head set questions

big Pete said:

Hi all,

I am building a bike. I have never put on a head set yet. I want to use the hard where store tool that one builds them self for it (the one with the threaded rod and washer and nut on each end to press down the head set). Here are my questions:

1) Does this tool work?
2) How much force must I use to make the head set sit right? torque wrench?

Also I have a question about the benefits of a threadles star fangled head set over the old threaded type. What is the advantages of the new type over the old type?

Thank you very much

Pete

Frankly, this is one part of the build that I would let a shop do. It is worth the small fee, but if you really want to do it yourself.....

Yes, a homemade tool works, and I have used a homemade tool such as you describe. Just make sure everything stays lined up as you press the cups in and tighten until both top and bottom are fully seated. It may be a bit tight, but should go smoothly with a moderate amount of torque. If it is really tight and you need a lot of force, some other problem may be present and the whole thing should be reassessed.

Threadless set-up is lighter than old threaded set-up. Stems are probably stiffer as well. These days, frames usually use a threadless fork.

eh, I've bashed in plenty of cups with a mallet and a piece of wood 🙂
But yeah, if it's a good frame, it only takes the bike shop guy a few minutes to press it in.

The complete threadless setup is quite a bit lighter than the old type (especially with a full-carbon fork), and many claim stiffer, especially with a 1"1/8 fork, etc, etc.... but the conspiracy theory (the 'real' theory, I reckon) suggests that threadless forks came in to dramatically cut the cost of putting a frame-set together -- frame manufactures no longer have to cut and thread fork steerers to specific lengths for EVERY different frame size.

As far as stiffness goes, the part of an old stem that slips into a 1 inch fork steerer is only ~22mm thick, so, compared to a 1"1/8 steerer (28.575mm) with the added width and minor support of spacers, it's easy to understand why rigidity is improved.

In my opinion, the best advantages of threadless is the light weight and the ease of taking bars off stems without having to take all the tape, cables and a lever off one side of the bars.

One of the disadvantages of threadless is that it's less practical to have very high bars, relative to the size of the frame

The tool for this job is expensive, ask your friends if they have it, if they do and know how to use it it is fairly easy. The Headset wrench may also require the use of certain fittings depending on the type of headset. Certain ones require that you use no fittings, such as the Chris King. If you are installing just the cups, check to see if you need a fitting, if the cups have a cartridge bearing already attaced, i.e. Chris King, DO NOT USE ANY FITTINGS. it is important to put pressure only on the cups. grease the headtube with Ball Bearing Grease before install. check to make sure you do not press the cups at a wrong angle, and it should slide in fairly easily until the outer ring of the cup hits the frame.