Heads Up

After much fiddling with the headset adjustment on my old Cannondale ST I concluded that it needed replacing. I just couldn't seem to find the sweet spot between excessive play and binding the bearings in the cups. Acquisition of a second (and identical) Cannondale for Miss Pops confirmed what I had suspected, as it had the same issues. Principally, that the headset had minute wear in the cups and races, called fretting or false brinelling, causing the steering to centre itself, or "index", most noticeable when riding no-hands.

Replacing a headset is a task I had not yet attempted so I was keen to try. Knowing that specialist (and expensive) tools are required I searched around for appropriate "hacks" methods.

Having lubed headset bearings in the past I was familiar disassembling the headset and removing the forks. Using a hammer and flat blade screwdriver, tapping out the cups from the headtube was very simple and offered little resistance. Just alternate sides and "walk" them out. Likewise, tapping the fork crown race off the stem by getting the screwdriver behind the race was pretty simple, and only required a moderate amount of force.

Now with all the headset components removed and cleaned could i see the cause of all my troubles. Pitting and indentation in the lower cup and fork crown race were evident. This is where the majority of the weight and force of the bike is concentrated.

Now to install the new Tange Levin headset. I opted for the hack tools for the job. A 1.25" PVC pipe to hammer on the fork crown race, and a large threaded bolt with nuts, washers and some pinewood to "press" the cups into the head tube. About $20 worth of hardware.

The fork crown race proved to be tricky. The PVC pipe fitted ok, but didn't allow for me to really monitor the progress of the race as i swung the hammer. It would end up at too much of an angle and the race would jam around the stem. After a couple of tries I discarded the pipe and used a large flat blade screwdriver to tap the race (striking the inside edge) onto the stem, alternating sides to "walk" it home. It was a tight fit and took many incremental strikes but I got there, aware that if I slipped and scratched the bearing race surface it would be ruined. I did inflict a few nicks in the steel steerer tube as a result but nothing to worry about.

The cups went in more easily, and Miss Pops was on hand to help. After a light application of grease inside the head tube, while I held the cups in place and relatively flush with the headtube faces, she gradually tightened the bolt as I kept rebalancing the cups to guide them in. The wood served a dual purpose in this respect, providing me something to grip and protecting the cups from damage.

And that was it, simply grease and assemble the bearings and insert the fork. Curiously the stack height was lower on the new headset and required an extra spacer from the parts drawer.

I'd recommend this method to anyone. It was really simple in the end and a nice learning curve. It wasn't difficult by any means, so long as you're careful wielding that hammer.  Now back to riding no-hands.