Crown race – noob question(s)

I’ve decided to learn a bit about these marvellous bike things we have so much fun with, and took the leap to buy a frame and build it up myself for a Summer project. It’s a Ragley Big Al FWIW.

I bought a Superstar components headset, and asked for their advice about installation, but their response was entirely unhelpful – they said I should look at the park tools website or take it to a shop, without answering any of the questions.

I’ve attached pics of the race, seal and bearing on a Rockshox Pike, and wonder if the STW massive can advise:

1) Have I got the crown race, rubber seal and bearings in the right sequence/orientation (per the picture)?

2) I understand there’s a debate about where to orient the split in the race. Any broad consensus/wisdom on this?

2) Should I whack the crown race down onto the steerer tube so its really tight – i.e. Shunt it down to squish the rubber seal, a further 3-4mm from what you can see in the image?

3) Where should I use what sort of grease in the installation? (i.e. normal bike lube vs copper grease that I used for the headset cups)

Many thanks!

The race appears to be on upside down, Bearing is good.
Split can be anywhere, but some people seem to get sniffy if it’s at the back.
The seal should run against the bottom of the head tube, not sure what you are trying to seal if you squish it down there. 😉
Use either some marine grease or heavy lithium style bike grease slathered all over the bearings and seats. Copper slip is going to (eventually) get into the bearing, keep that to the interference fits of cups into frame.
Superstar are notoriously unreliable, someone will be along soon to suggest fitting the headset with a rock.

This is the image you want to refer to.

I’ve not seen a headset with a seal on the lower cup before. Would be interesting to see if it helps keep stuff cleaner or traps damp in there.

Copper grease is anti seize, it shouldn’t be used in place of other types of grease to act as a lubricant as the tiny bits of copper can act as an abrasive.

1. Aren’t there fitting instructions with the headset?

2. I’ve never heard any debate about the orientation of the split on a crown race, put it where you want.

(the other question 2). I thought the crown race should be an interference fit on the steerer, what’s that seal for?

4.  Any good waterproof grease will be fine for installation.

Brilliant – thanks so much for the instant responses. Looks like I’ve got the race and seal upside down!

Interestingly the race appears to have the rubber seal integrated, and it does look better the other way up. I’ve attached some more pics to show it flipped, then with bearing and in the frame. Looks ok to me, but do let me know if anything looks awry!

As per Mert, crown race looks upside down, the taper of the race should sit in the inside taper of the lower bearing. Yes you need to push the crown race all the way down otherwise you might think you’ve tightened your headset and then it will come loose in a ride as it settles under your weight. I put the slot of the race facing forward, I figure it’s less likely to fill with mud from the front wheel but I don’t think it really matters. I tend to cover all mating surfaces with a little grease, but not so much that it’s oozing out past the seals where it will attract mud.

Edit: you’ve done it right now, top bearing sits in the top cup followed by the wedge and then the top cover

If you have any further headset-based queries, this is the place to ask:

Probably a stupid headset question..

Turn the crown race the other way up. The flat surface sits on the fork crown.
Use a general purpose grease, not copper slip.
The split can be anywhere, but I don’t align it with the crown-cut out at the back. Because, things.
Also – see the diagram above. If you have shims/washers to go above the upper compression ring, then set them so the seal on the dust cover is just compressed, not squished flat, nor should there be a gap when you preload.

Thanks so much all 🙂

…oh, and there were no fitting instructions from Superstar – just a separate bag for top/bottom parts of headset. They don’t have anything on their website either as far as I can tell.

I was pretty disappointed by their response to a request for advice, particularly given their activity on this board sometimes. Not a great customer experience.

Edit: The STW community however, are wonderful!

I’ve not seen a headset with a seal on the lower cup before.

This is one of many reasons why cheap headsets fail in weeks, i don’t think i’ve got a single headset which *doesn’t* have some sort of a rubber lip or seal on the crown race. (Except the one solitary, much overrated Chris King, which has the seal in the cup instead.)

I’ve seen a few headsets with seals on the crown race, if it’s like my Cane Creek expect it to do the sum total of nothing.

Grr, 17 minutes late 🙂

As for the slot – was always told (and continue to practise) don’t have it at the back as that’s where the maximum force is when you hit bumps / brake.

I can’t imagine it really makes any difference but I always fit it at about 2 o’clock.

Edit – the seal is pretty much the same on Hope headsets too.. keeps (tries to keep) the crap out of the lower bearing. I thought most headsets had that.

@b33k34

Even the image you’ve posted has a seal on the crown race…

This is one of many reasons why cheap headsets fail in weeks

Personally I don’t think a thin flexible “seal” doesn’t do much to keep out the dirt and crap, and more to keep it in once it’s in there good and proper. A good schmear of grease and regular cleaning works better to prevent premature bearing failure but good quality bearings seem to be the answer (in my experience at least) – especially the lower.

I suspect they are all related. I’ve not seen many decent bearings in a headset with no lip seals!!

i usually get 3 or 4 years before needing to do anything to a headset, so i must be doing something right. (and it’s usually just a wipe and some fresh grease.)

@mert I know. That’s why I commented on it.

I’ve had a variety of quality headsets – Hope, Chris King, Across – that have lasted many years (in fact I’ve never replaced a bearing in any of those ones) and they all have a seal of some kind on the top cover/bearing but never on the lower.

Hope top seal definitely seems to work pretty well (if you adjust the shims so it sits properly)

I’ve had headsets where the top seal is a bit shit and gets distorted (Cane Creek) and the top bearing started to get a bit grouchy as a result. And I’ve had cheap headsets with no seal where the top bearings were the first to go. Newest bike has what seems to be a nicely made Nukeproof headset with no seal, which I find a little worrying.

bring back oiling nipples to flush out the bad stuff while replacing with new

Given this is your first build, expect the headset to get a bit loose after the first (couple of?) rides.

I find even banging in the cups with as much enthusiasm as I can muster when wielding Big Hammers near a shiny new frame, a couple of decently rattly rides seem to get everything to bed in that little bit more that they need snugging up again 🙂

Personally I don’t think a thin flexible “seal” doesn’t do much to keep out the dirt and crap

Agreed! I don’t think it doesn’t do much!

From using a Hope headset (with seal) and a Cane Creek (without), I can say for a fact that the seal protected bearings last longer. Like, YEARS longer. (Not sure whether Superstar ones will, but they stand a good chance.)
OP’s final pics look like he’s sorted it 👍

From using a Hope headset (with seal)

It does doesn’t it. I’m talking crap.

b33k34

I’ve had a variety of quality headsets – Hope, Chris King, Across – that have lasted many years (in fact I’ve never replaced a bearing in any of those ones) and they all have a seal of some kind on the top cover/bearing but never on the lower.

I have six bikes in my shed with hop headsets, all have a seal on the lower crown race.

You also mistakenly listed Acros as a quality headset 🙂

Steerer tube chopped, fangled nut bopped, headset, stem and spacers installed.

The spacers look a bit rubbish, but it should be serviceable to start with and have a play with heights. Thanks again for help!

Steerer tube chopped

U shore? 😀

Lol. Yeah – it’s a bit long, but I figure once it’s built I can take time to try different heights before adjusting to a final position. Didn’t want to chop too far and bugger up the fork on my first bike build 🙂