RubeRad

Lol, I bet everybody on this thread who recommended a tool (commercial or ghetto) has used that tool.

I built my own bike from frame up, and chose to press in the headset with bolt, nut and washers, because it was recommended by Dave Moulton. If it's good enough for Moulton to press a headset into a Moulton-built frame, it's good enough for me to slap a cheap headset into a CrossCheck. I've used the same bolt/washers for a couple other bikes since then, and my CrossCheck has been steering fine for me for four years/~10Kmi since then. If the handling is funny or the steering is spooky, then I guess I have no sense of humor and don't believe in ghosts.

noglider 

90% of the posts appear to come from mothers' basements, huh? And this is a sign of respect of people here? I suspect you don't even know when you're insulting people, so maybe I should cut you some slack.

You call it hilarious that people have views that you disagree with and that you call wrong. Again, there are better ways to disagree, but this appears not to have occurred to you. You call differing opinions a desire to validate.

Right, pardon me if I don't respect the things you say. You get the respect you earn and the respect you offer.

I don't know what you enjoy here. You don't like the people here, and we don't like you, either.

3alarmer 

...it was a long time ago, but aren't you the guy who insisted that the only proper way to cold set spread the rear dropouts/stays on a frame was to use some kind of screw spreader ? Because any other method would set up some kind of "stresses" that would lead to unfortunate consequences. Have I got that right ?

I'd hate to wrongly attribute that one, because it was one of the great moments in Mechanics.

Andy_K 

I use a homemade press, but I use copper pipe reducers to serve the function of a drift. Because the copper is softer than the headset material this lets you press against the bearing races without fear of damage. Purchasing these reducers more than doubles the cost of the DIY solution (pushing it over $10), but I think they're worth it.

I think this was where I got the idea: Homemade Headset Installation Tools | BikeCommuters.com

reptilezs

the new pedro's model with the needle thrust bearing is very nice

mtnbke

You're obfuscating. You don't know about the reality of how a frame gets compromised.

The right tool for the job is the right tool. A bike frame needs to be perfectly in plane but also neutral in tension or it doesn't handle predictably. The right tool is not an idiot in the employ of a shop that can't afford proper tools using wood blocks, or just yanking on a precisely aligned bike frame.

There is a mathematical relationship to the plane of the derailleur hanger being exactly in line with the dropouts on a bike, all within the proper chainline. When a bike frame gets twisted and has bound torsion that is different in one chain stay versus the other, or one seat stay vs the other, you can still get the dropouts square, and you can get the derailleur hanger to correctly be in plane, and still have ruined the handling of the bike. Great tubing and a crappy frame builder that overheats welds that then cool down to the point that nothing is in alignment, who then bends everything to get the fame together in the jig, is building a crappy bike.

It's like how LASIK will correct your vision but will introduce uncorrectable vision issues (higher order aberrations) that can't be fixed.

There is no excuse to ruin a good frame spreading it like an idiot, then having to correct all the alignment errors.

There is a reason these are manufactured by the likes of Lifu/Icetools or Hozan to properly cold set frames:

mtnbke

You wouldn't believe how many vintage steel race bikes have been RUINED by idiots in a Europe that think spreading frames is easy to allow changing a tire/tube without removing the wheel:

https://en.hollandbikeshop.com/bicyc...er-rear-wheel/

You can do it, but you shouldnt, and you are ruining the bike when you do.

janthenat

+1 for home made from threaded rod, nuts, and washers

Wileyone 

It's not "Rocket Science" don't make it so.

SquidPuppet

And there you have it ladies and gentlemen. Apparently Sheldon Brown was an idiot.

3alarmer 

...I thought it was you. Don't ever change, man.

ksisler

A couple of years back, I found myself without my pro headset bearing press (loaned mine out) about 15 minutes after the home store closed on a Sunday night. Found some stuff in the garage and made this one. The big plate on the bottom was a later addition due to the larger lower bearing on the FSA Pig headset which I have installed on several frames. The white plastic ring at the top would normally be under the top washer... it is made from two sizes of PVC pipe (see closeup) and acts to keep the rod aligned better when pressing in the bottom bearing. I nicked the smaller piece with the hacksaw to reduce its OD just a smidge.

Metaluna

I bought the Nashbar one maybe ~10 years ago for cheap. It works reasonably well. I especially like the thrust bearing, though I assume you could buy one online and add it to your threaded rod setup if you knew a source.

My biggest complaint is the quality of the steel rod. It's kind of hard to explain without a picture, but the bottom part of the press is a metal plate that you slide into notches cut into the rod every inch or so to secure it (instead of threading it on). The steel is apparently very soft, because it's really easy to squash the metal such that the steel under the plate "mushrooms" out, increasing the diameter and making the stepped insert really hard to remove. I've had to file the rod down several times. On the plus side it's so soft that the filing is easy, I guess. Also the aforementioned steel plate is really clunky and falls off a lot until you get the press tight enough. Overall if I had to pay full price for this again, I'd spend the extra $80 or so on the Park, or try out the threaded rod approach.

I was searching around and stumbled across this on eBay. It's just some all-thread and nuts, but the fender washers look nice and it includes a thrust bearing. Assuming it's reasonably well made it looks a little less clunky than DIY, for not much more money.

Bike Bicycle Headset Road BB86/90/91/92 Bottom Bracket Cup Press Install Tool | eBay

Camilo

Wow.

ksisler

The up and lower fittings on the ebay offering aren't fender washers. Pictures show them to be machined steel fittings specific to the task; not the recessed center area for alignment. A fender washer is much thinner, flat all across, and would be useless even on a DIY press. Just not strong enough, so if DIY'ing a press, look in a nearby bin at the home store for some thick galvanized washers. Suggest 1/2" as a threaded rod of that diameter will be strong enough to do the job, has readily available thick washers, and is very common so they are in the sweet spot price-wise. /K

[Partial QUOTE=Metaluna;19510267]...I was searching around and stumbled across this on eBay. It's just some all-thread and nuts, but the fender washers look nice and it includes a thrust bearing. Assuming it's reasonably well made it looks a little less clunky than DIY, for not much more money.

Bike Bicycle Headset Road BB86/90/91/92 Bottom Bracket Cup Press Install Tool | eBay[/QUOTE]

mtnbke

I'm going to suggest that no one that owns a legitimate headset press cobbles together that bit of kludge.

Let alone refining it over time…"later addition" and what not.

So let me just put it out there: Do you or do you not actually own the "pro headset bearing press" you claimed to own?

I'd bet a dollar you didn't actually own one, and don't now. I could be wrong. However, I've not met too many people that spend time fabricating the wrong tool, when they own the right one. Let alone refining that tool through iterations when they own the right one.

Its okay if you don't and didn't, but it just begs the question why misrepresent that you had a legitimate headset press? Which goes back to my post. Most people that haunt the mechanics part of bike forums post about stuff they know nothing about, offering suggestions they have no experience or expertise regarding, and based solely on the opinions of others they've read. A strange kind of internet transference.

3alarmer 

79pmooney

I am now just a little wiser. (And sadder.) I now know I have ruined many frames. The beautiful Fuji Professional that was handmade for me as a warranty replacement (with details just a little different from either the previous year's models and the next. The mechanic who I until now considered gifted just squeezed to drop the spacing from 126 to 120 so I could use my existing wheels. I did the opposite to my Peter Mooney 20 years ago. I've been under the illusion since I put a new drive train on it that it rode wonderfully, even considering writing the builder to say just that.

Good thing my Mooney hasn't yet been further ruined by my DIY headset press. (I used the time honored mallet and wood block approach when I put in the Stronglight when I stretched the dropouts.) Funny, I made the headset press to install a HS into my ti custom and spent the next 8000 miles under the illusion that all was well. (Yes, it now shows "brinelling" and index steering, but my experience has been over the past 40 years that 8000 miles on a 74 degree HS bike on less than ideal road surfaces and $30 cup and cone HSs is about the norm. (One year, 5000 miles on a 75 degree Fuji Pro.)

Reminds me that I need to knock out the bottom race, take it to a shop and get a replacement. (The Tange is a second HS for that bke, The Chris King drove me nuts. To get the Tange to work with the steerer cut for the King stack, I have mixed three different Tange HS. A mishmash but it has been a joy to ride and service. (Tweak the adjustment once a year,if needed.)

Ben

RubeRad

I think you're right mtnbke. ksisler never owned a real headset press, he came here and told his lying story that he had one and loaned it out just to make you look bad. It's obviously a lie because there's no way he'd have a friend to loan a headset press to, because he's a such a liar. LAWJICK beeotch!

(And btw, THAT's begging the question. You meant 'raises' the question. What really chaps my hide is that 'begs the question' is a technical type of fallacy that is very important to know how to spot; it's a tool that should be in everyone's logical toolkit, but everybody and their mother goes around saying 'begs the question' when 'raises the question' doesn't make them sound quite pompous enough. It's like those losers that pretend they are bike mechanics but prove to everybody how lame they are with their DIY headset presses)

RubeRad

3alarmer 

shelbyfv

Running hard in this thread https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-me...m-8-speed.html as well!

3alarmer 

...I don't want to tell him that Hozan specifically says in their instructions for their frame spreading tool he keeps linking to that it's for temporarily spreading the drops. I'm afraid he'll get discouraged and stop posting it.

shelbyfv

Camilo

Whaaaa?