Fitting a MTB Headset - Without any special tools!

[lucaseq77]

Is a hammer a special tool ?

[davdump]

@lucaseq77 no you can buy them at any hardware store.

[Borbuster]

I fitted my headset with the very same ghetto press. Mine is still fine 5 years later.

[McMinnManiac]

Apparently you have to go out and buy a "vice Table "like the one they have the bike screwed into !

[theoutdoorsfunonly]

wow it took me 2 minutes to do it better than that

[ddrek87]

This method works, just that it's a bit risky. If you what you are doing, you should be fine. As for me, I tried the dumbell method, tried the threaded rod method with washers and female pipe adaptors, didn't work, one side of the cup always goes in first, used this method as my last resort. Brilliant!

[SuperSkooltube]

You made that task look way too hard! Could've fitted the headset and forks in the time it took for you to fit the races.

Tip for noobs, place the end of the headtube flat on a surface as you tap it and have a friend hold the frame for you. DO NOT lean the down tube against a surface as you smack the frame with a mallet. D'oh!

[davdump]

just thought I'd update all the doubters, my bike and headset is still going strong 3 years on! :D haha

[MrBrumbrum73]

Good Old British Shed Engineering!  Well Done.

[MrLYNDON56]

wow its not hard

[tekoheko]

do the same backwards please, without special tools

[thesquirreltree]

@tekoheko Watch the video in reverse =)

[kyrieeleison1]

bad bad bad. You're lucky you didn't damage the tube head. If that were a carbon fibre frame, you'd be screwed.

[mofo6636]

i used a plastic right crank to install them 3 years ago and the headset is rock solid :) just bash the thinnggamagigs :D:D

[fodera6]

You (stressed /ˈjuː/; unstressed /jə/) is the second-person personal pronoun in Modern English. Ye was the original nominative form; the oblique/objective form is you (functioning originally as both accusative and dative), and the possessive is your or yours.

You're is a contraction for you are.

[isousxristosnika]

those losers in the video were pussyfooting the install....sometimes excessive force is needed

[isousxristosnika]

i,ve installed headsets using a hammer a wood for years and believe me you can hammer down pretty hard without damaging anything

usually if u give it a hard knock a first it pretty much sets it self in place

[fightnuttube]

There's a great video on youtube showing how to do this using a threaded dumbbell handle and 2 weight plates (and of course the thread on collars).

Worked just like a $60 press.

[screig]

You genius! Just tried that and it worked like a dream!!

[JeezusFUCKINGkryst]

0:13 - 0:27 is my favorite.. tee hee!

[lilrick98]

nothing new!

[JeezusFUCKINGkryst]

lilfag98-

If you already knew all this, then why bother commenting like a smart ass? Why not move on to a video where you DID learn something?

[davdump]

hehe, well said, thank you!

[maxsoccer666]

@davdump How do you know if is corectly install ?

[davdump]

@maxsoccer666 just keep hitting it (making sure its straight) until its flush to the frame of the bike.

[Sharky58]

and I dont know how to figure out the right size. Hopefully I find that out so I dont force th eparts in and looking / feeling like Homer Simpson.

[Sharky58]

I have noticed that mountain bikes come in different sizes. I have a Schwinn Ranger 2.6 FS and an old Specialized Hard Rock. The Schwinn's frame looks alot better than Specialized. a friend of mine gave me a schwinn that I plan to restore. The seat post from a Specialized wont fit in a Schwinn. and I have noticed that there is a top part missing on the headset on the schwinn. I think I have to buy a new headset, as well as seatpost for that.

[dillwiggle]

This is ok if you got a peice of crap bike and headset. Spend the $10 and get it done properly if you have a good bike. Cheers

[Sweedness]

Thank god for IS...

[hesstrucker22]

Der..terible idea, the reason for a press is that you avoid tapping (or in your case pounding)the headset into the frame which could potentially crack a carbon or aluminum headtube, at very least weaken it causing a disaster on the ride. Take your frame and headset to the lbs and have em install it for like $9 in 5 min. the time lapse makes this look like it took a whole day! you could have ridden! or you could even use a dumbell like shown in another vid. bad idea, noobs beware.

[davdump]

I wasnt "pounding", LOTS of gentle taps, time lapse makes it look worse.

My LBS wouldnt fit a headset that I had already bought from elsewhere, (a lack of foresight I know!)

I tried using a dumbell, but it wouldnt go in straight. It twisted whenever I tightend it.

All the above being said, I agree I wouldnt recommend doing this to others. I just saw an article on the net of how someone had done it with a hammer and wood, and just thought Id give it a go, whilst having a play with my new camera!

[lowbob79]

@davdump This method of a block of wood and a mallot has worked for years and years and years. It did take some time to figure out the the bike need to been braced, but notwithstanding, it is not a bad idea.