Thalia949

Does anyone have any hacks on how to remove a Shimano 600 headset top nut? It is the 8 point nut. My LBS doesn’t have a wrench that fits for this and recommended pliers. I’m pretty sure pliers will scar it.

I have standard headset 32mm wrenches, so I am better off than pliers but would welcome any input.

bargo68 

Large vise grip set judiciously with a shop rag to keep from scarifying.
Worked for me once on one of these.
No prob.

delicious 

Looks like someone in Poland is machining reproductions and selling them on eBay for a fair price.

branko_76 

If I had that headset on a bike I liked, I'd look for a dedicated wrench for it.

Not sure if any of these would work but it's worth looking into......

https://www.mcmaster.com/wrenches/op...rement~metric/

https://www.mcmaster.com/wrenches/op...rement~metric/

plonz 

I bought something similar and they work like a champ. Figured if I was going to have a bike or two with this headset permanently in my stable, it was worth that outlay.

smd4

Please don’t use pliers or vice grips for anything on your bike aside from tightening cables. Use the right tool.

I *personally* wouldn't listen to anyone recommending pliers or vice-grips for this job--up to and including your LBS.

The wrenches linked above on eBay are nice. You can even get originals for a good price.

oneclick 

Headset parts are one of the places on a bicycle where unfortunately form often trumps function.

A good open-end spanner should have jaws long enough to hold eight points of that nut, so you don't actually need the special tool; handled properly it won't mark them.

For some headsets the AT508K, a slip-joint plier with replaceable curved soft jaws is a good one - they are commonly available on that auction site.

jamesdak 

Yep, I did the same and works great. Worth the small outlay in cash in my book.

smd4

In this particular case, and probably most others, the proper tools are cheaper than those pliers.

smd4

I would support the use of a properly-sized adjustable wrench over the use of pliers. But I'd prefer to use the proper tool.

RustyJames 

*If* water pump/slip joint pliers are going to be used, liberally wrap the jaws with electrical tape. It’s worked for me in the past.

markwesti

You need a new LBS . The wrenches are on the bay .

smd4

Indeed. There's no reason why the shop shouldn't have a set of these wrenches. Hardly used? Maybe. But Shimano 600 stuff hasn't disappeared yet.

SurferRosa

An adjustable wrench and a rag works just fine, although this probably isn't NASA approved.

genejockey 

Same here. I did have to take a file to it to get the fit right, but that's a small price to pay, given what a genuine set of wrenches for those headsets bring these days.

Also, the nuts on that headset are aluminum and a poorly fitting wrench or set of pliers would scar them up something terrible.

smd4

The truth? Not much:

Shimano Headset Wrenches

genejockey 

Those are the newly made ones from Poland. Originals are asking a whole lot more.

StarBiker

Reminds me I went to recycling center/dump the other day and there is a section of bikes a guy picks up and disperses throughout Asia. I have ran into him in the past. Nice guy. There was a bike in the pile with a nice frame (No markings), wheels off to the side, no handlebars and a complete set of shimano 600 components attached. Can't take anything.........

dddd

The standard eight-point, 32mm locknut flats are featured on most vintage bike's headsets, and the earlier Shimano alloy headsets are no different.

While the Shimano headset has some metal scalloped away from the wrenching area, the normal contact points (nearer to the corners) for the wrench are left intact, so work perfectly with standard wrenches.

Since alloy headset wrenching flats tend to get dented at the corners (rounded in extreme circumstances), Shimano developed a wrench shape interface that better supported multiple corners. It's a better headset wrench for delivering greater torque with less damage near the corners to the wrenching flats.

In lieu of any special tools, and wanting to achieve better tightening using less wrench torque, I first tighten the headset normally, but at reduced torque.
Following this, I reposition the wrenches to different pairs of flats, and repeat the tightening at reduced torque.
What happens is that the threaded bits ovalize slightly in response to pressure against any opposed pair of flats, allowing each subsequent tightening effort to move the wrenched pieces tighter together, finally arriving at full tension as if much heavier torque had been applied initially.

The above process is especially useful when any cable hanger or reflector bracket needs to be kept centered while the wrench tightening is going on, since the centering peg or flat within the hanger/bracket's 1" hole usually allows a lot of off-center freeplay on the steerer's groove or flat, thus allowing unwanted rotation of the hanger/bracket.
One can use reduced torque on just the top wrench while using an elbow, knees or thigh/hip to prevent the handlebar from drifting out of alignment with any cable hanger or bracket while the threaded parts are moving and settling into final tightness and position. The hanger/bracket can often be held from turning using only a bare free hand as the top nut is secured from different pairs of flats at a reduced torque level.
It does help further if all threads and adjacent flat surfaces are greased first, and if several re-positionings of the wrench(es) are used to arrive at final tightening.

So the Shimano headset wrenches are ideal, but not necessary if good, normal headset tools are at hand.