Had to choose between a Park Tool headset press and a homemade setup yesterday

I was rebuilding a 1990s Trek 520 headset and realized I forgot my press at the other shop. So I tried the homemade method with a threaded rod and washers instead of driving 30 minutes back. Has anyone else gone the DIY route and regretted it when you saw the bearings weren't seated quite right?

2 comments

2 Comments

joseph_coleman19d agoMost Upvoted

Honestly, I think people way overthink this. Did the bearings actually not seat right or did you just convince yourself they didn't? A threaded rod setup works fine if you're not ham-fisted about it.

hannah_williams18d ago

Good heavens, you used a threaded rod on a 1990s Trek 520? That's a nice frame to take that kind of risk with.