Mountain bike maintenance can often leave even the most experienced riders heading straight for a professional repair shop. But this shouldn't always be the case. Fitting a new set of forks is a prime example of a task that can often be carried out at home without the need for professional help. With a few household tools and a little bit of patience and concentration, almost anyone can install a new set of forks onto their mountain bike, saving an expensive bill from a professional fitter.
Step 1
Place your mountain bike in a stand so its front wheel is raised off the ground, or lay it flat on its side. Remove the brake calipers from the front forks and pull the gear cable out from its metal holder to free up the handlebars.
Step 2
Loosen the bolts of the handlebar headset using a suitable Allen wrench. Remove the top cap, bolt and washer from the end of the steering tube with use of the Allen wrench and place to one side. Take the handlebars and headset off the tube and let them hang down away from the forks or lay them to one side.
Step 3
Take the front wheel off the forks using its quick release setting. Remove the old forks and their steering tube from the headset tube and catch and spacers that are attached to them. Place these down in the order that they were attached as they will need to be replaced in this order.
Step 4
Remove the crown race from the old steering tube by tapping it with a hammer and a flat-head screwdriver. Be careful as you do this to avoid damaging the crown.
Step 5
Place the crown race onto the new steering tube and push it down to the bottom end of the tube toward the forks. Using your hammer, tap it firmly into position so it is lodged in place on the tube. Ensure that it is fitted in a level, horizontal position.
Step 6
Cut your new steering tube down to size. If the forks and tube are the same size as the old set, mark the top of the old tube onto the new tube with a sharpie pen. However, if this is not the case, measure out the desired length of your tube using a ruler and mark with a sharpie. Cut off the excess length of tube as cleanly as you can using a hacksaw or pipe cutters. Sand down the top of the new tube to get it smooth and to remove any debris.
Step 7
Tap your new star nut into the top of the tube using either a dedicated star nut tool or a hammer and bolt. When using the hammer and bolt method, take extra care to tap the bolt into the tube in a level position. Put any spacers back onto the bottom of the new steering tube and push the tube back through the frame's head tube.
Step 8
Place the top cap and its washers back onto the top of the steering tube and bolt them back into place using the top cap bolt. Re-install the brake calipers onto the forks of the bike and use your cable tie to fix the brake and gear cables back onto the head tube on the bike frame to keep them out of the way. Replace the gear cable back into its metal holder.
Step 9
Put the front wheel back onto the bike forks. Fit the handlebars and their stem back onto the steering tube. Line the stem back up with the front wheel and tighten the bolts of the stem back up with an Allen wrench.
Step 10
Dial in your preferred brake and gear settings and turn your bike back over onto its wheels. Take a ride to ensure that the new forks and steering tube work as they should.
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