Changing fork ... help

Caroline_ie

Hi people -

I am trying to replace the fork on my fixie ... I thought i had it all figured out until this ( and sure it s very easy to fix. )

The new fork is missing something ... help.
The old fork is the alu one, the new one the carbon one...
Photos attached.

Chips Lovell

You need a crown race for your new fork. Removing it from the old one is not going to be fun without the proper tools. Me, I'd just buy a new one.

Caroline_ie

el tonto wrote: »

You need a crown race for your new fork. Removing it from the old one is not going to be fun without the proper tools. Me, I'd just buy a new one.

that s what I thought.
would any crown race do?

Chips Lovell

Most of them do look very similar in my experience, but I think to be safe get one that's specifically labelled as going with your headset.

DirkVoodoo

Make sure it has the same inner diameter. Digital calipers can help here.

Caroline_ie

would this do?

parko202

i have a similar thread on this and haven put the fork together yet so feel free to ignore, but from what I can see you just need to know the steerer diameter (1' or 1 1/8') and then you can pick one up. I removed the one on my hardrock by lightly tapping it with a screwdriver around the outside of it and it came off in a minute or so.

Gavin

I did the same with a wide head screwdriver and came off and went on, no bother.

tomasrojo

parko202 wrote: »

I removed the one on my hardrock by lightly tapping it with a screwdriver around the outside of it and it came off in a minute or so.

I saw them remove a crown race in the bike shop and that's pretty much what they did too.

Caroline_ie

the one i had was too deep. i think i will go for a spin via cyclways .. they close at 7 i think.

Caroline_ie

so i got the crwon race off just now ... and it's too narrow for the new fork...
It's slides very well until about 2 inches to the base of the fork where it becomes too thick to slide any further ...
Is it worth it to cut it so it widens at the base and fits the fork?

CheGuedara

No - don't cut it, most forks are wider at the base to make sure the race fits really firmly, normaly maybe 10-20mm so 2in is pretty big.

If you can get your hands on either a wooden dowel or otherwise flat ended non metal object you should be able to tap it gently down to the base with a hammer. You'll end up 'walking' it down a few mm at a time to the crown and then just make sure its all square before hopping the fork into the frame.

Caroline_ie

CheGuedara wrote: »

No - don't cut it, most forks are wider at the base to make sure the race fits really firmly, normaly maybe 10-20mm so 2in is pretty big.

If you can get your hands on either a wooden dowel or otherwise flat ended non metal object you should be able to tap it gently down to the base with a hammer. You'll end up 'walking' it down a few mm at a time to the crown and then just make sure its all square before hopping the fork into the frame.

cheers ... took me A few min but it worked

CheGuedara

Sweet ! Happy to help!

Caroline_ie

alright, now it's cut to size ... ( scary stuff ) I dont have a file,,, i do but I can't find it. Is that ok if I put it together w/o filing the top of the steerer I havent filed?

DirkVoodoo

It's a carbon fork right? Just grab some medium /high grit sandpaper and remove any burrs, it's a pretty important step. Wet sanding is a good idea as carbon dust is a bit nasty on the lungs.

CheGuedara

You can, but I'd file to upper surface flat and get off any metal burrs sooner rather than later.

If you still have the thing you used to tap down the race handy and some sand paper to wrap around it somewhere around the house you could use it as a file if you want to get it all out of the way tonight - won't be as fast as a metal file but would do the job

We're getting into McGyver territory here!

Edit - Just seen Dirk got there before me. Great minds eh? +1 on what he says

Caroline_ie

Taddaaaa!! ( i used a small nails file)

And here it, my improved fixie!

A big thanks to Cyclelogical for the tips and the running around looking for a compressor adjuster

Looks like a race fixie now

Thanks for the tips here too of course

CheGuedara

Nice job - looks great, really fits in well with the scheme of the bike

Caroline_ie

Kind of scares me though ... it's too nice.

DirkVoodoo

Looks good Caroline!

qbasic

Any chance you might be selling the original fork?

Caroline_ie

qbasic wrote: »

Any chance you might be selling the original fork?

I will keep it for now

kona

tomasrojo wrote: »

I saw them remove a crown race in the bike shop and that's pretty much what they did too.

I hope you never returned.