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[harryS]

On the subject of forks and headsets. May have posted this in the past, but since I don't have a head set press to press in headset cups, a threaded rod with some nuts and washers will do it, A lot cheaper than a Park tool,

Doesn't hurt to sand the cups with emory cloth to make them a little thinner.,

 

[stompandgo]

I used a homemade press like that for years. Even when the cups and frame tubes are greased, starting the cups perfectly straight required a lot of fiddling and repositioning of the rod. It is important to make sure that the cup is going in straight. I dealt with it on steel frames, but when I started to work on carbon frames, I bought the Bike Hand press and modified a Wheels Manufacturing stepped drift kit to fit it (see my reply somewhere up in this thread). If the drift fits tightly on the press rod, and the drift fits tightly in the bearing cup, the cup will go in straight every time. No added pressure on a carbon bottom bracket shell from a misaligned cup.

 

[PCeBiker]

,..a threaded rod with some nuts and washers will do it,

I used a homemade press like that for years.

I remember swapping out the handlebars on my old POS mountain bike so I could sit up straight without leaning over.

I had never seen a threadless steerer tube before, and there was no star nut.
I had no idea how the hell I was supposed to snug up the steering, so I ended up making that same tool you guys made.

The threaded rod went through the steerer tube and the top of the steering stem, so I could tighten everything up.


I'm especially proud of my specially designed, custom built saddle.

 

[Gionnirocket]

On the subject of forks and headsets. May have posted this in the past, but since I don't have a head set press to press in headset cups, a threaded rod with some nuts and washers will do it, A lot cheaper than a Park tool,

View attachment 208028

Doesn't hurt to sand the cups with emory cloth to make them a little thinner.,

I've been doing the same up until now and it's worked well for me.
That said and agreeing with @stompandgo's comment above.. I just picked this up on sale for less than $10 delivered.

I came across this when searching for an inexpensive bearing press... and since that worked well I figured why not.
I'm not happy with promoting cheap Chinese tools and have mostly purchased high quality tools in the past but when you only need to use something maybe a handful of times, I can't justify buying a Park Tool that's 10x the price in this case.
Seems CNC milling is common and dirt cheap in China these days. Haven't used it yet but the finish on all parts is neat and it fits the cups perfectly.

 

[RunForTheHills]

I've been doing the same up until now and it's worked well for me.
That said and agreeing with @stompandgo's comment above.. I just picked this up on sale for less than $10 delivered.
View attachment 208033
I came across this when searching for an inexpensive bearing press... and since that worked well I figured why not.
I'm not happy with promoting cheap Chinese tools and have mostly purchased high quality tools in the past but when you only need to use something maybe a handful of times, I can't justify buying a Park Tool that's 10x the price in this case.
Seems CNC milling is common and dirt cheap in China these days. Haven't used it yet but the finish on all parts is neat and it fits the cups perfectly.

I agree. Most of my tools are Park or equivalent quality, but I bought a cheap headset press. I have only used it a handful of times since I bought it about ten years ago. It gets the job done.

 

[PedalUma]

On the subject of forks and headsets. May have posted this in the past, but since I don't have a head set press to press in headset cups, a threaded rod with some nuts and washers will do it, A lot cheaper than a Park tool,

View attachment 208028

Doesn't hurt to sand the cups with emory cloth to make them a little thinner.,

Sometimes the BCD is not quite right for a wheel, so I use something similar to expand the dropouts slightly or bring them in a little. It is best with steel frames. Aluminum can't move much.