I just got an armored Hen House and figured i should practice taking my bike apart so I know what I’m doing when I need to travel to a race the first time. Nothing unusual regarding the components except I’d never taken the fork out of the frame. Taking the fork (3T Funda Pro) out of the frame was pretty easy, the bearings were still inside the frame and the instructions say to take them out. When grabbing the top part it just fell apart in pieces and some bearing balls fell on the ground. There were two pieces, a plastic ring where the bearing balls fit in (exposed) and an inner metal ring. THere didn’t seem to be an outer metal ring - unless that’s part of the frame itself.
The bottom part had more components - two additional wire rings but again nothing on the outside.
Since my bearings were 6 years old anyways and weren’t going very smooth I’d like to replace them, but at the same time I need to be able to take them out and place them back easily without losing parts. I was a little surprised these aren’t cartridge bearings.
So questions:
is there a type of cartridge bearing I can get that would fit
are these parts supposed to be coming apart like that
best practices when dealing with this sort of system to minimize hassle when having to take the fork out and put it back in repeatedly?
Thanks!
Edit:
Fork = 3T funda pro
Frame = 2009 Cervelo P2C
headset = cane creek
The first two will work. One has a carbon top cap and the other has an aluminum
I don’t know about the third one, I think it just has a higher stack height.
I’m pretty sure IS is Integrated Standard. The head tube has a standard cup size that accepts the headset bearing. You don’t have to press in the cups like the older ones and then put the bearing in the cup.
Upper headset fit IS 41/28.6
Lower headset IS 41/30That visually doesn’t look like the one I have. The one I have visually looks a lot more like the first two links. But it’s a little confusing to me because what shows in pictures always looks sealed or as a cartridge, whereas what I have are loose parts like a thin metal ring, a plastic ring holding bearings, and a metal inner ring. Nothing sealed (hence they look very dirty).
The cap I have is Cane Creek which I think is the same company as FSA but some FSA headsets specifically mention cane creek compatibility.
The top caps may be different. My first one had a tall carbon cap while my second one has a shorter plastic cap. I liked the shorter cap better. If you call cane creek they will get you the exact part number. The IS41 number I quoted was from their headset finder database. You can specify any top cap you want.
My old one fell apart when I took it out last time and the balls fell all over the place. Kind of looked like what you’re describing buti know it was a sealed bearing when the bike was new.
The top caps may be different. My first one had a tall carbon cap while my second one has a shorter plastic cap. I liked the shorter cap better. If you call cane creek they will get you the exact part number. The IS41 number I quoted was from their headset finder database. You can specify any top cap you want.
My old one fell apart when I took it out last time and the balls fell all over the place. Kind of looked like what you’re describing buti know it was a sealed bearing when the bike was new.Yeah sounds similar. Does the top ring make any difference besudes determining how many carbon spacers you need? Seems like it’s just a visual thing rather than functional. I think i have almost an inch of dpacers between head tube and stem, so i would prefer the larger one.
Did the same thing on my P2. My bearings were shot, so I got the following:
Cane Creek 40.IS41 Short Complete Integrated 41mm Headset
I had to punch out one of the bearings (don’t recall which one, but it was easy). One of the bearing dropped in, one I had to use a homemade press made from a threaded rod, large washers and nuts that I turned with wrenches. The real hard part was removing the crown race and replacing the new one…avoid if you can!
Did the same thing on my P2. My bearings were shot, so I got the following:
Cane Creek 40.IS41 Short Complete Integrated 41mm Headset
I had to punch out one of the bearings (don’t recall which one, but it was easy). One of the bearing dropped in, one I had to use a homemade press made from a threaded rod, large washers and nuts that I turned with wrenches. The real hard part was removing the crown race and replacing the new one…avoid if you can!Thanks for the help!
Upper headset fit IS 41/28.6
Lower headset IS 41/30So I went to the bike shop today to pick up a new headset and this is exactly what they have me. But I don’t see how this is supposed to fit inside the frame? The (silver colored) metal shell of the cartridge bearing is too large and doesn’t fit inside my frame at all. I also don’t recall the headset I pulled out of my frame having that part either. I think the ball bearings were rotating against the actual metal insert that’s permanently bonded inside the head tube. is there a way to remove this outer cartridge shell? Or what am I doing wrong here?
Thanks Jaretj this helped a lot! I have indeed the cups still in the head tube both at the top and bottom. I was able to get the top one out with a screwdriver but the bottom one is really stuck. Both of them are definitely corroded. Any tricks how I can get it out? I’ve tried sticking a screw driver under the ridge and hit it with a hammer but no sign of any movement.
All fixed! Thanks to some good old WD40 and lots of patience I was able to hammer & wiggle it out. New grease, and new bearings fit just fine. Guess in the future I should take the fork out every now and then to clean the inside, just to be safe.
