Ahead set maintenance.

Whitecamperman

I took my forks off today from my 2004 gt avalanche 1.0, I think the. Bearings need replacing as they are the origional from new. Can someone tell me if I can fit one of the aftermarket headset bearing sets, or can I just replace the bearing race? I've put it back together for now with new grease, but the bottom "seal" just above the forks doesn't seem to be sitting right, with a gap between it and the bottom of the head tube. I'm concerned that this will lead to ingress of muck etc if I don't sort it out. Clearly I'm no bike mechanic, but I'm willing to learn! Help!

cooldad

Just replace it with loose balls.
If you mean the crown race isn't seated properly it sounds like the forks aren't all the way in. What part is it?

cycleclinic

If it's a cartridge bearing headset then new bearings are available speratley through any shop that has a whiskers account depending on the headset though.

If it has caged balls then replace the balls with grade 10 or 25 stainless loose balls. The race will have to be in unpitted/corroded condition though.

nicklouse

Sounds like you have not put it together correctly.

See the info on parktools on servicing aheasets.

Whitecamperman

Thanks everyone for your replies, I've got a better understanding of it all now!