rusted headset

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Have a Trek hybrid about 14 months old. Took it in for a tuneup and headset replacement was
recommended as it was "notched". Was very noticable, so I believe it was true. As they try to
replace it I'm told its so rusted they "can't get it apart". Going to soak it overnight and see
if it frees up. OK, I'm no mechanic, but for you experts, what does this really mean? If it can't
be removed / taken apart, what options do I have. While I'd love a new bike, this ones only a
little more than a year old. I trust the LBS, but am not educated enough to know what options I
have. Thanks

Odd. Which model Trek do you have? SOME of their lower-end models are made of steel (most are made
of aluminum), so rust is a *possibility*, but even so the shop should be able to get the headset
out. Where do you live? Where do you store the bike? What are the weather conditions like? If you
live near an ocean, leave the bike chained up out in the open, and it pours rain frequently, then a
steel headset MIGHT rust solid to a steel frame. However, if either part is NOT steel, and/or you
don't treat your bike as outlined above, then rust is rather unlikely to be the answer and I'd get a
second opinion from another shop--something that might be worth doing in any event. Does the bike
show rust on the outside of the frame?

7300 Trek. Aluminum frame. Leave in NY (upstate) Bike stored in garage but I ride in all conditions
including a winter or salted roads "Andy M-S" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Have a Trek hybrid about 14 months old. Took it in for a tuneup and

headset

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

replacement was recommended as it was "notched". Was very noticable, so

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

believe it was true. As they try to replace it I'm told its so rusted

they

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"can't get it apart". Going to soak it overnight and see if it frees

up.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

OK, I'm no mechanic, but for you experts, what does this really mean?

If it

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

can't be removed / taken apart, what options do I have. While I'd love

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

new bike, this ones only a little more than a year old. I trust the

LBS,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

but am not educated enough to know what options I have. Thanks

Odd. Which model Trek do you have? SOME of their lower-end models are made of steel (most are made
of aluminum), so rust is a *possibility*, but even so the shop should be able to get the headset
out. Where do you live? Where do you store the bike? What are the weather conditions like? If you
live near an ocean, leave the bike chained up out in the open, and it pours rain frequently, then
a steel headset MIGHT rust solid to a steel frame. However, if either part is NOT steel, and/or
you don't treat your bike as outlined above, then rust is rather unlikely to be the answer and I'd
get a second opinion from another shop--something that might be worth doing in any event. Does the
bike show rust on the outside of the frame?

Does it have a quill stem? The stem could be rusted into the fork's steerer tube. Also, if the
headset is threaded, the locknut could be rusted to the threads on the steerer.

-Dion

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Have a Trek hybrid about 14 months old. Took it in for a tuneup and

headset

Quoted message said:

replacement was recommended as it was "notched". Was very noticable, so I believe it was true. As
they try to replace it I'm told its so rusted

they

Quoted message said:

"can't get it apart". Going to soak it overnight and see if it frees up. OK, I'm no mechanic, but
for you experts, what does this really mean? If

it

Quoted message said:

can't be removed / taken apart, what options do I have. While I'd love a new bike, this ones only
a little more than a year old. I trust the LBS, but am not educated enough to know what options I
have. Thanks

Bob said:

Have a Trek hybrid about 14 months old. Took it in for a tuneup and headset replacement was
recommended as it was "notched". Was very noticable, so I believe it was true.

Unless this bike got a lot more miles than most hybrids, it really shouldn't be doing this. With old
headsets, yeah, but if it has a modern Shimano headset, or better, it should not happen.

Quoted message said:

As they try to replace it I'm told its so rusted they "can't get it apart". Going to soak it
overnight and see if it frees up. OK, I'm no mechanic, but for you experts, what does this
really mean?

It probably means they can't get the fixed cups out. Soaking the area in solvent should fix it.

The real question is how it got that rusted up.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win you're _`\(,_ | still a rat. --Lilly
Tomlin (_)/ (_) |

Bob said:

Have a Trek hybrid about 14 months old. Took it in for a tuneup and headset replacement was
recommended as it was "notched". As they try to replace it I'm told its so rusted they "can't get
it apart".

Sometimes this happens to bikes that are used on stationary trainers. Some folks have sweat that
is like poison to steel, and when they bathe their bike in sweat, everything fossilizes in a
matrix of rust.

I imagine that you have a nutted headset and quill stem, which offer two places for rust to stop the
show. I can't think of how a threadless headset and stem could become so rusty that they would not
be removable.

In any case, a good bike shop would not be so easily deterred.

Chalo Colina

P.S. Don't ride your bike on a stand, it's lame. Run in place or do the Pogo if you haven't got
anything better to do.