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I normally a fan of the careful hammer and wood approach to headset fitting. I also usually assume that the factory facing is good enough given the tolerance that cartridge bearings have nowadays. Its always worked in the past...
But this time, I can't get the rear of the lower headset cup to seat. Its only not seated by the thickness of a thin bit of paper. Headset assembled and pre-loaded doesn't bind and tension is even throughout the turn.
So options are:
1 - Find a LBS with facing tools for a 44mm headtube. (nearest LBS hasn't got these).
2 - Just ride it and hope it seats itself. Given that the gap is as the rear of the lower cup, fork leverage/impact is only going to work to seat it.
3 - Knock it out and do some careful 'manual facing' myself.
Obviously don't want to risk an ovalised head-tube and in an ideal world I would have found somewhere with the right tools to prep the frame before I started.
Any other ideas?
Bigger hammer.
Yeah, tempted.
Channel your hatred
I will add that this is a new-build for my wife's 40th, not the sort of semi-bodged crap I usually ride. Maybe I should forget that and properly whack it.
Is she well insured?
I was, sort of, joking. If it were me, the headset was smooth, and it was genuinely "the thickness of a thin bit of paper" (how can you even tell, surely that's hundredths of a mm!?), I'd just ride it.
the stabliser - steering back to option 1
njee - that was her answer. I was just obsessing about it. (bit of paper can be slot into the gap, just).
Get it right.
It'll bug you every time you look at it if you don't.
Have you got a bench vice wide enough to clamp the frame, headset and protective jaws?
No bench vice unfortunately. I'd love one though if I had somewhere to put it.
wwaswas - it's bugging me now. Probably because it's not for me and it's not a shonky collection of old bits masquerading as bike. Everytime there's a nice new-build, there is always a niggly bit. Last time it was a small hop on a rim at the weld. Made no difference in reality, but bugged me.
Cheers all. I know what I should have done. Instead option 2 just happened and it seated just fine. Mrs Yak is very happy with it and seemed to go v fast in mucky conditions today.
Maybe this is a reminder to finally get a proper headset press.
If you still want to face it (depending on where you are based), you can use my 44mm reamer/facer for the price of a pint.
Cheers for the offer. YGM