Just a Quickie...Removing Forks

The Northern Monkey

How do i remove my forks? i've got my stem + handle bars off....i was expecting the forks to drop out? or do i have to do something with the headset?

Cheers for any quick reply

Ben

nicklouse

the centering wedge needs moving.

have a look at Parktools.

The Northern Monkey

Ah no worries, i'll leave them on then.

doing a big bike clean this weekend. Just taken eveything apart that i have the tools for. getting a park tools set for xmas so i'm not buying anything else atm.

Any tips on how/what i should be cleaning?

i want to get my gear cable running smother as its terrible atm. i was thinking geting a candle and rubbing wax over the cables to lube and keep them clean?

B

-liam-

I'll never waste time messing with cables again. You can't practically clean inside the covers so its a bit of a waste of effort.

I bought a set of these last week. Silicone pre lubricated and with fancy ferrules to stop the crud getting it. Shifting is perfect now and I was having issues before hand.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shimano-XTR-Mount ... m153.l1262

stumpyjon

You're better off replacing the cables TBH. Bog standard Shimano SP41's are fine and cheap. Once you get used to swapping cables it's not so daunting and quite quick (max 15 mins per mech).

Not sure what Nick means about the centering wedge, both my sets of forks just come out once the top cap & stem are off, can sometimes require a little bit of encouragement.

Vivid

stumpyjon wrote:

You're better off replacing the cables TBH. Bog standard Shimano SP41's are fine and cheap. Once you get used to swapping cables it's not so daunting and quite quick (max 15 mins per mech).

Not sure what Nick means about the centering wedge, both my sets of forks just come out once the top cap & stem are off, can sometimes require a little bit of encouragement.

Sometimes forks can have a tapered washer that holds the forks in so they don't fall out when messing with the stem. If so a flat head screwdriver can be used to push the tapered ring out.

Northwind

Lubing cables can bring them well back to life, but they're never as good as they were. I've always used a liquid teflon lube like finish line, on mountain bikes and motorbikes, it's not what most folks recommend but it works a charm. It takes all of a couple of minutes to clean and lube a cable so there's no reason not to try it.

The Northern Monkey

i've just changed my rear cables, i'll do the fronts tomorrow too...just thought a bit of wax would help keep them dry and lubed.

what does the taper look like? the forks seem pretty solid in there tho :x

nicklouse

Looked on Parktools?

rhext

It's worth doing a bit of an internet search for a 'how to' guide on gear cable maintenance. One of the mountain bike magazines recently showed detailed instructions: seem to remember something like move the rear derailer onto the large sprocket. Then, without turning the cranks (so the chain stays on the large sprocket), move the detrailer to the lowest gear setting. This will introduce enough slack in the cables that you can pop the cable outers out of the cable guides and move them freely along the cables: making it easy to introduce lubricant.

There's also some fairly good guides to cleaning and maintaining bikes on the net - none of them that I've seen suggest removing forks for routine maintenance. You need to take real care with this as the next thing you know you coud end up chasing bearings/washers/spacers over the garage floor.

c-bear

Nick didnt mean to buy a park tool, their site has tech info etc on pretty much everything.

There should be a plastic wedge (or sleeve using the picture above), just tap the top of your steerer tube with a rubber mallet to move the forks slightly and then pull the forks up so you can remove the centering sleeve. Your forks will then drop down from your headset/frame.

As for cables, just buy new ones. Saves faffing about trying to 'clean' them up, they wont work as well as new ones.

The Northern Monkey

yes i do use parktools..its the 1st place i looked before i asked on here. I'm just not sure and dont want to feck things up.

this is what i can see
both the gold disk and the inner black circle spin as i spin the forks.

nicklouse

remove the gold tapered wedge.

ddraver

Its an FSA headset?

Yeah the gold ring with a split in it - You may have to work the forks out a few inches(give them a tap with a soft hammer or what have you then push them back up and loosen the gold ring a bit (it ll just bend out a few mm and come off)

nicklouse

ddraver
it is easier just to put a small screw driver in the slot and lift to losen the ring.

ddraver

OK 0 its only happened once (last week) and I kinda found out by accident