Fitting a crown race without the tool

Any tips on bodging? Really want to finish the build this evening as it's my only spare night for a while, and didn't realise the crown race wasn't a split one. Any advice on how to get it on? Tried using a small piece of wood and it just pushes down one side and then the other….

It's a hack bike with rigids so don't want to pay a LBS to do it, plus want to learn to do it myself

Large blunt flat screwdriver, covered in a couple of layers of electrical tape. Tap, move around a bit, Tap, move around a bit, Tap…You get the picture, It'll go on.

best bet is a crud guard bracket – slides over the steerer and you hit the large flat area with a wooden mallet – bish bash bosh done

Have you got any plastic waste pipe lying about by any chance?

Grease up the steerer and bash it down with the stem a few times.

drew – Member

Have you got any plastic waste pipe lying about by any chance?

I'm with him^^^^ or a metal tube (scaffold pipe with padding around the bottom (pipe cover foam or something like that?) and slide over the steerer?

plastic pipe and a hammer here 🙂

Before discovering that an old, appropriately sized, seatpost was perfect for the job I used to use an adjustable spanner:

Open the jaws so they're wide enough to sit on part of the crown race that won't be in contact with the bearings and then smack the flat face of the spanner with a hammer, alternating blows on either side of the steerer.

Been looking around for some piping afraid not 🙁

Think the screwdriver & patience is probably my only option for this evening.

Or maybe I could cut a slot in the race? It's a FSA orbit xII so uses cartridge bearings

I use a piece of wood and a hammer

Block of wood works well.Hard enough to tamp the race down but not to hard to damage the race

Heat it to help – sit it in a cup of hot water. I have used the adjustable spanner trick

i used a spanner once and left big marks on the steerer tube.

this time i just made the crown race into a split crown race with a hack saw.

king headset so cartridge too. probably not all that good for it, but i couldn't be arsed being charged a tenner for someone in a shop to do it.

meh.

yup trusty piece of wood and hammer job

an Old stem can ofetn help if you open the clamp up a little, other wise a wide end wrench and gentle tapping is the method for me,

Remember to check for play in the headset during the first ride as riding may settle the race a little more and you might need to just tighten it up a little.

Hacksaw. XLII's used to come with a split race, they'll still work with one.

edit: in fact see here for the same recommendation: XLII Crown Race

Wooden baton and hammer for me.

But sometimes I just get it on as best I can, and let the first ride sort it out.

ended up cutting a split in the effing thing to get it fit, couldn't fr the life of me tape it in. Once done fitted in under 30seconds….

now for the SFN…

got hacksawed xl2 races on 2 of my bikes, no probs there.

buy a cheap tool to fit the SFN, trust me its worth it and i use threaded steel washers and bolts for fitting my headsets

Tool?

32mm waste pipe.

I use an old crown race on top of the crown race to be fitted and whack with large flat screwdriver/hammer combo.

plastic mallet.