I made a star nut installer.

[PCeBiker]

I didn't have a star nut installer so I used a 10mm deep socket, a long bolt, and a nut to make one.

s*it !!
It didn't work,..

So I bought the proper tool,..

So now I'll just pound the first star down a bit further to get it out of the way and start over on Friday when my new tool arrives.

 

[sc00ter]

I had to purchase a mid-bottom bracket bearing press tool. I was gonna make one but just ended up buying one for $15. Sometimes my time is worth more to me than digging thru a hardware store nut and bolt section. Nice to know there is a tool for star nuts. I've seen dummies smack them in with nothing more than a piece of pipe and a hammer!

 

[PCeBiker]

I had to purchase a mid-bottom bracket bearing press tool. I was gonna make one but just ended up buying one for $15.

I've purchased all kinds of bike tools but I had forgotten about this one.

I had my new wheel and forks installed and was finishing up by installing the handlebars and couldn't figure out why I couldn't get the bolt threaded into the steerer tube.
It was because there was no star nut.

I did have a star nut from another set of forks so I thought that I'd just try to install it.

Sometimes my time is worth more to me than digging thru a hardware store nut and bolt section.

I was ten minutes away from my first test ride when I realized that there was no star nut.
I figured that if it didn't work, I could just install another one on top of it.

What I should have done is just forget about the star nut and put a threaded rod up through the steerer tube, and snug it up with nuts and huge fender washers at either end, while I torque down the steering stem bolts.

Now I can't even do that because I have a crooked star nut stuck in the way.

Nice to know there is a tool for star nuts.

There is another version available but apparently it tends to get stuck on the fork tube and you're supposed to use a rubber mallet on it because it will dent and jam if you hit it with a real hammer,..

I've seen dummies smack them in with nothing more than a piece of pipe and a hammer!

That's what I should have done.
I'm sure it would have worked better and I'd be riding my e-bike today.

 

[harryS]

I made a home made press out of 3/4" threaded rod, several 3/4" nuts, washers, etc., I used it to push in the bearing cups on several bikes. I also used it with a piece of pipe to press in a really stubborn crown race bearing,

Wait, no one presses in a crown race bearing! After I was done, I found out there were two sizes for that damn bearing on a 1" stem, and I had the wrong one. It should have split in half by now.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

Crooked nuts always getting in the way.

 

[PCeBiker]

BTW,.. My tool arrived and I got my star nut and stem installed.

There's a Canadian Toonie there for scale, but you might need to be Canadian to know how big a Toonie is.

The tool is Great !!
It's got a smooth, solid, heavy feel to it.
It was EASY to install the star nut.

It was supposed to come with 2 screws though, but there was only one.
The screw wasn't damaged so I'm OK with that.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

It was supposed to come with 2 screws though, but there was only one.

Go figure yours came with a screw loose.

Glad you got it going. It sucks when your bike is down longer than intended.

 

[EMGX]

Instead of a star nut I've used a compression plug on an aluminum steerer tube. Easy to install and some other potential advantages over a star nut.

 

[PCeBiker]

Easy to install and some other potential advantages over a star nut.

I ended up with a bunch of metal shavings/chips being scraped out from the inside of the steerer tube.

That may not matter but it can't be a good thing.
That's one disadvantage of star nuts.

Your not supposed to use a fork if there are any gouges in the steerer tube, so I didn't like scraping up the inside of my tube.



I was finishing up installing my forks and went to install my caliper and realized that the caliper bolts were too long.
The new forks are set up for 180 mm rotors, so I don't use the caliper spacer so I needed to buy shorter bolts.

Now I have to wait until Wednesday for new 18 mm caliper bolts to arrive.

I bought a set of snap ring pliers along with the bolts to get free shipping over $35.

 

[Kayakguy]

BTW,.. My tool arrived and I got my star nut and stem installed.

View attachment 178214

There's a Canadian Toonie there for scale, but you might need to be Canadian to know how big a Toonie is.

The tool is Great !!
It's got a smooth, solid, heavy feel to it.
It was EASY to install the star nut.

It was supposed to come with 2 screws though, but there was only one.
The screw wasn't damaged so I'm OK with that.

A Canadian dollar is a Loonie (the bird on the coin is a loon); a Canadian two dollar coin is a twonie

 

[PCeBiker]

We have a polar bear on the twonie,..

I'd rather have a than a couple stupid 's anyway.

 

[PCeBiker]

I had the LBS do my headset, and they left a 2" stack so I could adjust it myself to dial in the fit. I want to move spacers from below the stem to above it.

Here's my question: Will I need to remove the star nut and reinstall it to do this?

There is no need to remove the star nut or replace it.

If so, I was going to order a star nut install tool.

You only need the tool and star nut if your forks don't already have a star nut installed.

I've been told to let the bike rest on the ground with wheels on, and let the weight of the bike keep hold the fork on. Then remove the top cap, remove the spacers, replace in proper order, and replace the top cap

(I guess there is a torque setting for the cap and stem).

Sort of,..
You snug up the bolt/star nut so that there is no slack/wobble/movement in the headset.
If it's too loose, your headset will be sloppy.
If it's too tight the headset will start to bind.

Do your adjustments with the stem bolts loosened off slightly (the two pinch bolts on the steering stem.) so that the star nut and bolt can snug up the headset.

At this point I guess I can also make sure the bars and fork/wheel are aligned?

Yes, you want your pinch bolts just snug enough to allow the handlebars to move with a bit of a push on the handlebars.
After aligning your handlebars, tightening the stem pinch bolts is your last step.

I'm as green as they come when it comes to assembling a road bike (or any bike). Am I on the right track here? Any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah, you're on the right track.

There is going to be a tiny bit of space between the stem cap and the top of the fork steerer tube to have space for the cap to pull up on the fork tube but not hit the cap.

Try to put a taller/thicker spacer just under the cap so that space is covered up better.

A really thin spacer, could slip or wobble in the gap between the cap and top of the fork tube.

Make sure that the spacers have enough space to allow the steering stem to snug up without hitting the cap.
That should all be fine though, because you are just rearranging the spacers so the total space shouldn't change.

Your stem cap may have a torque number printed on it, and the stem pinch bolts should have a torque value printed on the stem as well.

Thanks in advance!

Your welcome.
I hope you get your handlebars lowered without too much trouble.

 

[m@Robertson]

I used to use just an extra-long M6 bolt and hammer it directly in. I had a little better luck in not letting it get crooked, but my track record was not perfect and I have had to hammer more than one star nut deep so I could put in another one.

When I did my Apostate build, I was also using that bike for the how-to-build-an-ebike series, which included a tools list, so I needed a proper one on general principles plus for the article. I spent less than US$10 on this one. It works perfectly.

How To Build An Ebike From Scratch: Tools List

What tools are needed to build a complete ebike (or a normal bicycle, really)? Here’s your list.

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