Congratulations! You have just pur-
chased what many people regard as the
finest headset in the world. Since 1976
Chris King has been supplying cyclists
with the best made, most reliable head-
sets you can buy. With proper installation
and maintenance you can expect to
enjoy the many years of the legendary
quality and performance built into each
and every component we make.
Installation
Headset installation requires specialized tools.
We recommend the procedure be performed
by a professional bicycle mechanic.
To ensure proper installation, the use
of headset cup press adapter kits are
recommended. Our press adapters help
to correctly align the bearing cups with
the head tube and prevent damage to
the bearings by directing pressure only
and evenly over the bearing cups. The
baseplate installation adapter prevents
damage to the baseplate by protecting
the conical bearing contact surface
from the crown race setting tool. Sizes
are available to fit all popular headset
pressing and setting tools.
Reaming and Facing of Head
Tube
Proper preparation of the head tube is
essential for best headset performance.
Every head tube must be reamed and
faced, even if the frame is new and ap-
pears to be prepared at the factory.
Ream the head tube to ensure that
th e hea d t ube b ore i s t he proper
diameter, depth and roundness. Be
sure that the head tube bore (inner
diameter) is correct (see table below)
to ensure proper press fit. Minimum
ream depth is 10.0 mm into all head
tubes except 1.5, which requires a
20.0 mm ream depth.
Face the head tube to ensure that the
ends are square and parallel to each
other, and that all paint and anodization
material is removed from the frame-
headset interface.
Us ing a sma ll file o r s and pap er,
carefully remove any sharp edges or
burrs and slightly round, or chamfer,
the inside edges of the head tube
at t he top and b ott om to pre ve nt
scraping any metal from the cups
during installation.
Clean to remove any chips, shavings,
and/or cutting oil.
The proper press fit should be with
no mo r e than .1 mm (.004”) of
interference. See table below for head
tube bore specifications. Do not file or
otherwise remove material from the
cups to make them fit.
Installation of Bearing Cups
Be sure that surfaces of headset cup
press adaptor s are cl ean and free
of burrs to minimize risk of marring
headset cup finish during installation.
Press in both bearing cups using a
headset cup inst allation press fitted
with Chris King he adset cup press
adapters. Check to assure the cups
are seated flatly against the ends of
the head tube.
Preparation of Fork and
Installation of Baseplate
Proper preparation of the fork is essential
for best headset performance.
Ream and face the crown race seat
to ensure that the crown race seat
face is square with the steerer tube.
See table above for crown seat outer
diam eter (OD ) sp ecifi catio ns . Th e
proper base plate press fit should be
with no more than .1 mm (.004”) of
interference.
Clean to remove any chips, shavings,
and/or cutting oil.
Sl i de t he b asep l ate, conic a l s i de
up , ont o the steer er tu be. Use a
crown rac e setti ng tool to set the
baseplate with the beveled side of the
baseplate installation adapter against
the baseplate.
Cutting of Steerer Tube
Us e ext re me cau tion whe n cutt ing
steerer tube to avoid injury.
Insert fork, with baseplate installed,
into frame.
Slide GripLock cap assembly, then
spacers (if needed), and then the stem
over steerer tube. Scribe a line flush
with top of stem.
Re mov e i tem s f ro m s tee rer tub e
and mark another line 3 mm below
the first. Cut on the lower line using a
hacksaw and saw guide.
Remove all sharp edges from inside
and outside of steerer tube. With a file
or sandpaper, round outside edge of
tube to avoid shearing GripLock cap
O-ring upon installation.
Installation of Star Nut
Thread star nut onto installation tool. (If
installation tool is not available, thread
bolt well into star nut and use it to drive
the star nut 15 mm below the top of
the steerer tube).
With a soft hammer or mallet, drive
st ar nut strai ght i nto s tee re r tub e
until tool contacts top of steerer tube.
Unscrew tool from star nut.
Note: A star nut is not included with
hea dsets tha t require a strai ght 1.5
steerer tube. We recommend using a
Chris King PreLoader to provide a secure
bearing preload interface when using a
straight 1.5 steerer tube.
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Head tube
bore (ID)
C r o w n
seat OD
1” 30.1 mm 26.5 mm
1” BMX
32.7 mm 26.5 mm
1-1/8” 33.9 mm 30.1 mm
1-1/4” 36.9 mm 33.1 mm
1.5 49.6 mm 39.8 mm
NoThreadset™
E
NoThreadSet™
A
L
K
I
D
C
B
A. stem cap screw
B. stem cap
C. star nut
D. scuf f washer
E. GripLock assembly
F. GripLock cap
G. cap O-ring
H. split ring
I. bearing ring
J. bearing ring O -ring
K. upper bearing cup assy.
L. lower bearing cup assy.
M. baseplate
M
G
H
F
J
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