Replacement crown race seems a little too small

the_hundredth_idiot

I bought an old mountain bike a few years ago (1991 Marin Pine Mountain) - shabby but solid frame and true wheels - the aim was to strip it down and rebuild it, with the result being a working pub bike and me having a much better feel for how bikes work. The only thing I didn't fix at the time was the headset which was indexed (i.e. the bearings had worn notches in the cups so the steering had a tendency to sit in the straight ahead position - which took a bit of getting used to …).

Problem was that it was a 1 1/8 inch threaded headset which is pretty rare. One bike shop I asked in suggested new forks and headset was the solution (erm, this is a sub-£100 pub bike not worth spending that sort of money on it). Eventually I bought a new headet from the US via eBay - a NOS item which is an exact match for the one installed as standard - and I've finally got around to trying to fit it.

I managed to push off the old crown race with my thumbs - so clearly not too tightly on. Problem is that the new one seems just a little too tight, even though it should in theory be identical. I've put plenty of grease on it and used the bodger's approach of tapping gently with a screwdriver. When that didn't work, I cut some pieces of wood and tapped a bit harder on those - still no joy. So I popped to B&Q yesterday aftenoon and bought some 32mm PVC plumbing pipe - giving it a good bash using that still seems to make no difference. The crown race doesn't seem to want to go on.

It's not that it is going slightly down the ridged bit (if you know what I mean), it just doesn't seem to go on the ridged bit at all. It slides down the higher part of the fork just fine.

I could take it to the LBS but that feels like an admission of defeat - I want to figure out how to resolve this myself. It is the first time I've ever replaced a headset so any suggestions what else I can try? I can't see that buying the proper (expensive and rarely used by me) tool would make any difference - but happy to be put straight on that.

I'm going away for a week with the family in a couple of weeks and I could do with the bike being back together before then or I'll be taking my Brompton offroad!

Thanks in advance.
THI

nicklouse

if you have the correct size headset it is a tight fit.

nominally 30mm

read park tools.

the_hundredth_idiot

nicklouse wrote:

read park tools.

Ouch! I did read the FAQs at the top of this forum ...

I'll have a look at park tools. I was expecting it to be a tight fit, but this seems darn near impossible. It is an exact replacement for the old Shimano headset so should be the same size as the one that came off.

Thanks
THI

nicklouse

old one was used many time i guess. they need a fair clout which is why there is a tool for the job.

The Rookie

Iuse a hammer and screwdriver on the 'lip' that doesn't touch the bearings and 'work' the race down, it dos require some sharp 'taps' to get it on.

the_hundredth_idiot

I'm admitting defeat and taking it to the bike shop near my office. Thing seems damn near impossible to get on. I've had a look at the old one and it does appear to have been split which is how that has been fitted.

The bike shop said they would charge me £10 to bang the crown race into place - given how frustrated this had made me, that feels like a good deal. Everything else is ready to go - just waiting to get that crown race into place.