Hi,

I’m transferring a bike to a new frame and probably need a headset, it’s a 1/18 straight 44mm, I haven’t measured the old frames head tube but the new one is 44mm semi integrated and looks a bit wider to the eye.

If I need to I was thinking of buying a hope mix n match headset, I quite like the idea of using the hed doctor rather than buying a star nut tool, just wondering what people would suggest.

I wouldn’t want to spend more than the hope headset costs really.

I’ve not fitted a headset before so any general advice appreciated 🙂 open to other suggestions, just want to make the job as pain free as possible.

Cheers

For the tenner you’ll save buying it online I’d try and talk your bike shop into free fitting…

Otherwise star nut over hed doctor imo, tool is cheaper than a hed doctor and is easier to use.

Ok thanks I was considering doing just that, as my local bike shop are good, and then thought well if I do that I may as well ask them to do the full swap, as the cable outers will need to be replaced and all the other little things just trying to weigh up the best thing to do.

Hmmm lol

I do a lot of stuff myself but I let my LBS fit headsets as they have a big expensive press and I’m not a fan of ‘bodging’ press fit items with wood and hammers into soft and expensive aluminium frames. Hope ones if they’re not angle adjusting headsets, they just work and the bearings last ages.

Hmm, I’m erring towards the Lbs then in that case 😯

I do a lot of stuff myself but I let my LBS fit headsets as they have a big expensive press and I’m not a fan of ‘bodging’ press fit items with wood and hammers into soft and expensive aluminium frames. Hope ones if they’re not angle adjusting headsets, they just work and the bearings last ages.

Proper headset presses aren’t silly money (I think I paid £40 for a half decent one) and they’re useful for all sorts of other things – e.g. bottom brackets – that need controlled pressure. They’re especially useful if you use Angleset headsets, where adjusting the angle can require knocking out the lower cups.

I completely agree that hammering in with bits of wood is an absolute no-no, but if you have a press, then you’re basically doing the same as the shop would anyway. I do all of mine myself now, including expensive carbon frames and have no worries. If you’re not doing this often though, it’s probably just plain cheaper to pay the LBS to do it instead 🙂

I absolutely agree! All my bikes have threaded BBs and I have a smaller bearing press/puller for my frame bearings, hence not buying one.

I thought I’d done a lot of headset changes over the last few years but actually the shops that built both bikes did the headsets at the start, then the full-sus got changed to an angleset, whilst the hardtail got changed to a less extreme angleset and then to a straight headset, so still only three changes.

Chief can you recommend the press your use? Does it work a both?

Can’t answer for chief, but this is my headset (and BB) press:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/x-tools-headset-press-workshop-tool/rp-prod10225

Interestingly, it says it won’t do 1.5″ cups, but I did some Hope ZS ones last week with it and it worked fine, so no idea what this means.

A friend has this, which is much simpler and a bit cheaper, but it doesn’t centre as well as the CRC one:
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TOJWHSP/jobsworth-headset-frame-cup-press-(also-bb-press)