....I've been using one of those from Nashbar for years with good results. I can't find the Nashbar branded one for sale anywhere now, but it looks like this.



Every Cyclus tool I've bought has been of excellent quality, and bargain priced. But as you've already discovered, sometimes the shipping can be costly.
Back when I was buying mine, the trade off with not having to pay the VAT on them covered part of the shipping. Anyway, shop around at the various Euro sites, I've never found an American distributor.

Not sure what's going on with them now, but Chris King headsets used to require a special press fitting you bought from them for their headset installation. Otherwise you can hurt them.

...that's about what the Nashbar one was priced at when they were still selling them. I've used the Park over at the co-op, and there's not a whole lot of difference between them.

I used the rod and washers for a while, but found it fiddly. Got the VAR tool. Just because I wanted a VAR tool.

Works well, BTW.

I have a very early CK headset on my Redcay. Before I had a proper tool (I now have the Cyclus), I tried briefly with my homebrew threaded rod setup. Being aware of the "special fitting", I didn't try long before taking it to the LBS.

Hydraulic press, mechanical press, threaded rod & washers, wood blocks and hammer... all work fine if you are careful and the cups/headset fitting is OK. If not, any of them can ruin the cups/headset.

Very helpful. I'm about to redo the Chris King headset in a 1993 Trek 5900 and wondered about the appropriate press tool. Removing the headset was easy -- any good split-tubing punch should do. But I can see why the press should have those stepped bushings to maintain alignment. So I'll scratch the simple bolt, washer and nut tools off my list. Don't wanna take chances with a carbon fiber frame.