1. Remove the front wheel. Disconnect the brake cable (v-brakes) or remove the caliper (disc brakes) to make removing the fork easier. Undo the top cap bolt and remove the top cap and bolt.

(your stem probably won't have the gold spacer shown in these pictures - it's just that this stem can take an inch and a half headset)

2. Undo the stem clamp bolts. Hold on to the fork just in case it drops out. Remove the stem (you need to work out a way of supporting the stem and bars so they don't hang off your gear and brake cables).

3. .Remove any spacers. Remove the fork. You may need to tap the top of the steerer tube gently with a soft faced hammer to free it from the compression ring and bearings. Watch out for the bottom bearing falling out if it doesn't come out with the fork.

Remove any dust covers / seals and the compression ring. Remember the order everything was in!

 

4. Remove the bearings.

5. Clean everything up.

6. Decide whether to replace or re-grease the bearings. Regular re-greasing will prevent regular replacement!

To re-grease: prise the seal(s) off the bearings with a Stanley knife. Beware: some sealed bearings (like these) are held together by the seal and removing it may result in little bearings bouncing all over the floor! Clean the bearings up - degreaser is useful if the bearings do not come apart.

 

7. Pack the bearings with plenty of grease and press the seal(s) back into place.

8. You should now be ready to put things back together. Smear a light coating of grease on the bearing cups, crown race and steerer tube. Insert the top bearing into it's cup - the angled inner surface should be facing up to accomodate the compression ring.

9. Put the lower bearing on the crown race on the fork (make sure it's the right way up - the contact surfaces are angled) and insert the fork into the head tube.

10. Replace all the seals, the compression ring and any spacers on top of the headset.

11. Put the stem back on and use the top cap and bolt to loosely hold it all together.

12. Adjust the top cap bolt until the headset has the right amount of compression and tighten the stem bolts. You may need to do this once then try it for feel and re-adjust to get things spot on.