Another DIY gone awry
 

It wasn't me but my brother. He replaced the bearings in his headset and thought he had them in correctly--followed the instructions as best he could. Apparently he had one of them upside down. It wound up scoring the carbon steer tube so now he is having to replace the whole fork and is without his primary ride for several weeks. When will he learn........

OUCH!!! Sharp pain in the wallet just hit me.

Bill

There are some things better left to your LBS.

That is a highly individual decision. I remain a die-hard fan of DIY, but do appreciate the cautionary tale.

....and most of us are perfectly willing to accept the consequences and even know when to stop and get help.

I was installing a crankset in a new frame last year and the bottom brackets didn't feel right. I stopped....and drove to my LBS with the frame. The mechanic was happy in that he said, "I get to use the most expensive tool in the shop!"

I didn't know it at the time but he was referring to the Park Tool BTS-1 Bottom Bracket Tap and Facing Set....about $450.

$20 and 10 minutes later, I was good to go.

It isnt difficult taking it apart....you just have to pay particular attention to detail when putting it back together. Patience helps in this effort.

I really didn't think that bearings needed to be replaced in modern bikes. The last time I did that was in the '70's. What kind of headset was he working on?

Don't discourage your brother. Sure that's expensive, but he'll never fail to take care with bearings again. DIY rules. There is something very satisfying about riding a bike you have built and maintained yourself.

Having worked in the oilfields most of my life, I'll attempt most anything. But I don't do bottom brackets and headsets (well, okay, I'll lube them). And my nearest LBS is 70 miles away.

OTH, I personally find that time spent working on bikes only takes away from riding time. Or time spent watching Inspector Lewis. You can't multitask and watch Inspector Lewis.

Bikes are simple and easy to work on.



Accept when they are not.

He should get a few of the good books out for cycling mechanics. Zinn's books on bicycle maintenance, "Zen and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance" and "Zen and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance", Eugene Sloane's "Complete Book of Bicycling", Park Tools "Big Blue Book" (very good book!). There are many more, these are some of the ones I have and use when I have an eye poker of a problem working on a bike.

Bill

Hurray for digital cameras.... I take pictures when taking things apart. It helps when putting them back together.

Not Bike related but sort of.... Put a spacer in backwards on a 4x4 front axle. Bearing lasted about a week. I now keep my military (squeaky) bearing on my desk as a paperweight.

I'm kind of amazed he could do that and not notice.

I've put HS bearings in backwards, and it was VERY obvious...

Not one of us has not made a mistake, the good thing is if we learn form them. Some lessons cost more than others.

According to him they were a little different than other HS bearings he had installed in the past. I know the frame/fork is a Trek. I think it's the first year they came out with the Seat Mast. I think in the past they have used Cane Creek HS's but not sure about this model.

That makes a good case for always having at least 2 bikes in the stable. :)

He is putting a lot more miles on his steel framed Eddie Merckx!!