Technical & Reference Section > Tech and Restoration

Tech Help (formerly ID) for my Pro-Lite

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Antiriad2097:

--- Quote from: S1 on September 02, 2008, 10:18 PM ---What was wrong with the old headset? If it was just that it was rusty, try leaving it for a day or so in vinegar, give 'em a wire brushing and see how they come out.

--- End quote ---
Completely mashed, with race walls broken, lost bearings and stripped threads. The gyro is just rusty though so I might try a recovery job on that.

Frame isn't chromed under the paint, there are several spots where the paint has worn through and I rubbed it down for a respray. Its now yellow. Not a great job, but good enough to keep further rust away. First time spraying, so can't expect perfection and this one is all about the learning.

Antiriad2097:
Success. Despite none of the 3 bike shops in the city centre being able to help, I found a headset in Halfords of all places. The old one I tried was old school 30mm OD on the cups, the new one is the correct 32.7mm OD. One step closer to being back on the street :D

Antiriad2097:
Back in business :D

Still needs a few tweaks (like a real logo instead of a photoshopped one), but its all in one piece again.

HEYWOOD BMX:
 :) Coming along nicely :daumenhoch:

Antiriad2097:
Following a proper test ride, I realised there was more play in the head than tightening the headset would solve. I've pinned this down to a couple of things.

Firstly, the bottom race on the fork wasn't a tight fit. Easily resolved with a coke can shim.

My bigger problem is an ovalised headtube. Tried shimming it and its helped, but I'm not really happy with the result - there's still noticeable play.

As its a bargain bike and a daily rider, I just want a cheap and easy fix, its not really worth paying for a new tube, welding and skimming or the like - I'd be getting to the point where I may as well buy a new frame as I'd need to pay someone else to do it.

I'm curious if anyone has had any luck with metal fillers instead? I'm thinking that properly clamped up and with the bearing faces of the cups protected by putty or similar, it should be possible to flow liquid filler into the gap area for a really tight fit.

Is this a stupid idea that's already been proven disastrous or is it worth pursuing further?

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