Removing stuck IS52 headset bearings

[Chris_Cleeland]

I have a steel headset bearing stuck in a carbon bike frame head tube. Both upper and lower. They are IS52 drop-in headset bearings; the frame does not have press-in cups. The outer races will not come out of the frame. Things I have tried:

• PB Blaster
• Other penetrants
• Tapping

The inner race and the ball carrier are out of the frame; they came out when trying to use a punch/screwdriver and hammer to remove the bearings. Best I can tell, there’s no way to get to a lip of the outer race from the inside the head tube, e.g., trying to push the lower bearing out from the top.

At this point the next idea I have involves trying to cut the stuck races with a dremel or similar, which is quite risky given. I’m looking for other suggestions that are not destructive or are less risky. Dry ice to thermally shrink the race is the only non-destructive idea I have left in my head.

The stubborn bearings were dropped in, not bonded in any way. I did not do them, but confirmed with the prior owner (a friend) that they were shipped installed from factory or he installed them and would not have done anything weird like bond them. The frame is a handsling A1R0ev0.

[Crosswind]

Yikes! I have had smaller bearings that the inner race & bearings had separated leaving on the outer race installed in the bearing pocket. These were obviously smaller than a headset race, so finding a blind puller large enough to do the trick?

These would be easy perhaps compared to yours?

[Gregory_Thomas]

A couple things to try.

First is to simply use a screwdriver to pry one side of the bearing out a little. If you can get it to budge a little bit, I’d work my way around the bearing, just moving it little by little. If that doesn’t work, sometimes using two screwdrivers on opposite ends and twisting the handles at the same time can help in prying, as it attempts to keep the bearing inline with the bore. Lastly, if it seems you simply need more force than prying can provide, you can set the one screwdriver to pry, but don’t twist the handle. Instead, use the punch and hammer to tap the screwdriver shaft from the other end.