The Nishiki Cresta GT rebuild is currently stalled due to two stubborn threaded headset spacers. Today I tried my first solution.
I came across a Youtube video of someone using these funky long reach pliers from Mintcraft to remove a BB lock ring which made me think they might work for the threaded spacers, At $8 I figured it was worth a shot.
It looked good to start but trying to turn with any sort of pressure made the pliers slip out of the grooves. Strike one on removing the spacers, I have two more options I am going to try, both of them involving buying tools I don't currently have. If I get to three strikes it will be time to go to a bike shop as I don't want to mess things up.
Sunday Musings
I forgot yesterday to detail how I dealt with the broken rear derailleur cable guide on the Campus bike.
I took a belt and suspenders approach by using both electrical tape and a zip tie and this was after I had gently tapped the cable housing and ferrule into the c-shaped opening. It doesn't look great but its not going anywhere.
On Saturday we were getting Noah level rain all day, so when Sunday started dry I figured I had better get a ride in to the market. The Handsome Devil got the nod and on the ride in I felt like was riding through molasses so a trip to the work stand might be in order to check brake pad clearance etc, or maybe I am that out of shape. Did someone say beer?
I started with a Link In Bio, double IPA from Cloudburst brewing in Seattle.
And finished with a Elixir Breakfast Stout (Coffee style) from Old Schoolhouse brewery in Winthrop WA. Does that mean my ride counts as Coffeeneuring? On my way back to the HD I saw not one but two cool bikes.
The first one was a Rivendell Hubbuhubbuh tandem, it has quite a presence being so long.
The second was a Faraday Porteur Ebike, which IMHO is one of the nicest looking Ebikes on the market, but it doesn't come cheap at $3500 retail. The owner came back as I was taking my picture and I asked her how she liked it, she said she loved it so much she'd bought a second one after her first was stolen, she had goofed and left it unlocked (unintentionally) while downtown for 3 hours. She also told me she had purchased it in lieu of buying an electric car so that put the price in perspective.
We'll see how the Cresta GT headset saga plays out. Ride. Drink IPA's.Smile.Repeat.
For the headset spacer, you could try to tighten ever so slightly the nut right below the spacer. The spacer appears to be acting like a locknut, and lowering the nut below it could relieve some pressure from the spacer, making it a bit easier to turn.
ReplyDeleteI hope that makes sense. Good luck.
It does make sense Stan Man, I did something similar with a 74 Nishiki with this same issue but then the threaded spacers had a deep enough indentation that I could get a pin spanner on it and then move it and the adjustable race in opposite directions, the Cresta adjustable race won't budge in either direction and I don't have a tool (yet) that gives me any purchase on the threaded spacer.
Delete