Fork crown race won't seat

quozl

I'm installing a campagnolo style integrated head-set on a new Ridley fork/frame that I got.

I can't get the fork crown race to seat fully - you can see in the photo that it's stuck about 2/3 of a cm from the top of the forks.

It's also very slightly off horizontal - possibly why it's wedge? That area of the fork is milled with a tight circular ridging. I don't think it's a thread but I could be wrong.

I can tension the headset like that and the fork seems ok but does that crown race need to be fully seated down against the top of the forks?

I can't get it to go further down though I've not used too much brute force yet for fear of damaging it and having it stuck and broken.

Any suggestions?

I'm considering using the head-tube of the bike frame to try and apply the brute force to shove it down but that may be madness.

lennymc

bit of pvc piping and some lube rather than the head tube of the bike frame.

Kind of like this -



do it at your own risk, i accept no responsability, ymmv, other usual disclaimers etc etc.

Squidgy Black

If you're wary of damaging your steerer tube OP, just bring the fork to your LBS, they'll have the proper tool to do it and it should be fairly cheap.

youtheman

If it was my biked I'd
1. lightly lube the tube and
2. apply some cooling to the tube to get it to shrink slightly (maybe something cold down the inside).

Muckers

I had the same problem and the Lbs sorted it in a few seconds with the proper tool.

quozl

Thanks a lot for the advice guys. I think I'll try the LBS as my first port of call. Glad to hear that this isn't a complete freak occurrence!

quozl

Rothar to the rescue!

It's on now Dave - the Rothar mechanic - said he had to file the steerer tube down slightly and the amount of hammering I could hear made me feel slightly less incompetent