BMX Bike Steering System

Bearing Cups…

To install bearing cups, align the cup with the hole.  Tap it in with a rubber mallet, or use a bearing press.  To remove it, put some sort of wedge against it from the inside, and hit that with a hammer.

Threaded…

First, put your cups in.  After that, grease up your bottom cup and bearings and slide your fork in.  Now put the rest of your headset in.  Once you do that, grease up your stem and slide it in.  Tighten it down with the stem bolt.

Threadless…

First, put your cups in.  After that, grease up your bottom cup and bearings and slide your fork in.  Put the rest of the headset together.  You won’t be able to tighten down the top cup.  Don’t worry.  Slide your stem on.  You will have three or more bolts to tighten.  One on the top is the stem bolt.  The two on the side are for clamping the stem to the fork.  Once the stem is on, tighten the stem bolt.  This will tighten up your headset.  Now align the stem to your front wheel and tighten the two or three bolts on the end.  This will keep your bars from moving from side to side.

To remove threadless…

To remove a threadless headset, take your stem off.  then hit the top of your fork with a rubber or wooden mallet.  This will break the top cup loose.

What to check for…

It’s good to check your headset bearings as well as your hub bearings every once in a while.  Also, check for cracked headset cups, especially if you have been riding with a loose headset.

Threadless steering is better. It is smoother, tighter and more reliable. It will last you a lot longer and is worth it. Most bikes come with threadless systems now. I wouldn’t recommend buying a bike without one.