[Closed] Unior Headset Press - Worth It?

I've done it ghetto style for a while with no problems.

However, that's a really good deal. Maybe you can reclaim some of the cost by hiring it out to your mates too.

i have their workstand and it definitely of workshop quality - it should have a hinged clamp but there is no plastic on the stand pretty much.

I have no knowledge of that tool but I would put them at park levels of quality from my limited experience of their stuff

Will it do press fit BB's? If I were spending that sort of money I'd want it to do them as well. I know the Cyclo one will which is around £40 more. I don't necessarily want press fit BB's but the bike industry does seem to specialise in giving us things we don't really want.

Yellow pages and a hammer works well enough for me.

That looks very very similar to the Park one (which I have) which fits press fit BBs great (in fact that was the main reason I bought it!). Looks like a good buy.

Ghetto with a bit of bar some flat bits of steel and two big nuts works fine .I dont see the need to spend £100 when this works so well with no risk to bike or headset .

An old (very old) wood working vice with softwood jaws.

Works every time.

Rubber mallet's the best headset tool I've used. I actually own a proper one, a Cyclus I think it is, and it's alright but most times I use the mallet.

You bang the bearing in with a rubber mallet?

We recently bought the headset press from wiggle for I think a third of this price and its knocked in a few headsets now with absolutely no problems, plus a few bottom brackets. Dont think I could justify that much especially as we had a ghetto job.

I got the Cyclus one after a years of mallets/threaded rod. It really does make it much much easier and I wouldn't consider not using it if I had a carbon frame. £35 ish, I would thoroughly recommend.

I don't think it will do 1.5" though. When I get my lathe my first job will be some adapter plates!

curiousyellow - Member

You bang the bearing in with a rubber mallet?

Nah, I whack in the headset, then fit the bearing after (same as you'd do with a press)

Ah, I have an integrated headset. So no cups.

EDIT: Aaand looks like someone's bought the last one so I don't have this problem anymore. Better save up for the Park Tools one and see if there's an offer on CRC when it comes round!

If it's an integrated headset you shouldn't need (and shouldn't use) a press- they're essentially drop-in.

I've got the Cyclus one too - got it for under £30 and fitted a couple of headsets with it so far. Apart from anything else it's a really fun/satisfying tool to use.

That is great news! Thanks Northwind. I tried pulling the bearing out, but it seems to be held fast. Should I keep tugging or is it worth getting one of the cup removal tools instead please?

Having used all conceivable methods the last 2 were done with a press and the old cups using a nice park tool split tube thing. What a difference, smooth easy and straight forward with all the right tools that slot into the cups and support them.

Wooden mallet here, & too many years of engineering experience to tell me the cups are seated nice & square.

Long threaded bar and two huge washers. Cost: a couple of quid. Does the job perfectly for me.

I copied oldboy's method method as I'd been told that steel headtubes as easy to egg and didn't want to bust my new Inbred.

Does the 20 (no pound sign on my laptop) include facing? If not, are you going to get it done and then use the press yourself? How much do they charge for the facing? 20 just to press in a headset sounds like an awful lot!

I got a headset press from rose for around £40, a couple of years ago. I've used it four or five times I n mine and my mates frames so I'd say its paid for itself by now.

I bought a Cyclus one 10 years ago and it still works a treat. Can't see why you would spend more.

I have just ordered the Unior one myself from a different source for less £
http://www.eu-bikeshop.com/g97/tools/

They have a eBay shop to ,and have a couple of other brands of headset press to cheapest being a 'Kovys' branded one for about £30.

I have some other Unior tools which appear to be really good quality so hoping the headset press is the same.

curiousyellow - Member

That is great news! Thanks Northwind. I tried pulling the bearing out, but it seems to be held fast

Are you absolutely sure it's an integrated? ie no cups at all, bearings straight into frame? No circlips or other retaining things? If it is then the bearings should come out easily, a wee bit of very gentle persuasion can be needed if there's corrosion or dirt but I'd be very wary.

That is great news! Thanks Northwind. I tried pulling the bearing out, but it seems to be held fast. Should I keep tugging or is it worth getting one of the cup removal tools instead please?

If your frame really is integrated, the bearings literally just sit on a ledge machined into the headtube. There are no cups to remove. Chances are that there's just a bit of corrosion part seizing the bearings into the headtube. If it were me, I'd soak the area with Plus Gas or WD40 overnight and then try taking the bearings out again by hand or maybe, very carefully with some sort of suitable lever if there's a ledge you can get it under and there's no chance of damaging the frame. Don't lever directly against the end of the headtube etc, it's common sense really.

Once you've done that, installing a new integrated headset is super easy, you just pop the bearings in, replace everything in the right order and adjust correctly.

You should also check the spec carefully, there are a few integrated bearing standards around. What frame is it?

anyone know how easy it is to do BB92 cups with the cyclus one, would I need an adapdtor?

cheers

@BadlyWiredDog and Northwind

This is what my headset looks like, so looks like there is a cup there somewhere. Not sure if it is for the top or the bottom.

[img] [/img]

The bike is in storage at the moment, but I get it back on Saturday. I will take a look to confirm.

Thanks for taking the time to have a look guys!

Im thinking of getting this for headsets and dodgy pressfit BBs.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111181771179?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Kimbers, yeah it will, carefully though as the plastic on the face of BB can deform easily.

curiousyellow- that diagram's weird, the lagerschale- bearing shell- looks like a top cup but it'd be odd for a bike to have a top cup but not a bottom, at least, I've never seen it so I'm afraid I'm going to back out of giving advice without knowing exactly what's going on!

I don't believe you'll need a tool- I think either it's an integrated and you just change the bearings, or it's a semi-integrated and... you still just change the bearings. No reason to replace the entire headset, it's very rare you actually need to remove a quality headset to replace a bearing. But... I can't say for sure.

It looks like a pretty standard Campy style headset to me, bearings "should" just fall out

Cheers. I thought the diagram looked like a top cup, but I've never replaced a headset so I'm not 100% sure. Is this not what they call a semi-integrated headset?

From what I remember the bottom bearing did seem to be in pretty tight at the bottom. Didn't try to remove the top bearing because it looked fine. I've ridden the bike through all of last winter so it could have settled in pretty tight.

Will using a 1.5 inch cup remover tool and rubber mallet to remove it if it's seized risk breaking anything?

cyclus one for me really good for 35 quid used it loads

Mechanic suggested using a rubber mallet and a flat punch to get it in and out. What is a punch? Is it like the cup removal tool?

Hopeful morning bump?

Punch : think blunt chisel type thing.

http://www.canecreek.com/tech-center/headsets/service-videos

Ice Toolz stuff is fairly good.

Aldi had a set of punches and chisels I picked up recently.

Ive got a Cyclo press and its the best tool I have ever bought. It makes installing headsets a bit of a joy

Looks like a crown race installation thingy. I have a headset cup remover waiting for me. Hopefully that will do the removal job if the bearing is seized.

Apart from wheels, I do all my own mechanical work.

I had a Cyclus headset press that I used for about three year - it cost £35 at the time (2007) but I see they're now £50+.

Unfortunately, I somehow managed to strip the threads on the press and looked at replacement options. £50+ seems like a lot for what they are, so I gave a £4 "homemade" eBay press a go recently:

[IMG] [/IMG]

I'm happy to report that it did the job just fine. I really can't see any reason to buy a more expensive one, unless you use your press much more often that the average home mechanic.

So the Unior Headset press and other tools I ordered arrived today and very impressed with them,I have already used the Headset press to fit a 1"Headset to a older roadbike I'm refurbishing and it was a doddle.
Even more impressed when you consider the Press,Pedal Spanner and Chain Tool came to £78 inc Shipping from the Czech Republic less than the Press on its own from Halfords.
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Unfortunately, I somehow managed to strip the threads on the press

Blimey that was good going, it's quite a chunky thread on those so dont know how you managed that Ben!

@unovolo Where did you order the kit from please mate?

I wanted a BB tool and Halfords sent me the pedal spanner instead! D'oh!

Where did you order from, unovolo?

TELL US! TELL US!

He put a link in an earlier post but I couldn't find the press on the linked site. I too would love to know where I could get it for that price.

Ah:

http://www.eu-bikeshop.com/g97/tools/

@avdave2 Look for bearing press.

Don't like that your address data is all entered unencrypted. Could be anyone you're giving the details to.

Thanks curiousyellow

Yep , eu-bikeshop is the place to go.

I saw them on ebay first and thought I would have a look to see if they have a webstore too(which they do).

The prices on the webstore seem slightly cheaper than their ebay store(probably to cover ebay costs)

All seems genuine enough I had prompt email replies,emails to say order received/dispatched inc Tracking no's.

And can't fault there prices,link to headset press below

http://www.eu-bikeshop.com/i13896/u616290-new-unior-bearing-cup-press-1680-4/

Plus I paid via Paypal so if theres any problems they will feel my wrath!

Paid via Paypal as well. How long did it take to turn up? Did you say 3 working days?

curiousyellow - how much did it cost you with the postage? I'm certainly tempted, I've made a home made press but found it struggles with the initial line up and ended up using the rubber mallet to start it off.

1.56 to the pound. Ordered some other kit too.

Took about 5 days for the postage which I don't think is unreasonable especially with the cost savings involved.

Postage for me was $15.99 which was for a Pedal wrench,Chain Tool and the Headset press was is a couple of Kilos on its own.

The headset press is definetly a good bit of kit I don't know how it compares to others but makes fitting a doddle.

I have used a mallet and block of wood in the past and also a home made creation with threaded bar,all seem to work to varying degrees but the proper tool is much easier and more professional and for me as I intend to do more bikebuilding and repair work is a worthy investment.

Definitely not unreasonable. Ordered on 29th, dispatched today. Let's see when it turns up.

I think I'll put a list together for Santa.

Still not here. Unovolo, did you have to sign for the package?

Turned up today. Looks like it was held up for over a week in the UK!