Installing a Chris King Headset Upside down & Coins In Your Grips

[@sirbarryvee-eight6485]

One thing we saw in our shop was a local kid brought in his BMX, the end caps on the bars were shotgun shells. When we took them out to replace his grips we realised they were live shells. How the hell he hammered them in there and still had ten fingers is beyond me. Despite seeing it once and once only, 25 years later, I still look at the end caps... just in case.

[@oldshovel]

That is crazy 😂

[@thinkpadBentnoseTheBlind]

That is insane ! what an amazing story for R/reddit idiots. I have a multi gauge shotgun repacking tool and I keep the primers very safe.

[@MadMetalShop]

Like an empty shell with live primer? Primers don't do a whole lot. Basically woukd be like a small fire cracker and it takes a pretty precise localized hit to set it off. I smack bad primers from reloading with a hammer all the time. Fun stuff lol.

[@denis_roy_7]

Merci!

[@hellishspeeder]

Explanation accepted!:) my ocd is healed. great to know that you read the comments. bicycles and asmr rules! both with you!

[@palangimiko]

I just thought the upside down headset thing was a signature or something people used to do. Didn’t think there was a practical purpose. Cool!

[@toastyrides]

“It’s just kind of fun” is good enough reason for me to do most things haha. It came up in conversation recently actually! I had a few theories but it’s cool to hear your thoughts on it. I think some of the cool kids did it at some point too, just to be different. Flipping them for wear makes practical sense and hopefully it clears it up to prevent further confusion! 😆 not surprised there were “you installed that upside down” comments haha

[@BanjoLuke1]

I am (or I thought I was) the most "financially prudent" bike builder on the planet. But both of these tips were new to me. Pure genius. I now want to restore/rebid another be straight away, just to copy these ideas.... But I am too tight even to buy USED Chris King head sets. Good video. Made me smile. Wonderful stuff.

[@bmxscape]

you dont need a chris king headset to restore a bike lol the last headset i got was $4 cad and works fine. most commonly headsets range from $10-$30. you are replacing the whole headset you don't need anything specific you can use almost anything

[@byrondot]

I've noticed the headset issue on your videos, but when someone that know too much about whatever do something "wrong", I never ever discuss him/her, because behind that "mistake", always there is a very good reason to do that on that way. Big hug, and thank you very much for share your knowledge with all us.

[@decentdad1160]

Ill be danged! Glad you made a whole video on addressing these for us now I am on the hunt for a used Chris King Headset to flip so I can let everyone know I do all my own maintenance/bike restorations. haha! Great stuff mate!

[@andyamos8594]

reversing the cups and the coins, genius!

[@jamesjenkins8373]

I would be pretty amazed if you were able to wear out a Chris king headset. At the shop I work there is a guy still riding his Kona stinky with a king headset for close to 23 years and it has felt like new the whole time.

[@cristobalbatlle]

Jesus Christ, thank you for clarifying the headset thing😂🙌🏼. Watched all your videos in a matter of 1 week and then decided to restore a 1994 Marin Palisades Trail. It felt absolutely great. Cheers from Barcelona!

[@bmxscape]

the headset cup flip would certainly work with loose or caged bearings but of course sealed bearings dont roll on the cup and would make no difference

[@muhammadmulla5812]

I noticed this, but thought you must have a reason. I'm glad you came through with an answer.

[@drengskap]

Well, I learned two new things today, so thank you! Coins in soft end grips - I need to find a UK equivalent to nickels. And flipping the headset cups make perfect sense. It also serves as a signal that the headset has been rebuilt.

[@bmxscape]

you can also sand down normal bar ends to fit in grips. i have some about the thickness of a coin which makes it easy to sand to the same od of the bar

[@mrkrk7000]

This bearing swap/rotate trick is also applicable to wheel bearings. Bearing races usually start to wear at the top of the race surface because ball bearings take most load when on the top of the races surface. To make your bearing run smoother just loosen the QR or axle nuts and rotate the hub axle 180 degrees. In theory it should run smoother

[@The_Real_JN]

No because they're rotational 😂

[@mrowczak1900]

@@The_Real_JN exactly, cones are static, cups are rotating.

[@scottenglert4083]

Flippin' brilliant :) Cool explanation of the headset idea ! Love your videos - great way to spend a weekend morning - coffee and watching one of your rebuilds / painting projects...

[@grigoryrechistov3040]

I started using coins inside soft grips on children's bicycles after seeing your videos. I see way too many kid's bikes with sharp cut ends protruding from damaged grips. Many bodily accidents waiting to happen. On my own bikes, I use metal screw on end caps, because usual plastic ones do not survive that many tree-clips that happen when I am riding. I do not have access to North American coins, but I found that some of many European / Asian coins are good matches for the diameter.

[@StaggerLee68]

I barn scored a Homegrown a few months ago, to ride it for the time being, the first thing I did was put coins in my grips. Old good habit and as bmx kids, you'd have a quarter to make a phone call. Flashbacks are fun.

[@chancecsmith]

I knew the nickel trick was genius the first time I saw it. I only wish I knew about it in the early 90’s when I was still being jabbed by raw bar ends every so often.

[@rzfs1v]

Great channel! I've been using nickels in my grips since the mid 80's to prevent blow outs on my used and abused BMX bikes.

[@kossmanneault683]

bro, I saw that head set upside down and thought, "he does that for a reason". I have to much respect for you to assume it was a mistake or criticize you!

[@rangersmith4652]

So, when I reinstall the headset cups (they appear to be identical) back into my 1980 Motobecane, I'll see which one has "the most wear," and put it on top. Actually makes a lot of sense.

[@johnnydoe66]

Interesting on the concept of rotating your headset....The nickel in the grip is something I did myself back in the early 90's

[@abandoneduniverses]

Τhe bearings upside down is common also on motorcycle bearings ..giving an extenf of life as you told..i used this on my 1939 BSA when i was young..and broke ,😁...about coins now..i used also as child when crashed all of the time..i used retired older coins from my grandmother drawer..haha.was a idea to save my grips firstly cause didthn cutted out from bars edge...regards from Greece

[@yardsalecycles]

Some people weld the nickels at the end of the bars its a simple thing but looks really cool

[@newttella1043]

Nice tip!

[@electrocit673]

Not sure if it work on Chirs King's but many of the sealed bearings headsets if they same cartridge you can just switch the actual sealed bearing cartridges. Flipping the cups if they were the same was more "important" with a loose ball or caged bearing cups where the cups actually did wear. with sealed bearing the wear is contained in the cartridge for the most part.

[@MetalRestorationBho]

I love your content. It's always relaxing and inspiring. 🥰🥰🥰

[@wilyamiyooo]

Just did the coin thing when I got my v1 oury on my bike. When I was chilling on a cafe the bike fell on its non drive side and tore a hole on the grips. Just never bothered about it after that. lol

[@nickmassey9104]

Always use end caps on open bars and coins on thicker wall bars .and the headset flip .I know almost 20 ppl who do it .so your not mad Rob 👍🤣

[@elrinconderoller1560]

After this video and the explanations i can die in peace...🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@paultaylorbikes]

I’d like to see a Bridgestone on here someday

[@Mikemalone7873]

So you have to use Canadian nickels on Rocky Mountain bikes and U.S. nickels on a Ritchey? I never thought of that! Thanks for teaching me something today! ;-)

[@sherwood7485]

You can't use washers in the grips?

[@Bike-Junkie]

Thanks! Will do that upside down headset cap in my future recycle project =) and I bet those coin will save those handle grips of my kids bike by 30-40%…..especially when they just drop the bike handle first as part of their parking habit….haha

[@sirbarryvee-eight6485]

Did the headset thing in a bike shop. Young shop guy built his dream bike in his spare time. One lunchtime, we swapped it over. Few days later he realised and we teased him for being so sloppy in his attention to detail. He swapped it around. Few days later, went to lunch and we swapped it again. Took him a week or so to notice. He realised that it was actually kind of unique and he kept it that way. May have been reverse psychology because after we gave up the joke he swapped it back himself. And yep, one day it magically ended up upside down again...

[@stevebarnett155]

I knew about the nickel trick, but still think the king headset thing is crazy.

[@jrbechthold]

I like them installed upside down so when I go OTB and my bike lands on its head, people still know I use Chris King headsets! 😜

[@HeartPumper]

Haha, great upload 😅. I hope it finally will put at ease, all those freaking out about that particular 'issues' in your builds 😂. Great stuff as always 🤙😎

[@vojvoda9060]

your voice is so relaxing....💪💪💪💪

[@Lucas-sl1ie]

Can you tell us something about your tool wall. I'm currently building one myself and would like some tips. Thanks very much :)

[@clipless03]

I'm not sure flipping the cups does anything for headsets with cartridge bearings. All the wear is contained to the bearing itself. So swapping the upper and lower bearing should help even the wear, but the cups probably don't care. But if you're flipping the cups for the sake of whimsy, then by all means, go ahead(set)!

[@thomaseisen304]

OK Odlshovel your theory makes sense in the first place , but it's just a tale ....why you ask? That's very simple to answer : leverage is the key! The lower bearing is on the short end while the upper bearing has the longest way of leverage and because of this becomes the most force to hold ...the most movement on a front suspension with the most force is front to back while up and down is suspendet for the most part . The only thing that has more effect to the lower bearing is vibration , because it is the turn point (lower bearin carry most force to the front , upper bearing to the back ). Same thing as a rear wheel on a bicycle the first bearing that shows damage is the one on the other site of the freewheel (or disc brake site ) because the spokes on the rear wheel on the freewheel site are more straight and shorter than the spokes on the other site . Also because those cups of the front bearings are the same so you easily can just press them in the right way and just swap the bearings himself. That's why I don't realy mind it just because the letters are upsite down , yeah it looks stupid but It is not realy important. Have a good one mate !

[@thomaseisen304]

@RollinRat it don't need to tell me anything because I know exactly why they do it this way , more bearing surface means more load can be carried would anyone say , but that's not why they do it in first place , trough the change of the size there is also a change in the leverage so the angle of the load onto the bearing changes because all bearings have theyr properties where they work the best , and where they are weak to . So increasing the size changes the load more to the radial site but still the culpred to the damage you see first on the bottom bearing is the vibration . I have seen a lot of damaged bearings from all different type of bikes top to bottom , some are self-inflicted by the owners through incorrect maintenance, or lack of maintenance and many many more ! Sure it also comes to how those people ride , where those people ride . Also many damage comes from when people use powerwasher to close to the bearings , the seals are way to weak to resist the pressure , water gets into the bearing and starts to rust . I have seen it all trust me , and because you got a lot of experience and know exactly how to maintain those bearings makes them live way longer for sure , a friend of mine got a very rare and old 1 1/4 Shimano XT on his Kuwahara MTB (threaded rod type) still works absolutly fine , still no damage . I also do bicycles for the most part of my life , I am a trained industrial mechanic specializing in machines and system technology, and had a long time a workshop in the center of cologne , germany (before I sadly had to give up because of my sickness) still working in privat on bicycles today . So don't think I'm just a big mouth garage fumblin guy like the most out there . Have fun mate !

[@thomaseisen304]

@RollinRat 100% agree bicycle world is turning but not all we see is what we want , good days are gone when we knew what we had on our hands , today it's all about money ... people selling theyr name to the highest bidder like Bontrager , back in the days a legend ...today just a name printed on 5 bucks hubs from asia ! We both know the struggle because we've seen it all over the years mate . People like us are rare these days , because our heart beats for bicycles . Have a good one !

[@thomaseisen304]

​@RollinRat I had a long connection to some german brands so I could peek into some of theyr habbits , and guess what ...same as on your end ... but not that worse than other manufacturer who realy don't give anything about quality (like those realy cheap asian products) I realy know only one brand in our country where i am 100% sure that they build good quality bikes, that's Patria . A few years ago there was a customer from your country , a pilot flying those transport planes ...he saw the bikes on accident in the shop I was working at the time , immediately ordered one for himself and his wife and when the bikes were ready 4 weeks later he came on the next flight and picked them up. But that's exactly when you realize how hard times have become when people only see their profit in something like that, and quality becomes absolutely irrelevant. I hope you keep up your spirit mate and as always ...have fun !

[@CRM08]

That nickel tip was worth every penny! 😂

[@zu_1455]

My cousin once got impaled by his handle bar in a quad racing crash. 😨 so I totally get the liver core sample thing.

[@HoloScope]

Same. It was actually right where my liver was too, good thing it didn't go deeper

[@zu_1455]

@@HoloScope shit! I’m glad ya made it!

[@thinkpadBentnoseTheBlind]

I scored a 1997 KONA Caldera with the judy T2. It has a burst chainstay with an almost 2 inch split in the steel from ice swelling. Got any tips on how to approach this fix ? Normally i would retire the frame but the 97 Caldera is quite a rare frame as they were custom frame builds made to order.

[@rubendevereaux6086]

change for a phone call?! what are you 40, like me?! hahaha, great video

[@burningatthetrailhead]

Did the voodoo hoodoo rust after clear coat? I did a frame in super blue and the chainstay rusted after a week

[@drbobjohnson812]

If you had a nickel for every time someone asked why you put nickels in your grips, you could install a lot more Oury grips on rebuilt bikes

[@kipcc3918]

I just thought that you’re going crazy and going both bottom cups. 😅 I mean you have a fair point in which nobody has shed a light on yet. Glad that I didn’t focus too much on your headset install and avoided commenting abt it being upside down, even tho it was ticking my OCD. 😅😅

[@kipcc3918]

@oldshovel Are you doing a give away?

[@czad3247]

woo

[@zoedeufel2593]

Hi, I got a vintage Atala road frame (around 1970). The bottom seat has widened, so that the lower headset cup is loose. I tried a strip of aluminium to fix it, but the fork still feels loose. Can you recommend a fix?

[@stevenewcome4580]

Fully enjoyed this review. On a side bar, I’d appreciate your advice on a seat post. Like you I own a Niner Sir 9 and love it. I recently injured my back and my Dr. recommended that I not ride for at least two months and when I return to use a suspension seat post. I noticed you chose to add a PNW Coast suspension post to your own Sir9 build. How is that post working out for you so far?

[@indianadave8881]

I didn't comment, but noticed the upside down headset. Thought maybe you just didn't realize it, and was waiting for one of the later camera shots to see if you got sneaky and fixed it. Lol...

[@keithcieplinski]

The bigger problem is I never see you use the proper inserts on your headset press. It at least “appears” that you’re pressing on the outside of the cups; you should be using the inserts that allow you to press on the inner part of the cup. They way you’re doing it can ruin a good cup buy splaying it open and the bearing may wind up being loose in the cup.

[@Exgrmbl]

it's the proper way to do it for a professional, but doing it the wrong way goes right in almost all cases with 0 negative consequences.

[@RichsRidesandRestorations]

Wouldn’t the top bearing race also get stressed because of it having to keep the steerer tube centred? Unless the head tube is vertical then it will have lateral forces acting on the top races to keep the steerer tube aligned within the head tube, and even greater forces when in motion or braking (especially to the side of the headset facing the front of the bike). This demands an investigation by @Hambini!

[@MercuryBPW]

I think the thought is that the bottom bearing and cup will have to deal with all the upward forces from riding over bumps, especially on a rigid fork bike, aditional to keeping the steering tube in line, so by switching them around you're now in theory using the bearing and cup that didn't have to deal with the added stress before

[@johnsonjay60]

I know better than to question about the head set as u know what you're doing. The coins is common sense :)

[@skotzan64]

Okay i get it with the cups, but cant you just swap out the bearings? Why the whole cup?

[@johnthemainguy9059]

There's such a thing as a King headset that has been removed from a bike?

[@williamlansdown6708]

I have been wondering why the Coin inside the grips

[@before1984soul]

Big relief thank you. Lol.

[@mrowczak1900]

Yeah, I am doing the same, but with washers.

[@mrowczak1900]

@OldShovel Is this some sort of scam?

[@gurkpojken]

A question then because i never had afford a ck headset, is the bearings detachable?

[@jonathanzappala]

You might spend a long time looking for that pay phone haha!

[@4specialist]

"10 GRAMS" tho!!!😱 Chris King🙃

[@joelungaidon]

It surprises me some wonder about the nickels Just kidding! I actually tore the ends of my Ourys, the nickels are a great idea

[@MrTougiejr]

Sometimes, while trying to get my nickel down that sticky hole, reminds me of a 1st date gone bad. Also...the last time I saw a pay phone was while watching Shallow Hal (2001) Haha! Still loving your build vids, tho!

[@Nicoya]

The real reason: Shovel's had a beef with King ever since King dropped that lit dis track back in '08. The alternate real reason: It's right-side up when you're doing backflips. Why aren't you doing more backflips?

[@mattcrane]

Spare change to make a phone call?

[@aaronbruckelmeyer]

When i upgraded my handlebar I only got oury grips because of this channel. What causes original oury grips to get sticky? My bike is stored in a garage and the grips aren't more than a few months old but they are getting sticky to the touch. Did I get a bum set or is this normal?

[@TheTWhite]

Mine seemed to get sticky after sweating on them and the temperature changed over seasons. I want to know as well.

[@TheTWhite]

@RollinRat Nice! Thanks for some info.

[@bmxscape]

@RollinRat on one road bike as i removed the bar tape and revealed the rust all i could smell was the salt and sweat of the rider it was pretty nasty

[@johnhussey3351]

Ol wives tale. Tell your shop that they'll tell "you do the work yourself..."

[@darkuma1692]

flipping headsets is not new, i did it about 15 years ago after having the frame upsidedown, i realised after i put the stem and bars on the fork steerer, I couldnt be bothered to strip it down again.

[@zackb-wheal6771]

sure nice listening to u talk be cool to see u read us a book or short story

[@nekozzzzava]

I know that you can use 10 Russian rubles coin in grips. What other coins of the world are suitable?..

[@crxxpslvyr7887]

5 forint coin, its 21mm

[@MercuryBPW]

20 euro cents are also perfect, 22.25mm

[@bmxscape]

you can also sand down a normal plastic bar end to the same od as the handlebar

[@starblazers01]

You forgot your hat 😁👍

[@monzadh]

Ok now are the nickels inserted heads out ot tails out then flipped on second build for wear? 😂

[@oldshovel]

Lol 😂 brilliant!

[@jeremyabbott2829]

What I do is put the frame in my bike stand upside down and put the headset in right side up.

[@ride6884]

I thought I was the only one wondering these same things lol

[@dantedorado2609]

Why not just swap the bearings?

[@RossiDeakin0406]

I'm now 43 and still have the scar from 15 years old where my right kidney is,if only I'd had a nickel🤪👍

[@mikejones420]

I was wondering why your headset was upside down, now I know

[@walterzoomie]

Foolish knaves. Plaid Dad should never be questioned.

[@rickyencabo1662]

I did that on my BMX on the 90 😅👊👊👊 I put 25 ¢ , Philippines 😎🔥😅👊

[@Richard-xu4cj]

LOL sure I always carry a nickel in case I need to 'make a phone call.'

[@sashabiruk4931]

Greetings from Ukraine

[@orionrose7957]

hi

[@dstroud666]

Upside headset definitely hurts my OCD! 🤬

[@richardbridges7664]

Still irks me to see the HS upside down

[@jamesdee8481]

What don't you just have the head set the right way , just swap the bearing .

[@joeykraut6268]

I wonder if everyone under 30 is wondering why you would need change to make a phone call.

[@samblenkharn8099]

😂 I was thinking the same thing

[@nosurfenougheddie]

Really? I'm sorry but Chris King headsets are quality parts and installing them upside down is just stupid. Period.

[@phililpb]

installing a chris king headset upside down is just dumb. Until you find a way of measuring the ware difference between the two bearings (that will be minimal anyway) you are just over thinking things.

[@jeromefilkin533]

Change for a phone call lmao dating yourself, sir

[@TheDuncandan]

The nickel in the grips was driving me bonkers,now I know.