Headset rebuild; 1 of ??
Started the headset rebuild today.
I have the 5/32" loose ball bearings from the 2011 Niagara order back when I first planned the rehab. I'm not sure that my vernier skills are enough to establish that the caged balls that had been used were 5/32", but they seemed smaller than the 3/16".
I use the plastic egg tray to keep track of parts in the order they come off. First picture was after disassembly, second was after cleaning the locknut, top race, and washers.
(Side note: Thanks to bikeforums C&V for threads about safely removing the funny star-nut thing, that it's compatible with a 32mm. I put some painter's tape on there to protect the finish.)
All the contact surfaces look smooth, no sign of fretting ("brinelling").
One oddity was the fork steerer tube having lost some paint. Looks like a section flaked off. My thinking was that any attempt at touch-up might just also fall off and into the lower bearing. I was going to just make sure it had a grease smear on the unpainted area when I reassembled. Does that seem reasonable?
I definitely feel more confident working on the bike. My pre- and post-work are getting smoother, too, things like: put on music, take out stand, open stand, unhang bike, get on bike tools, etc. are getting such that 45 minutes of light are enough to make progress. "Hey, if I put the stand here instead, I can open the toolset there and it's only 1 step away..."