Mountain Bike Headset Overhaul

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Mountain bike headset overhaul. Old bikes come into the shop all the time that look like they haven t had a day of maintenance chains rusty wheel bearings dry and grips falling off that are being ridden every day. The great thing about bicycles is that they can last a long time. The headset is the bearing assembly that connects the front fork to the frame and permits the fork to turn for steering and balancing. The lower head race is pressed into the bottom of the head tube.

The upper head race is pressed into the top of the head tube. We ve put together this simple video guide to show you how to service the headset on such a bike. Different bikes come with different headsets so a selection of common types are displayed below. If you have an older 1 headset you ll need a set of 32mm spanner wrenches.

Threadless headset overhaul clean lube replace bearings replace crown race duration. If you ride your bike a lot you should overhaul your headset at least once a year to check for wear and to make sure the bearings have enough grease. For this tutorial you ll need some waterproof grease an old toothbrush and some cleaning solvent. Headsets take quite a bit of punishment especially if you ride in wet weather.

A headset consists of four races plus associated parts from top to bottom. Brought to you by the world s largest mountain bike channel the global mountain bike network.