How To Overhaul a Threaded Headset
Overhaul your headset at least once a year to check for wear and re-grease the ball bearings.
DownloadIf you ride your bike a lot, you should overhaul your headset at least once a year to check for wear and to make sure the bearings have enough grease.
Required Tools
For this tutorial, you’ll need some waterproof grease, an old toothbrush and some cleaning solvent. If you have an older 1″ headset, you’ll need a set of 32mm spanner wrenches. Larger 1 1/8″ headsets usually require a set of 36mm spanner wrenches.
Brake Cable, Wheel and Stem Removal
Before you begin, you’ll need to disconnect the front brake and remove the brake cable from the lever. You’ll also need to remove the front wheel. To remove the stem, simply loosen the stem’s tightening bolt far enough so you can give it a light tap with a hammer. This will knock the inner wedge loose and allow the stem to slide up out of the fork.
Headset Disassembly
Now loosen and remove the locknut. Holding the fork in place with one hand, remove any spacers and unthread the adjusting race. Make sure to note how many spacers there are, and what order they came off. Gently slide the fork down and out of the frame. Make sure to make a note of which way the bearing races are facing before you remove them.
Headset Cleaning
Wipe clean all of the bearing races located on both the frame and fork as well as the upper threaded race. Inspect all four of the bearing races to make sure they are not grooved or pitted. If so you will likely have to replace the entire headset unit.
Thouroughly clean the ball bearing cages with your toothbrush and solvent. Then wipe them dry with a clean rag, and set them aside to air-dry. Inspect the ball cages to make sure they aren’t bent or worn. You can replace the cages without replacing the entire headset, but you’ll have to bring the old set to your local bike shop for proper sizing.
Headset Greasing
If all of your parts are ok, apply a layer of grease to all of the bearing races. Then install the ball cages the same way they came out and add another layer of grease on top of them.
Headset Assembly
Once the bearings are in place and fully greased, carefully slide the fork back into the frame and finger-tighten the adjusting race. Wipe off any excess grease that may have squirted out the sides. Slide the spacers back on and thread the locknut on finger tight.
Headset Adjustment
To adjust the headset, hold the lower adjusting race with a spanner wrench and use a second spanner to tighten locknut against the adjusting race.
To test the adjustment, check that the headset turns freely and check for play by rocking the fork back and forth in the frame. Re-adjust as needed until the bars spin freely and have no play.
Brake Cable, Wheel and Stem Installation
Reinstall the front wheel. Before reinstalling the stem, coat the shaft and wedge with a thin layer of grease. Then reinstall and tighten the handlebar stem, and reconnect the front brake.
Final Adjustment
Then re-test the headset adjustment by making sure the bars spin freely, and using your front brake, rock the bike back and forth to double check there is no play in the headset.
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Comments & Questions - Help Forums
24 Responses to “How To Overhaul a Threaded Headset”
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Sweet! Thanks, that’s perfect!
Hi,
This site is one of the best on fixing bikes I have ever seen and it has saved me a lot of money seeing how the pro’s fix bikes and put every thing back again.
Regards Anthony.
Love the new look!! Keep up the good work. Love this site!!
You’ve covered threaded headsets, could you possibly cover aheadsets?
Status of this Request
Matt, I would be happy to cover threadless headsets.
How To Adjust a Threadless Headset
While this tutorial is definitely not wrong, I’m not sure if one should try to “overhaul” things that are not broken. The most critical thing to a headset is to have absolutely no play. When there is play it is very quickly destroyed. The same applies to too much tension. So opening the headset just to put some new grease into it bears some risk to make the condition worse than before — at least for not so experienced wrenchers.
Good headsets don’t need maintenance, they just work. Some newer headsets have cardridge bearings which are quickly replaced in case it got loose. No need for maintenance until this happens.
I have a Scott G Zero FX3 bike. The headset does not have any locking nuts? How would I get this off to carry out the maintenance you describe in this tutorial?
Status of this Request
Sounds like you have a threadless headset. I will be posting another tutorial for that style in future so keep an eye out!
Brilliant! Thanks for your help - these tutorials are really helpful
Thanks for this tutorial! I’m trying to remove my forks so they can be sent off to have their oil and seals replaced. Very handy guide!
Cool tutorial, cool site. It would be great if you also did a tutorial on how to remove and install the crown race and headset cups.
Status of this Request
Thanks for all your encouraging comments. Georgios, I will cover bearing cup/race removal as soon as I get the proper tools.
That’s great news, Alex. I’m looking forward to it! Thanks!
Excellent site and tutorials. Very very very helpful! Saved me tonnes of time an money.
BTW: Which Kuwahara is that in the video (I thought they mostly did BMX)?
My bike is actually a GT (Gary Turner) mountain bike frame. I put old-school Kuwahara stickers on it for nostalgia. Glad you’re finding the tutorials helpful!
I’m getting ready to do this for the first time, and notice that this talks about two bearing cages. I had to watch a second time to notice that the second bearing cage sits on the fork, below the headset, in step 4.
I take it there are no additional fasteners below the headset, where it meets the fork, to worry about? The whole assembly is held together by the locknut?
Thanks for posting this! In general the guides I’ve seen to working with bearings assume you know the basics, and for me it really helps to see the process presented in a video.
I have a threaded headset on my GIant Rock. I have managed to dis-assemble the headset, and found the upper bearing cage bent and the rubber seal under the lower bearing cage spilt from the middle. I was able to find the replacement bearing cages but what about the lower rubber seal? What is the purpose of the rubber seal and how many should be there as i only found one under the lower bearing cage. Thanks.
@Matt - Yes, the whole headset is held together by the top locknut.
@Umar - Usually there is only one rubber seal, but if it is damaged I would try to find a new one as it protects your bearings from dirt and water. Since there are so many headsets on the market, it is often hard to find replacement parts, so you may need to replace the headset.
My handlebars have come loose and turn side to side (while holding the wheel in position) I haven’t figured out how to tighten them up. Does this have anything to do with the allen key bolt at the top of the steering assembly? This bicycle is only three weeks old, a kids CCM Chaos. Thanks.
Yes, the allen key on top of the stem will tighten the wedge and stop the handlebars from rotating.
Hey Alex, thanks for creating this website and taking the time to do these wonderful tutorials. I am having a problem removing my quill stem. Do you have any advice for dealing with a seized/stuck quill stem? I’ve read everything from whacking it with a hammer, to soaking it in penetrating oil/ammonia/coca cola. Thanks for any help.
Rah, the best thing I can suggest is to spray some liquid wrench down into the fork and wait 10-20 minutes and then try to remove it again. If you’re not worried about damaging the stem you could also try mounting it in a vice clamp to get more leverage on the fork.
Can the handlebar height be raised by loosening that allen key bolt on top, tapping it with a hammer, lifted to desired new height (provided it doesn’t exceed the maximum height already), and then tightened again with the allen key?
Yes Eleanor, that should do it!