Installing own fork?

eug k wrote:

hippy wrote:
"eug k" wrote in message
...
Just picked the bike up yesterday (at last). Cost was $69 -
installtion
was $50, then there was the star nut and two spacers. Quite a bit more
than
expected, but oh well.

$50 installation and $19 for some metal!!
Damn, anyone else want a fork installed? I'll do it for $30 :-P
Are they titanium spacers or something?

apparently it was more work than expected.. his original quote was
$20-30. rah! I could probably have bought a pipe cutter for $40.

Piece of paper and a hacksaw. Wrap the paper around the steerer with the
edge where you want to cut and tape it up. Saw through the steerer next
to the paper edge, get a flush 90 degree cut everytime. No need to buy a
pipe cutter.

Gary K:


apparently it was more work than expected.. his original quote was
$20-30. rah! I could probably have bought a pipe cutter for $40.

Piece of paper and a hacksaw. Wrap the paper around the steerer with the
edge where you want to cut and tape it up. Saw through the steerer next
to the paper edge, get a flush 90 degree cut everytime. No need to buy a
pipe cutter.

Only with a very steady hand can you do this. The paper gets cut more
easily than the steerer tube, and it's quite easy to cut through it on
one stroke.

If you really don't want a pipe cutter, you can use a vise edge as a
guide after clamping the steerer tube on it, or slide a short,
square-cut PVC pipe (which is just slightly larger then the steerer
tube) over the steerer tube and use that as a guide. I think a cheap
pipe cutter is easier, and can be used on many other jobs.

Gary K:


apparently it was more work than expected.. his original quote was
$20-30. rah! I could probably have bought a pipe cutter for $40.

Piece of paper and a hacksaw. Wrap the paper around the steerer with the
edge where you want to cut and tape it up. Saw through the steerer next
to the paper edge, get a flush 90 degree cut everytime. No need to buy a
pipe cutter.

Only with a very steady hand can you do this. The paper gets cut more
easily than the steerer tube, and it's quite easy to cut through it on
one stroke.

If you really don't want a pipe cutter, you can use a vise edge as a
guide after clamping the steerer tube on it, or slide a short,
square-cut PVC pipe (which is just slightly larger then the steerer
tube) over the steerer tube and use that as a guide. I think a cheap
pipe cutter is easier, and can be used on many other jobs.

eug k:

hippy wrote:
"eug k" wrote in message
...
Just picked the bike up yesterday (at last). Cost was $69 -
installtion
was $50, then there was the star nut and two spacers. Quite a bit more
than
expected, but oh well.

$50 installation and $19 for some metal!!
Damn, anyone else want a fork installed? I'll do it for $30 :-P
Are they titanium spacers or something?

apparently it was more work than expected.. his original quote was
$20-30. rah! I could probably have bought a pipe cutter for $40.

To me, "more work than expected" translates to "I stuffed up and had to
correct it" or "business was slow so I'll charge you more to make up for
it"...

For $69 I would have expected a new headset thrown in. Go somewhere
else next time.

eug k:

hippy wrote:
"eug k" wrote in message
...
Just picked the bike up yesterday (at last). Cost was $69 -
installtion
was $50, then there was the star nut and two spacers. Quite a bit more
than
expected, but oh well.

$50 installation and $19 for some metal!!
Damn, anyone else want a fork installed? I'll do it for $30 :-P
Are they titanium spacers or something?

apparently it was more work than expected.. his original quote was
$20-30. rah! I could probably have bought a pipe cutter for $40.

To me, "more work than expected" translates to "I stuffed up and had to
correct it" or "business was slow so I'll charge you more to make up for
it"...

For $69 I would have expected a new headset thrown in. Go somewhere
else next time.

The cut doesn't need to be perfect, except for the zen of it.
No one but you will know once the cap is on...

The cut doesn't need to be perfect, except for the zen of it.
No one but you will know once the cap is on...

Glen F:

The cut doesn't need to be perfect, except for the zen of it.
No one but you will know once the cap is on...


Edges that are a little rough are functionally fine, but if the steerer
tube cut is not square, the cap will exert uneven pressure on the
headset bearings.

Glen F:

The cut doesn't need to be perfect, except for the zen of it.
No one but you will know once the cap is on...


Edges that are a little rough are functionally fine, but if the steerer
tube cut is not square, the cap will exert uneven pressure on the
headset bearings.

Glen F:

but if the steerer tube cut is not square, the cap will exert uneven pressure
on the headset bearings.

Rubbish - as long as the cap clears the fork tube (cut some more off!), the
star nut will pull any headset preload applied exactly centrally. [Says he
who has bodgied up at least one that way...]

The operative phrase there is "clears the fork tube". Cutting squarely
prevents "cutting some more off" which is just doing the job twice,
"bodgily", and all unnecessarily. Why stick to your rough method when
it's quite easy to do it properly and elegantly the first time?