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OK, so I'm bodging 😳
I want to fit a headset cup into a headtube that doesn't really fit it (road frame with integral bearings that aren't a tight fit in the carbon headtube - the cup I want to fit is a bit smaller again in dia but I can "sleeve" it with the old bearing shell. Trouble is as I said, that's a little bit loose, maybe a turn of duct tape sort of loose)
I don't want to use duct tape as I imagine it'll deform and allow movement/damage sooner or later but I want a non-permanent fix, so aralditing is out (unless I do something extremely fiddly and likely to fail using cling film or something)
Is there a better way, other than not doing what I want to do at all ?
My understanding of bearing fit stuff is that it's not space filler, rather it just improves interference fit by removing tiny gaps - is that right ?
Addit: Coke can shim ?
no
No
It will end up moving around and start to wear away the carbon.
Get a headset that fits the frame
Ifyou can't get a headset to fit, try someone like works components. Can't see it being cheap to fix properly and safely.
I know you guys love an update:
Ignored all the sensible advice, naturally
I bodged on the old bearing retainer/outer race onto the outside of the new headset cup (nice & tight even after putting one in the freezer and the other heated) and then a coke can shim (actually Beavertown Black Betty - something of an acquired taste, if I'm honest) superglued on to the outside of that
Fit is tight - no way I can move it by hand and resistance to the press was pretty much as expected
When I die in a shower of carbon fibres and bearing shrapnel, you guys can have my bikes (largeish and quite old - and so are my bikes)
Loctite 638 can be used for bonding cylindrical parts where the gap is quite big. Seem to recall they do other grades for bigger gaps.
My Cannondale has bearings that would just drop out of the swingarm but 638 keeps them in place.
im struggling to understand why other than for an MBUK type franken bike article where the bikes not actually going to be used - youd want to do this ?
Whats the scoop boss !
disc fork onto road frame - original fork is tapered but only 1.25" at bottom, rather than 1.5 so keeping the integral headset wasn't a goer so using an external cup (even I'm not daft enough to machine down a carbon steerer)
I may not get much life out of it before it works loose and risks some damage but I'll be watching it fairly closely so hopefully won't do anything really bad to it