[Closed] Installing headset

shop , or stud bar with correct washers .... only on an oldie , new days bike ...bike shop or correct tool.

Rubber mallet. bit of 4 x 2 and a nice cold pint of mtfu - Bob's your uncle

Headset press makes it really easy. Lump of wood and a hammer is more satisfying though!

Freezing the cups does make it easier - as does heating the frame - hot water is enough. Easy to do DIY

Clean the inside of the frame fisrt, tho. Dirt & corrosion can make it harder to push the cups in

buy yourself a decent sized bolt (make sure it is ~10cm longer than the headtube), two small washers and a washer for each cup (take the cup along to B&Q) making sure they fit snuggly but not tightly into the cups.

should look something like this:

[img] [/img]

thread through headtube with cups in place and then begin to tighten up. go gently at first and watch that the cup go in squarely. a tap with a hammer should help get them going straight.

the star nut can be knocked in with a hammer. again watch out that it goes in straight as it'll mean having to buy a new one if you cock it up.

Done a couple recently with nothing more than a rear Shimano QR pushed through the holes on a couple of Park cone spanners (one on each cup)

Stud/washers sounds good. Never heard of freezing cups though, but also sounds good.

I did the freeze the cups and 4x2 + hammer before. On the new pitch used the m10 bolt n washer jobbie like alpins - much better job IMO.

So the big washer goes inside the cup? Would have thought the big washer needs to be big enough to go over the whole cup???

To make sure it goes in straight, and seeing as how you'll be at B&Q for the rod, nuts and washers anyway, some of that foam rubber pipe insulation round the threaded bar inside the head tube keeps the threaded bar central. If it's central then it's pretty easy to drive it in square. Course if your washers are a really good fit inside the cup you can ignore this suggestion, but my washers go outside 'cos that's how I built it.