that you really want to build your bike but lack the tools/experience to install your head set cups and bottom bracket. If they're cool they will respect you as an enthusiast and help you out for a fair labor charge. If they throw a bunch of attitude and insist that the only possible way to go about it is to bring the whole shebang in, go somewhere else. Like Sydney said, it aint rocket science.

I built my first bike last year and had a blast. Webcylery sent the frame (with the fork installed - but not cut! - and the bottom bracket installed.) and built the wheels for me. I was able to put the rest of it together and had a ball doing it. I did have to buy a beginners tool set, but you sound like the kind of guy who is going to need one anyway.

I think cutting your fork's steerer tube to size and inserting the star nut will be the only other really tricky part. First of all, you can't judge how long you'll need it until you have the wheels and saddle installed. Then you can better judge how high the stem will have to ride and thus, how many, if any spacers you'll need. The steerer tube should be cut (absolutely square) about an eighth of an inch below the top of the stem clamp, in order to allow clearance for tourqing the head set bearings. There are special tools for inserting that star nut. I managed without one. But like many improvisations, I couldn't necessarily recomend the procedure to others.

I've gone on too long. You get the idea. There are lots of people who will help you out... and a couple who will give you that ol' LBS attitude. But you can do it. You'll have to take your time. But relax and enjoy the build... then the ride.

All the best. DanO

I once installed headset cups with a heavy coffee mug and a towel to protect the cup. Bam, bam, bam... it worked!

That said, I was a LBS mechanic at the time and the headset press was 10km away at work... I was just too lazy to go there and do it.

Let a competent LBS do the job for you. I'd err on the side of caution and have the fork cut a little long (i.e., use and/or buy 5mm more spacers than you think you need) then you can move some spacers above the stem until you're happy with the stem height. At that point, return the the LBS to have the extra steerer tube trimmed off.

Having installed maybe about 1/2 bizillion HS, without specialized tools,and also never buggered one, trust me that it can be done. But not by everyone.

Do not attempt this unless you know what you are doing. Which obviously you don't or you wouldn't have asked.

Enjoy

I have used a 10# short sledge hammer on the cups, a rubber mallet, a block of wood supporting the cups with a 5# hammer driving the cups in, and a cheezy romance novel protecting the cups when I bang on them with a BFH. (big f-ucking hammer)
I've installed many a headset this way, and I've never had a problem. Installiong a headset was the easiest thing that I've done on my bikes.
In fact, when I worked at a shady LBS, we used many of these DIY methods.

Never install anything on a bike with a hammer and never, never shake a baby.

If you insist on doing this yourself use a threaded rod, two large washers and two nuts.
Install one cup at a time.

Good luck

for headcups i actually have a threaded rod, two large washers on each end. And 2 nuts, stick the rod in the headtube so one washer is pressing against each headcup, grab yourself a wrench and turn the nuts in opposite ways. I have done this for many frames, using the classic sized headcup and once even the one i am currently using, zero stack. It cost me a grand total of 3.44 at home depot

eh, you beat me to it

Install one cup at a time....Is there an echo in here?....

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! But as stated before,don't try this unless you know what you are doing. This thread is well on it's way to containing more barnyad waste than the one on installing a crown race...LOL.

See what I mean about the occassional LBS attitude? How do people come to 'know what they are doing'
except by 'learning as they are doing'?

With the rare exception of those who have sought professional training in bike repair or been trained 'on the job' in a LBS, I would hazard to guess that the majority of people on this forum learned by asking questions and getting their hands dirty - and yes, making mistakes from time to time. But it ain't brain surgery.

DanO

Some people are simply ignorant,which is ok. Others are inept or at worse mechanically bankrupt. As Clint Eastwood in some movie said, 'A man has to know his limitations'. Learning for some can not only be expensive but hazzardous to their well being too.

I've used all three methods installing HS-- hammer and block of wood, threaded rod and washers, and Headset press. You can mangle the job with any of the three, and you can do it properly with any of the three. I prefer the last; it is easiest.

When installing, simply take your time and and be sure the cups are going in straight.

I've installed crown races succesfully using a piece of PVC pipe as a slide hammer. It's not difficult.

However, if you've not done it before and have spent beaucoup $$$ on the frame, take it to a shop. They'll likely overcharge you. You could also buy a junker frame to practice on, then do it for real.

I agree that a few folks who would be putting themselves in harms way by attempting to perform their own bike maintenance. But for the most part they know who they are. They're the ones who bring the bike into the shop for a flat repair and happily pay for the reassurance of knowing a real bike mechanic is doing the job right.

Then there are guys and gals who ride so much that the bike inevitably needs some TLC when a trip to the shop is just not feasible - either economically or perhaps just time wise. They start out fixing their own flats (which everyone should be capable of in order to avoid being stranded) and adjusting their own brakes. They buy accessories and install them themselves. They go on line and learn how to tune derailleurs and replace chains. They master one task at a time. And for the most part they instinctively know when personal saftey mandates a trip to the LBS or another other qualified enthusiast.

Being able to fix the thing yourself is as liberating as being able to get on it and pedal from point a to point b in the first place. Some poeple are content to ride a few miles on the bike path and no more. Then there are those that set their minds to doing a century some fine day. We don't dissuade them from riding a little farther each day because they might take a spill along the way.

DanO

This is what I will do probably on Sunday to install my first headset for my first build. You can get the rod, washers and nuts at Home Depot for a few bucks. Follow this link for more tips on making your own head set press: https://www.mindspring.com/~d.g1/headset.html

That's a good point. As long as the head tube is faced correctly you can't really mess it up unless you rush. The cup will self-align to the head tube so just don't damage the cup or head tube and it'll work out for you.

My coffee mug method or the block of wood and hammer method just requires that you tap carefully and ensure the cups are sliding in straight. If not then adjust it with some taps on the appropriate high spot.

It's not a nuclear reactor...

FWIW, on cheap bikes we'd install the cups with a bench vise and a sacrificial strip of wood or plastic.

I think I paid about $5 for mine......and here's that photo *sigh* again:

Yep, thats it. Mine cost less becuase i used a narrower rod is all. Why the sigh

Nothing wrong......it's only that of all the photos I've posted on these forums, I've uploaded that same photo each time this very subject has come up....must have been at least a dozen times within the last year.

So many of these questions wouldn't even be posted if people would just take the time to read a friggin' bicycle manual (rtfm ) or google.

It ain't rocket science.
-sydney, 2005

If everybody looked to google for answers or handbooks then there would be no questions asked and then theeres pretty much no mechanics forum

"FWIW, on cheap bikes we'd install the cups with a bench vise and a sacrificial strip of wood or plastic."

Gah. Someone once told me they used a C clamp and two blocks of wood to install a HS. Sounds like it would work fine, but on the 62cm frames I ride that'd be one heck of a c-clamp (or bench vise). Needless to say, I've never used this c-clamp method, and cannot speak as to how well it works. Since I now have a press, I'll stick to that.

Again, the key is to take your time. And watch the cups as they go in. I also hold the frame up to the light once done and check at the edge between the head tube and cup to make sure it is seated properly, no matter the method I use.

I think the rod works well, mine is 1 foot long so it can go on just about any headtube.