How to remove the front fork and steering tube of a 1979 Raleigh Super Grand Prix
 

I inherited a 1979 Raleigh Super Grand Prix from my granddad, and I am in the process of restoring it to ride-able condition. I want to take it completely apart, and see what condition each part is in. I am down to the main frame now, and am having trouble removing the front fork and steering tube from the head tube. I am wondering how to do that.


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You'll need to remove the top nut from the headset, then loosen the upper race, it'll seem easy after that.

This will help: http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-...eadset-service

Most seventies bikes had threaded headsets and quill stems, so this is a generic procedure that should work unless the quill stem wedge is stuck in the steerer tube because of corrosion, in which case check out Sheldon Brown's article on stuck stems HERE.

1) Remove the quill stem from the fork steerer tube by loosening the expander bolt and pulling the stem up and out of the steerer tube.

2) Remove the fork cone lock nut from the threaded steerer tube.

3) Remove the washer and adjustable cup.

4) Carefully remove the loose ball bearings trying not to lose any (or ball retainer with balls).

5) Carefully lower the fork from the bottom of the head tube, again trying not to lose any loose ball bearings.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7...Fittings01.jpg

Ok. Either the steering tube and the front fork on my bike are actually one piece, or one of them is stuck. I will try to get the steering tube out tomorrow with a mallet (i'm afraid that a hammer might damage the paint, which is already somewhat degraded, and scratch the metal).

What exactly are you calling the "steering tube"? I assume you are talking about the quill stem (the silver aluminum piece that holds your handlebars). There should be a bolt on top, located at the back. You need to loosen that bolt and unthread it a bit... if it's stuck, tap the bolt heap with a rubber mallet. Then you should be able to remove the quill stem. If it does not come out, it may be rusted in place... which is no fun at all.

This is the bolt that needs to be loosened. It may not be an allen head bolt like the picture, but they all work the same:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6...d854147e7a.jpg

The steering tube is brazed to the fork crown, so it is one piece. If you mean the stem is stuck, it is probably corroded to the inside of the steerer tube.

The stem should have an expander bolt that when loosened eases the grip of the quill wedge (or expander cone) against the inside wall of the steerer tube and you should be able to pull it (the stem) out of the steerer tube once the expander bolt is loose. Sometimes, if the wedge isn't too badly stuck to the steerer from corrosion, you can loosen the expander bolt and use a scrap of 2 x 4 lumber on top of the bolt head and sharply hit the 2 x 4 with a hammer a couple of times. If that fails, read the Sheldon Brown article I linked to in my post above.

The stem should look like this:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7...oTechnomic.jpg

It could have either a wedge or an expander cone to secure it in the steerer tube:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7...lStemTypes.jpg

ok yeah after reading your last post, i am talking about the stem, the part that holds the handlebars. I have removed the bolt that holds it to the steering tube, and I have loosed any and all nuts on the stem and the fork. I saved as many ball bearings as I could, but I didn't know that they would be there, and some of them fell out and rolled around the floor and into inaccessible places before i could react. After loosening the bolt and the nuts, I hit the bottom of the stem with a hammer, trying to knock it up and out of the tube. I didn't notice it move though, but it might have.

Use a rubber hammer so you don't damage it that looks the same as MY super Grand Prix...
do you have the serial number?

WD90029166. And I managed to get it apart. Just took a lot of hits with the handle of my crescent wrench. The wrench handle is covered in a sort of cloth, to make it easier to grip, so I don't think it damaged the metal.

I managed to get it apart. Just took a lot of hits with the handle of my crescent wrench. The wrench handle is covered in a sort of cloth, to make it easier to grip, so I don't think it damaged the metal. It was a wedge nut btw.

Those buggers DO stick, best put a little grease(very lightly) on it after cleaning the quill and stearer tube. Will help keeping it from corroding together. A little penetrating oil or PB Blaster is good to soak a stuck quill too. Old "Under Maintained" bikes can be a headache. I have a stuck quill that has so far totally flummoxed me! I am trying to break it loose without destroying it, so far, to NO JOY!

If you can't find all the bearings you should be able to get a bag of new bearings online or at your LBS for about $5 so I wouldn't worry to much about finding all the bearings since you should probably replace them anyways.

Rubberlegs you could use a cotter press or c-clamp to push down the stem bolt and drive out the expander wedge. The downside is that you may wind up damaging or destroying the stem in the process. But if the stem is hopelessly stuck in the first place, it's worth a shot and much easier and less risky to the frame and headset than the torch/dry ice/reaming/or hacksaw route.

Before you do that, remove the stem and handlebars.