I’ve just bought new forks I’d like to put on my ‘race’ MTB and I’m going to put the old forks onto my hardtail. Is this worth tackling myself or is it a job best left to my LBS?

it’s all about confidence and measuring twice. you’ll be fine.

Not much to go wrong if you have say a cutting guide and star fangled nut setter, both of which can be had pretty cheaply.

Certainly bodgeable without but wouldn’t fancy it a great deal myself.

I priced it out with my LBS – £36 which seems a bit steep. I’ve got an SFN inserter and pipe cutter. The only problem I have is with the crown races. I think I could tap them off with a flat head crewdriver (is this safe) – etting them on again is the problem but I’m guessing the LBS will do that for a fraction of the price of fitting the entire fork.

A piece of regular plastic waste pipe (40mm I think) with a block of wood on top is perfect for knocking on crown races.

I use an old paint hollow roller thingy to fit crown races.

Its a total doddle mate. I would recommend getting a set of plumbers pipe cutters to cut the steerer tube. Nice straight cut with no messing.

Also another vote for the plastic waste pipe for the crown race.

Nice tips jim and wwaswas I’ve got both lying around the house so worth a go.

lowey £36 seems a bit of a rip off then!

I was all set to fit my fork and just asked at the LBS how much they charge, as an afterthought to something else I was in there for. £12! Hard to argue with that. It needed a headset change into the bargain.

I fitted both forks myself over the weekend – it was a piece of pish. The first fork had a split crown race which I was able to remove and refit with my fingers. The second fork had a standard crown race which I removed with a stanley knife blade and a flat head screwdriver. I fitted it on the new forks with a piece of 40mm pipe as suggested by Jim – great tip. I cut the steerers with a pipe cutter, took a while but left a nice clean cut.

Thanks for the tips lads!