You can just reuse the one on your existing fork if you want. Otherwise, the race needs to match your headset model. And that’s assuming you are replacing a tapered fork with another tapered fork….if you are going to a fork with a straight 1 1/8 steerer you’ll need an adapter race…
seekinbigmouths on
Place the fork upside down on a board or thick cardboard.
Use a screwdriver and hammer to tap the base of the crown race. Sometimes there will be a little indent to start from.
Great-Sandwich1466 on
A bike shop wouldn’t charge much either if you just bought a fork in hand to them for this removal. It would take less than 5 minutes.
Working-Promotion728 on
Some forks have a little cutout where you can fit a thin screwdriver or prying tool to lift the crown race. If you want to avoid scratching the top of the fork crown, put a very thin piece of metal (a utility blade works well, but don’t slice your fingers) under the screwdriver and twist the screwdriver. Work your way around the crown race until it’s off.
A lenght of appropriate size PVC pipe works well for pressing the crown race back on. You can also split the crown race for easier installation.
Otherwise, pay a bike shop to remove the crown race with the right tool and press it on the new fork with the right tool.
nforrest on
Just reuse the race on your current fork. Start with a very thin tool – I use a razor blade to begin to make a gap between the race and the fork crown. Just go slowly and keep moving to wider tools as you go and you’ll have it off in no time and undamaged. To reinstall the race, I’ve found that a 2″ piece of ABS pipe from the herdware store works well and is very cheap compared to the dedicated tool.
5 Comments
You can just reuse the one on your existing fork if you want. Otherwise, the race needs to match your headset model. And that’s assuming you are replacing a tapered fork with another tapered fork….if you are going to a fork with a straight 1 1/8 steerer you’ll need an adapter race…
Place the fork upside down on a board or thick cardboard.
Use a screwdriver and hammer to tap the base of the crown race. Sometimes there will be a little indent to start from.
A bike shop wouldn’t charge much either if you just bought a fork in hand to them for this removal. It would take less than 5 minutes.
Some forks have a little cutout where you can fit a thin screwdriver or prying tool to lift the crown race. If you want to avoid scratching the top of the fork crown, put a very thin piece of metal (a utility blade works well, but don’t slice your fingers) under the screwdriver and twist the screwdriver. Work your way around the crown race until it’s off.
A lenght of appropriate size PVC pipe works well for pressing the crown race back on. You can also split the crown race for easier installation.
Otherwise, pay a bike shop to remove the crown race with the right tool and press it on the new fork with the right tool.
Just reuse the race on your current fork. Start with a very thin tool – I use a razor blade to begin to make a gap between the race and the fork crown. Just go slowly and keep moving to wider tools as you go and you’ll have it off in no time and undamaged. To reinstall the race, I’ve found that a 2″ piece of ABS pipe from the herdware store works well and is very cheap compared to the dedicated tool.