spaceman Posted April 21, 2008 Report Share Posted April 21, 2008 New forks with CNC'ed steerer seem to taper outwards where the crown race is, which makes the race a little difficult to fit in.For me, I put the race through the steerer, then fit the fork onto the frame, and give it a few hard slams. This means the race would hit the bearings (which are already into the headset cups), and the race would be fitted onto the steerer good. Not only that, I find that the hitting force is generally equal (because it's full surface area contact). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muel Posted April 21, 2008 Report Share Posted April 21, 2008 I just hit it with a hammer all the way round, it twists and stuff but it will get pushed on properly after 5 mins of riding anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxwellduryea Posted April 21, 2008 Report Share Posted April 21, 2008 Please do not hit with a spanner, a hammer, a screwdriver, or just put it all together and tighten till it pushes it down. Hitting with a block of wood is prob the best being that the material is much more forgiving on your crown race, out of all those options, but by al means just go and buy a tube the right size and then you will have one for as long as you ride. If you keep rigging tools for your bike, the parts WILL eventually fail, and then we get a post on here "why did my headset explode, Chris King sucks....etc...." when its the users fault. Putting the race on and tightening is THE WORST idea ever. Fook the whole headset up that way, and if you get lucky, maybe ovalize the headtube. Congrats.Do it right. Get the tool or just buy a pipe the right diameter. Cant be more than a few $$$.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Rainbird Posted April 21, 2008 Report Share Posted April 21, 2008 Alternatively, just use a hammer and screwdriver Seriously, unless they've started making the race out of Koxx Cheese, or you're an utter tool, it's extremely hard to do any damage. A big wide headed driver and a mallet being the optimum way to do it, but I've fitted headsets with lump hammers in the past with no adverse affectsIf you have access to the tools use them, otherwise there are plenty of justifiably adequate means available Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Kearns Posted April 21, 2008 Report Share Posted April 21, 2008 Alternatively, just use a hammer and screwdriver Seriously, unless they've started making the race out of Koxx Cheese, or you're an utter tool, it's extremely hard to do any damage. A big wide headed driver and a mallet being the optimum way to do it, but I've fitted headsets with lump hammers in the past with no adverse affectsIf you have access to the tools use them, otherwise there are plenty of justifiably adequate means availableTo early for that kind of shit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muel Posted April 21, 2008 Report Share Posted April 21, 2008 Please do not hit with a spanner, a hammer, a screwdriver, or just put it all together and tighten till it pushes it down. Hitting with a block of wood is prob the best being that the material is much more forgiving on your crown race, out of all those options, but by al means just go and buy a tube the right size and then you will have one for as long as you ride. If you keep rigging tools for your bike, the parts WILL eventually fail, and then we get a post on here "why did my headset explode, Chris King sucks....etc...." when its the users fault. Putting the race on and tightening is THE WORST idea ever. Fook the whole headset up that way, and if you get lucky, maybe ovalize the headtube. Congrats.Do it right. Get the tool or just buy a pipe the right diameter. Cant be more than a few $$$....I've been riding bikes for 7 years, and in that time I have swapped crown races numerous times, including recently, when I have been swapping between my Echo lites and pace carbon forks. I use a hammer. I doubt a headset will explode due to a few little marks on the crown race. You just need to take your time and tap it down gently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted April 21, 2008 Report Share Posted April 21, 2008 Please do not hit with a spanner, a hammer, a screwdriver, or just put it all together and tighten till it pushes it down. Hitting with a block of wood is prob the best being that the material is much more forgiving on your crown race, out of all those options, but by al means just go and buy a tube the right size and then you will have one for as long as you ride. If you keep rigging tools for your bike, the parts WILL eventually fail, and then we get a post on here "why did my headset explode, Chris King sucks....etc...." when its the users fault. Putting the race on and tightening is THE WORST idea ever. Fook the whole headset up that way, and if you get lucky, maybe ovalize the headtube. Congrats.Do it right. Get the tool or just buy a pipe the right diameter. Cant be more than a few $$$....With a crown race you hammer the inside part nearest the steerer tube. It's not part of the bearing race, so if you use a screwdriver + hammer and you're accurate, you'll be fine. I'm not quite sure how you would fit a crown race with a block of wood anyway? It would be very awkward. Putting the race on and tightening is THE WORST idea ever.I do agree with this though - but purely because there's no way you'd ever get enough force through the star nut / bolt to press a race onto the forks. When I said this: I just use a screwdriver. As long as it's vaguely in the right place it'll press itself on when you ride the bike and then you just need to tighten the headset a bit more I really meant that will push the race on the final 1mm or so if it won't budge easily with the hammer + screwdriver. I wasn't suggesting to anyone that they should just lob the bits of the headset onto the fork in vaguely the right order and go do some taps until it all starts working properly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben John-Hynes Posted April 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2008 I do agree with this though - but purely because there's no way you'd ever get enough force through the star nut / bolt to press a race onto the forks. When I said this: I really meant that will push the race on the final 1mm or so if it won't budge easily with the hammer + screwdriver. I wasn't suggesting to anyone that they should just lob the bits of the headset onto the fork in vaguely the right order and go do some taps until it all starts working properly Ooooh ok,It's on properly now anyway,I put it on as far and straight as i could,Fitted the forks and rode!Seemed to work as the race is sitting flush on the forks!Cheers everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eskimo Posted April 21, 2008 Report Share Posted April 21, 2008 Ummm, just to add, grease also helps. I've known several people in the trials world to never use it with headsets. Also a hammer probably isn't much compared to a 8" rotor of power or whatever. I'm currently using a slotted (if you like) steerer/ crown race so it just pushes on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben John-Hynes Posted April 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2008 Ummm, just to add, grease also helps. I've known several people in the trials world to never use it with headsets. Also a hammer probably isn't much compared to a 8" rotor of power or whatever. I'm currently using a slotted (if you like) steerer/ crown race so it just pushes on A split one?I read about those,Seem like a good idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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