I’m building (well assembling) my new bike. Thought it would be nice to put one together myself. I’m confident in assembling most parts, but its just dawned on me that I’ve ever fitted a headset. Can anyone give me pointers/links to videos? Or is this a job for LBS?

Cheers,
Steve

Buy one of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HEADSET-PRESS-INSERTION-TOOL-AT-LOW-COST-WITH-HANDLE-/110898892769?pt=UK_Spots_Leisure_Cycling_Tools_RepairKits&hash=item19d216cfe1#ht_694wt_1396

Its simple enough to do – I use a homemade press

Freeze the headset, warm teh bike frame help. Make very very sure it goes in evenly.

Park tools and Sheldon Brown are usually good sources of info

Ok, I had some similar questions earlier this year,
if its a new frame its worth getting it prepped (reamed and faced).
at this point you have 3 choices
1. LBS
2. Hammer and wood
3. Buy a the gear or do the getto equivalent washers + nuts on an axle

If its a good headset LBS, it’s a 5 minute job (not including the reaming and facing)

Don’t be tempted to use 2 large bits of wood and whack it in…….. It works but is not pretty

there is a guy on ebay sells a homebrew headset tool which makes the job doable. search the forum for ‘homebrew headset’ if that doesnt work try ‘ghetto headset’.

It is worth taking time over though and making sure the cups are 100.00000000000000000000% lined up, and can be a bit nerve-racking (I just did it on my new Transtion frame and I was about as nervous as going shark diving, er first time on the job, witnessing childbrith etc) but it is doable.

If the various headset tools you can get for £30-40 worked with Tapered headset I would have got one of those, but becasue they didnt google led me to here and the £3.99 scally homebrew headset device.

Hurrah for STW

(its the thing Palmer77 linked to while I was writing that)

I have a cheap headset press. You might be able to use some of the cheap BB presses that are now kicking around, especially on superstarcomponents.

Worth bearing in mind is the cost of the frame and headset if you mess it up… with the tools it is simple, with a bodge, less so.

Rubber mallet.

Last one I fitted was in a friend’s bike. I decided that the rubber mallet wasn’t so appropriate in a brand new superlight XC frame, so I broke out the proper headset tool. And it mangled the headset cups. FFFUUUUUUUUU. Rubber mallet it is, from now on.

LBS on a quiet day? See if they’ll let you do it, or at least watch them fit it, not a big job at all with the right tools.

gw – was thinking that actually.