Greatestalltime

When you change your headset do you always change the crown race as well?

My advanced SL doesn’t have one so I’ve never had to, but my new bikes do and I’ll likely need the special tool to remove as I don’t trust myself with a flathead or butter knife method.

Thanks

canklecat

Depends on the design. When I swapped from a Chris King to inexpensive Origin8 headset temporarily while the King headset is being overhauled (30 years, lots of neglect), I planned to reuse the King crown race. No go. Didn't match the cartridge bearing in the Origin8 headset.

There was no way to remove the original crown race without damage, using any makeshift method. I took it to the LBS and paid them to use their pricey, elaborate and very effective Park Tools crown race puller. Took less than a minute, no damage even to the paint on the fork crown (early 1990s carbon fork on a steel steerer tube).

If it was a choice between damaging the fork or mailing the entire fork, including tight crown race, to a shop that had the proper tool, I'd ship it to that shop. In fact I thought about asking the folks at Chris King if they could handle the entire fork, but the full service local Trek LBS had the Park Tools doodad so that was convenient.

The Origin8 crown race I'm using for now is much wider in external/outer diameter, and extends beyond the fork crown. I might be able to use one of the makeshift methods to knock it loose if I had to. But I wouldn't as long as the LBS has the right tool.

Greatestalltime

So just leave it in place if you use the same bearing. Got it. Thanks

abshipp 

Lucky you. I took an (albeit inexpensive) fork to my local Trek store to have a crown race removed since I didn't want to do it the "wrong way" with a mallet and flat blade screwdriver.

Imagine my surprise when I was browsing a little bit and I hear the "WHAP WHAP WHAP" sound of the mechanic using a screwdriver and a mallet to remove the crown race

I don't shop there anymore.

Greatestalltime

Sounds like every shop I’ve been to.

Maelochs

Well .... did it work? Did the shop mechanic preserve the paint? If the guy can do the job properly, who cares how? If the guy is that good, why buy an expensive tool to get the same result?

canklecat

It's impossible to use that brute force method to remove some crown races without damaging the fork crown. There wasn't enough room between the Chris King headset and crown race and my older Trek 5900 OCLV fork to use the brute force method without damage.

If the method requires re-facing the crown to repair the damage, it's not a good method. And in the end it would waste more money in time and energy than the cost of a Park Tool crown race puller. While $270 seems expensive for a typical cyclist who might use it once or twice in a lifetime, that's cheap compared with the cost of liability for screwing up the job and needing to repair or replace a fork.

Greatestalltime

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/99?...3D153676620162


Some on some other mountain bike forums recommend this type over the park tool.

canklecat

That looks like a repurposed bearing puller. It'll work. The Park Tools CRP-2 is basically a fancypants version of the same thing, with plenty of adjustments to accommodate pretty much any fork, steerer tube and crown race. And replaceable wedges since those are subject to wear and damage.

I thought the Park Tools CRP-2 was overpriced until I watched the tech at the LBS use it. It's a damned clever device, and makes the brute force effort look easy when pulling a really tight crown race (like the CK unit on my older Trek 5900).

I'd consider the less expensive bearing puller type tools for home use, with *some* forks and crown races. But I still would prefer the best shop tool for the Trek 5900 and original Chris King crown race and headset. When I finally get around to sending my old CK headset to King for overhauling, I'll take the fork back to the LBS to have them pull the Origin8 crown race.

And I'd be less picky with a steel fork, especially on an older bike. Less likely to cause irreparable damage, and even if it did I could replace the fork. It would be very difficult to find an original replacement fork for my '93 Trek 5900 (let alone matching the original peculiar purple color, which shows up as blue in most web photos), although there are some very similar replacement forks, including the Synergy forks from Origin8 -- although those have the contemporary straight forks rather than the slightly raked fork of my older bikes.

Greatestalltime

Good info. I’ll have to find out if any of my local shops have one. Otherwise I’d rather get the bearing pulled type and do it.

Looks like of my 3 bikes—2016 De Rosa Protos, a 2013 Tcr advanced sl, and A Dogma f8, only the De Rosa will need the tool because the Giant doesn’t have a crown race—which I’d like to know if that’s a great design or a flaw—and the f8 crown race which appears to be plastic or maybe some other softer than metal material that just slides off easily.