Broke my 6 year old HL 5-Spot a few months back, all the other components have been re-used elsewhere, leaving the headset a Chris King Steelset till last. One cup is about halfway out now but I've hit a bit of a snag…

Any thoughts on non destructive removal of the headset mucho appreciated.

As you've broken the frame, why not cut the headtube from around the headset? Or failing that, drifting them out with either a drift or a wide screwdriver normally works.

Could also try heating things. The alu frame should expand more than the steel headset.

+1 with heat as a suggestion. You'll need to find an alternative drift, but heating the alloy, even with a hair dryer (although will take a while) will help things along a lot.

Ooo steelset.. i've heard of people just floggin bikes with them fitted.
Tough job.
Good luck dude.

Find some metal tubing with the right dia to just fit in the head tube and just bash that until the cups come out.

if all else fails (and you can't/won't cut the headtube), maybe you could file flats on the outer edges of the cups, stick it in a vice and turn the frame to break the adhesion ?

(no idea if this is practicable – could you file down a steelset ?)

Which part of the frame have you broken? I'm looking for spares…

Cheers all, think some heat and more hitting will be the next step

I broke the main triangle, don't know if the chainstays/seatstays are still good, suppose I'll have to strip the paint off to check.

Boiling water over the headtube and then another session with a new headset remover and a hammer

can you not just buy a new headset removal tool? or go to a bike shop they'll shift it.

try a socket and x bar (just a little smaller than head set)

Challenge is that a Steelset goes into a headtube for a full inch which is a hell of a lot more than most headset cups. I'll be getting a new tool anyway, but for this something tougher is required. Socket set is a good idea, will give that a go 🙂

Like tails said. Try a headset remover to remove headsets. Stop cocking about with drifts, sockets and random bits of tubing.

And make sure you're trying to remove the headset, not a step machined into the head tube. They're hard to shift.

johnners – Member
Like tails said. Try a headset remover to remove headsets. Stop cocking about with drifts, sockets and random bits of tubing.

And make sure you're trying to remove the headset, not a step machined into the head tube. They're hard to shift.

POSTED 7 HOURS AGO #

you did read the first post didnt you? and see the great big pic of a broken headset remover..

so thats why he asked on here..cos its broken…

I might be interested in the back end of the frame mate mail in profile thanks

Cheers all for the advice, yes to those assuming I'm trying a cheap short cut rather than relying on the correct tool for the job. I DID USE the correct tool for the job and it broke (big clue was the picture) now it wasn't because I'm ham fisted I've fitted and removed plenty of headsets over the years using the correct tools. It was because a Chris King Steelset is inserted into the headtube a full 1 inch deep which is three times more than a normal headset. So it's proving to be a bit of a bugger to remove via the approved method so I'm going to have to be a bit more brutal in my approach when I go round 2 with it tomorrow.

I'd be taking a hacksaw to the headtube as you'll struggle to cut thru the headset (and it's stuck anyhow) so little danger you'll damage it. But first, heat, blowtorch or similar, get hardcore on it.

Also, steelset in a 5-spot? If you thought the steelset was needed for your riding style, no wonder you broke the 5-spot!

Hacksaw is on standby! Well I did manage 6 years out my 5-Spot so I think I did OK out of the deal, seems a shame to waste the headset when it's still in such good nick.

Russ I have some Facom expanding drifts that make the average headset drift look like a Barbie doll toy.

Give us a ring if you want them

Will do, are they up to being smitten a mighty blow? or ten? After all you have had a go at the offending item too.

1000 blows would be fine Russ, last time I didn't have the correct one and I was being careful with your frame despite the crack in the BB area 😮

Well the LBS offered to have a go on the understanding I wasn't liable for any broken tools, within 2 minutes they'd broken one of their headset removal tools. Left it with them overnight and they'd managed to get it out, in the end it took a Dremel to the headtube to peel it open to get the headset cups out. Charge = £0 as I'm a regular and I'd given them something out of the ordinary to do 🙂

What the **** is the point of them?

for tandems and bikes with **** headtubes really

Or for people who get a deal on them that's cheaper than the other Chris King headsets at the time and find that the headset outlives the bike.