head race bearings

[celticdog]

Well the old  :faz has now reached the 40k milestone  :eek and I'm thinking of replacing the head race bearings. There's nowt wrong with the steering at the moment- no freeplay or notching, everything ok. I hear that it's a bit of a ballache to do? Is it worth doing now or do I leave it a bit. At what milage did you replace yours if you have replaced?  I know that all bearings have a limited life in service, I've had to replace the front wheel bearings aboot 6 months ago. All input is greatly appreciated dear foccers. Cheers . . .Will

[Bretty]

I wouldn't bother. If it's smooth with no notches or clunks it's fine.

I just did mine before xmas at around 40,000miles. But my bike lives out in the rain all year round. It had developed a very minor clunk under braking and over bumps which had gotten progressively worse over the last 2years

It is a nice easy job to do, with the exception of getting the old bearing cases out of the frame. My bottom one dropped out, but the top one was a foccer, with hardly any lip underneath it, to grab with bearing pullers or hit with a bar.

[His Dudeness]

Well the old  :faz has now reached the 40k milestone  :eek and I'm thinking of replacing the head race bearings. There's nowt wrong with the steering at the moment- no freeplay or notching, everything ok. I hear that it's a bit of a ballache to do? Is it worth doing now or do I leave it a bit. At what milage did you replace yours if you have replaced?  I know that all bearings have a limited life in service, I've had to replace the front wheel bearings aboot 6 months ago. All input is greatly appreciated dear foccers. Cheers . . .Will

I was in the same spot as you and I decided to replace the bearing. Getting the old bearing out is awkward but doable with the right tool. There's two notches in the frame around the lower bearing so the lower bearing comes out easily. There's no notches for the upper bearing and it's got a very small lip so getting a firm hit on it is difficult. You really need the right tool anything else will just bounce off. What worked for me after trying a million different things was a 6mm chisel with a bend in it. Another awkward part is seating the lower bearing. It seats inside the frame not just flush and you're doing it upside down so that is a bit awkward. I used some steel round stock. Overall if you've got the right tool to get that top bearing out it's not too bad a job. With the new bearing in the steering feels lighter and more sensitive. If you're going to keep the bike for a few years you might as well do it and have smooth steering

[celticdog]

Cheers Gents. 

I wouldn't bother. If it's smooth with no notches or clunks it's fine.

I just did mine before xmas at around 40,000miles. But my bike lives out in the rain all year round. It had developed a very minor clunk under braking and over bumps which had gotten progressively worse over the last 2years

It is a nice easy job to do, with the exception of getting the old bearing cases out of the frame. My bottom one dropped out, but the top one was a foccer, with hardly any lip underneath it, to grab with bearing pullers or hit with a bar.

Mine's the same Bretty, it lives in the back garden open to the elements. Sometimes I put a cover over it when I remember. I'm amazed you lived with the clunk for so long, I'd have been sh1tting myself.

I was in the same spot as you and I decided to replace the bearing. Getting the old bearing out is awkward but doable with the right tool. There's two notches in the frame around the lower bearing so the lower bearing comes out easily. There's no notches for the upper bearing and it's got a very small lip so getting a firm hit on it is difficult. You really need the right tool anything else will just bounce off. What worked for me after trying a million different things was a 6mm chisel with a bend in it. Another awkward part is seating the lower bearing. It seats inside the frame not just flush and you're doing it upside down so that is a bit awkward. I used some steel round stock. Overall if you've got the right tool to get that top bearing out it's not too bad a job. With the new bearing in the steering feels lighter and more sensitive. If you're going to keep the bike for a few years you might as well do it and have smooth steering

[size=1em]It looks like it's well worth me going ahead with this, now that I know what to watch out for.[/size]  :thumbup [size=1em]I'll do some research and have a go at it when we get a decent weekend weather wise. [/size]