Threadless external headset - bearing lubrication question (with pics)
08-22-19, 07:37 PM
#1
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Threadless external headset - bearing lubrication question (with pics)
I’m about to install the fork that came with the frame I just bought. The headset was already pressed. Do I need to grease the bearings before installing, and if so with what? I have some basic Park Tool grease that I use for pretty much everything. Thanks!
08-22-19, 08:03 PM
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Are the cups new? If not, inspect them first by running a ball point pen around where the bearings would run. Look and feel for pitting. Then put a liberal amount of the Park grease in the cups, then work some more into the inside of the bearing cages.
08-22-19, 08:39 PM
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And thanks for the advice!
08-22-19, 10:12 PM
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Without looking I am sure parktool.com site will show you lubing and importantly how to adjust the bearing pre-load.
08-22-19, 10:30 PM
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apply enough grease so that some squeezes out on assembly and initial use. Andy
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08-23-19, 04:37 PM
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...if you're installing a threadless fork and headset that has never been installed before, you need to leave it dry and do some trial assembly first, to see where the fork steerer needs to be cut to shorten it. Unless you plan on taking up all that length with spacers, in which case I guess you're good to go. But it's kind of messy to grease, fit, then disassemble to cut the fork, then reassemble.
08-24-19, 07:19 AM
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...if you're installing a threadless fork and headset that has never been installed before, you need to leave it dry and do some trial assembly first, to see where the fork steerer needs to be cut to shorten it. Unless you plan on taking up all that length with spacers, in which case I guess you're good to go. But it's kind of messy to grease, fit, then disassemble to cut the fork, then reassemble.
08-24-19, 09:12 AM
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Honestly, I’m not getting the “leave it dry” thing. Headsets are pressed in mostly dry to begin with. A little grease will make the press go easier but the grease won’t “dry”.
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
08-24-19, 06:57 PM
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...thanks Stewart. Always good to hear your valuable insights.
