I’ve fitted three headsets in the past couple of months, two Hopes on my own bikes, and a Chris King for a mate.

All three have been fitted using a dab of grease and a big &%$!ing rubber mallet. Part of me feels ashamed at the crudeness of this method, but the rest of me feels immensely satisfied by the simplicity and brutality of the method.

Am I alone in loving the hammer method, or is everyone carefully fitting them with presses and the like?

Am I alone in loving the hammer method

No.

I use a headset press but only because I *know* I won’t damage a frame that way.

I don’t feel pleased when I use the proper tool. Probably because that ‘Yessss….I got away with it again!’ relief isn’t there 😉

To be fair I use my home made press, but it didn’t fit my silly big 1.5″ internal thingie on my Chumba.

So that went in the freezer, the head tube got warmed up with a hot towel and a carpenters mallet was used to persuade them to meet, only a gentle bit of persuasion was required 😀

I really should do the freezing thing before I start. I may have been lucky.

just used my home-made headset press…. theaded bar, a couple of nuts, washers and bits of MDF. Extra satisfaction as a £100+ tool cost me about 2 pounds to make.

I use a shash clamp to press headsets in (think of a giant adjustable G clamp), works a treat and no worries over buggering up the cups.

soo you spend x amount on a frame and a x amount on a headset and smash it in with a mallet.?
😯

I use a bench vice and a couple of blocks of wood. No problems here.

greeble – Member

soo you spend x amount on a frame and a x amount on a headset and smash it in with a mallet.?

That’s the exact thinking behind the “Part of me feels ashamed at the crudeness of this method” bit.

but the rest of me feels immensely satisfied by the simplicity and brutality of the method.

trust me, using the proper tool is more satisfying.

Humans often tell themselves it’s okay to behave in a certain way, not because it is okay but because accepting that it isn’t is too tough for your ego to take. Psychologists have studied it – google cognitive dissonance.

In simple terms, you want your method to be okay because that’s what you did. And you don’t like doing the wrong thing.

HAMMERTIME!

sorry…

But yes, very careful thoughtful belting in with a hammer here to.

I did buy a proper remover though, worth the money (tenner -fleabay)

In simple terms, you want your method to be okay because that’s what you did. And you don’t like doing the wrong thing.

Or…… blokes just like hitting things with hammers?

Yep, it’s the only way that’s proven to have a 100% success rate in my experience.

I tried to get a Works angle changing one into my Sunday, and it was such a tight fit my home made press wasn’t man enough so I went all neanderthal on it.

I’ve got no shame, I even used the same approach on my carbon Nomad 😀

Extra satisfaction as a £100+ tool cost me about 2 pounds to make.

Or spend £34 on an excellent tool that has loads of uses
cyclus headset press here…

Always use a press, quick, easy and worry free.. And a proper crown race remover and setter, and a proper cup remover, seen soooooo many forks with screwdriver scrawps cos of one Slip of the hammer or screwdriver
As said above, £1000’s worth of frame and £7-800 quid forks and then twatting em with a hammer and screwdriver feels a bit nobby….

Am a confirmed fan of Hope’s split crown race with rubber seal – sticking to their headsets from now on.

I probably should build myself a wee press.

I convert any sealed bearing head set to split race with a hack saw.

+1 to the cyclus press it’s a no brainier to me and it also fits press fit bb’s. Just have to get someone with a lathe to make me a bigger guide for 1.5 headsets.

I use a heath robinson headset press. One old qr skewer and some washers. Tighten the bolt and use the qr lever to press the cup in. Works a treat and costs about £1.50 in washers.

It is a bit of a ball ache with 1.5 headsets, but works amazingly well with 1 1/8.

I also use a diy headset remover. Length of copper pipe with a cap on the end. About 3 quid.