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Anyone used one of these?
Does it take the crown off ok without scratching the crown?
£20!
Screwdriver and a hammer. Bish Bosh job done.
Yes it works neatly.
my mate crushed part of his steel rigid fork with one.
he refuses to use presta valves as they 'snap off' though!
thomthumb - Member
my mate crushed part of his steel rigid fork with one...
Then he was using it wrongly. You're not supposed to keep winding it in.
The idea is you wind it in a bit with the flat side up. Then you turn the fork upside down and give the edge of the tool a firm tap with a mallet. The crown race will come off quite easily. No great force is needed and no damage is done to the fork.
Yep, got one used it and it works. Easier than blindly smashing away with a hammer and screwdriver
Hammer and screwdriver or stanley blade if tight - spend £20 in the pub.
I have one.Works fine
The idea is you wind it in a bit with the flat side up
why flat side up ? Doesn't that put force through a small area on the crown rather than the race ?
scaredypants - Member
why flat side up ? Doesn't that put force through a small area on the crown rather than the race
You're not trying to put force on anything.
You're simply closing down the diameter of the tool so it is smaller than the crown race. Then when you tap it, the tool can't come loose and the impact is transmitted to the crown race which pops off easily.
As for the screwdriver and chisel mob, I would never buy a used fork that had those sorts of marks on it. There's bodging and there's butchery 🙂
Thanks chaps. Would usually use a hammer but not on some very expensive white forks I now have!
[i]As for the screwdriver and chisel mob, I would never buy a used fork that had those sorts of marks on it.[/i]
The artistes among us can use the hammer and chisel in a way that leaves no marks....
You're not trying to put force on anything.
You're simply closing down the diameter of the tool so it is smaller than the crown race
OK, I'm imagining oldgit who posted here about a wc sid carbon-crowned racy fork with a race "stuck" on.
Closing the tool to a smaller diameter and pushing the race off MUST be imparting a force (minimal impact, but still force). If you have the angled edge down, it's only applying that force at a tiny area of the crown, at its outer edge (where it just might not be so robust anyway ?).
If you did it with the flat side down and the angle up, there'd be at least as big an area of crown taking the force and more likely a larger area as the flat suface slides under the race and along the flat crown
makes more sense to me
crikey - Member
The artistes among us can use the hammer and chisel in a way that leaves no marks....
Then you are truly artistes 🙂
Sadly most people aren't...
scaredypants - Member
...If you did it with the flat side down and the angle up, there'd be at least as big an area of crown taking the force and more likely a larger area as the flat suface slides under the race and along the flat crown
Agree, it seems to make more sense, but I have found the other way less likely to scratch or leave a mark.
BTW you're not using the tool to push anything if you can help it*. You are just making it a smaller diameter than the crown race so it doesn't slip off when you tap it.
*sometimes there is so little clearance that you have to clamp it a bit tighter.
Stanley blade method here. Hammer one in one side, one in the other. Two in the first side, two in the other. Repeat for 5 mins max and the crown race is freed with minimum heavy artillery.
spindi - Member
Stanley blade method here...
I would only do that on a steel steerer tube.
If you nick an alloy steerer tube doing that.... 🙁
I use one, as said above, don't over-tighten it and then turn the forks upside down and give it a tap, works a treat with no marks at all,
£700 forks and then bash em with a hammer and screwdriver,Seems silly when the tool is cheap
lasted about six forks in the workshop here. The sharp edges fold over when the tool is tapped down to move the crown race. ok for home use.
Yours must have been made of cheese.
works very well, i have a 'car' version, as stated tighten a tiny bit ,tap edge of tool, tighten a bit more ,tap, then before you know it off pops the crown race easy peasy.
I've just splashed a bit of cash on specialist tools for just this sort of job
I've bought a bigger hammer 🙂