Headset woes

I have just taken my headset apart and had a bit of a surprise.
Rather than finding a ball/roller races, I found cartridge bearings.
The lower bearing is kn*****ed and the LBS have ordered me a new one.
No problem there really, but how am I meant to service the bearings if
I cannot get them apart to pack in the grease?

The bike is a Dawes Galaxy and the headset is a Deore LX.


John T.
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John Tomlinson wrote:
I have just taken my headset apart and had a bit of a surprise.
Rather than finding a ball/roller races, I found cartridge bearings.
The lower bearing is kn*****ed and the LBS have ordered me a new one.
No problem there really, but how am I meant to service the bearings if
I cannot get them apart to pack in the grease?

The bike is a Dawes Galaxy and the headset is a Deore LX.

Most of them are not supposed to be regreased - you just get new
cartridges which are pregreased. Some cartridges can be prised apart with
a screwdriver, however, but there is a risk of damaging the seals.

I find Stronglight O'Light ones work better without the seals!

~PB

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 22:00:23 -0000, "Pete Biggs"
wrote:


Most of them are not supposed to be regreased - you just get new
cartridges which are pregreased. Some cartridges can be prised apart with
a screwdriver, however, but there is a risk of damaging the seals

Yep. I did try that very gently but would have caused too much damage;
I needed to put the old unit back to use the bike until Friday when
the LBS say they will have some for me.

But looking at the old cartridge, it is not very well sealed. You can
clearly see the balls through a small gap in the housing. So the
grease is bound to wash out.

I think it was the 150k audax I did in Norfolk the other weekend that
washed the grease out of the old unit :-(


I find Stronglight O'Light ones work better without the seals!

~PB


So, do you take off the seals so you can add your own grease as and
when required?

JT
Remove the singers of Spam before replying

John Tomlinson wrote:

Most of them are not supposed to be regreased - you just get new
cartridges which are pregreased. Some cartridges can be prised
apart with a screwdriver, however, but there is a risk of damaging
the seals

Yep. I did try that very gently but would have caused too much damage;
I needed to put the old unit back to use the bike until Friday when
the LBS say they will have some for me.

But looking at the old cartridge, it is not very well sealed. You can
clearly see the balls through a small gap in the housing. So the
grease is bound to wash out.

I think it was the 150k audax I did in Norfolk the other weekend that
washed the grease out of the old unit :-(

You could perhaps try an external boot: Lizzard Skinz or a home made job.

I find Stronglight O'Light ones work better without the seals!

So, do you take off the seals so you can add your own grease as and
when required?

From new, I found the headset was binding with the seals so I took them
off and leave them off for that reason. Weather protection is compromised
but I can regrease when required. In fact I'm only using the top half of
the headset now and use an A9 lower. The O'Light has needle bearing
cartridges* instead of the ball type that Shimano use.

* Poor design IMO: has smaller rollers than A9's and seals are excessivley
tight. Might be ok if head tube faces are absolutely perfect.

~PB

John Tomlinson wrote:
: I have just taken my headset apart and had a bit of a surprise.
: Rather than finding a ball/roller races, I found cartridge bearings.
: The lower bearing is kn*****ed and the LBS have ordered me a new one.
: No problem there really, but how am I meant to service the bearings if
: I cannot get them apart to pack in the grease?


For my money, I'd buy a Campag Record headset which has a grease port
on the lower race so you can grease it easily.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org
"Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 19:26:33 +0000 (UTC), John Tomlinson
wrote:

I have just taken my headset apart and had a bit of a surprise.
Rather than finding a ball/roller races, I found cartridge bearings.
The lower bearing is kn*****ed and the LBS have ordered me a new one.
No problem there really, but how am I meant to service the bearings if
I cannot get them apart to pack in the grease?

You're not. You're meant to replace them.