Cannondale headset question...

williambowland

I have a feeling that this is an old chestnut!

I have a 2009 Cannondale f4z which has an oversize headtube. I recently got a Fox F100 with a tapered steerer thinking that any mixer style headset with internal upper bearings at 1.125" and external lower bearings at 1.5" to fit an oversize headtube would fit OK. I got this one...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=41906

which looked bang on - with a good amount of lower stack height to prevent fork-frame interference.

I have started to panic a bit now it has all arrived.

My question is obvious - is the damn headset gonna fit?

Churz...

W

stingmered

Huzzah! I have the same issue with the missus' bike (Cannondale F6, 2008.) She wants another fork as stock dart is now holding her back: it is oversprung, and quite frankly a bit cr&p. (Funny how this happened after she'd had do on my new 2011 Float 36...) I've seen a bargain on a pair of 2010 Fox F120's, (tapered steerer) and was wondering what the best headset combo would be to take the oversize headtube. (TBH, I haven't looked at the set up too closely.) I assume the current steerer is 1&1/8" and it would be a case of replacing the lower race with 1.5" headset (or realistically, the whole headset as per the one in the link above?)

@willambowland: Let me know how you get on.

UncleMonty

No, the Canondale headtube and the 1.5" standard are not the same. I have a 2009 F6 and I bought reducer cups and fitted a standard 1.125" headset, at the time I also looked at a Cane Creek reducer headset but it was £70, can't remember seeing any tapered ones though.

williambowland

Hummm....

This comes from the Ask Brad bit of the Cannondale website...

"Posted on: February 3, 2009 8:38 am
Hi Brad,
My old Headshock is getting tired and I want to replace it with a 1 1/8 steerer tube fork. What reducer headset does Cannondale recomend for XC bikes.
Thanks, Stephen
Boo to getting rid of the headshok design. Any 1.5″ to 1 1/8 headset will be fine. Don’t forget to get a 1 1/8 stem and get ready for a sticton filled twisty ride! -BRAD"

Any 1.5" to 1.125" headset will be fine? This implies that any mixer headset for a 1.5" headtube will be fine, no? I don't have a headshock... I currently have a "normal" fork with, according to the Cannondale website, an FSA Orbit E 1.5" headset - that is not Cannondale specific kit, is it?

W

UncleMonty

Ummm, I thought it was close but not close enough, I wonder if some people have managed to get a standard 1.5" working

Some threads here on the same subject

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... le+headset

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... le+headset

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... cannondale

williambowland

Cheers Monty...

I am leaving fitting to the LBS... I'll see what happens on the day.

There is a lot of contradictory information flying about!

I'll be proper gutted if the damn thing doesn't fit... I don't seem to have any other options for fitting a fork with a tapered steerer.

Fingers crossed, eh?!

W

williambowland

For posterity... it fits!

Dennis K

I've the same bike and have been considering this upgrade too. I see that you had no problems fitting the tapered steerer - how's the fork? happy with it?

williambowland

Hey Dennis...

Yeah... I am very happy with the fork! Assuming you are running the standard Tora, if you have a cockpit you are happy with and add this fork (or any similar one, I guess) it will make a massive difference - believe me!

It depends what you get, obviously, but the F100 i fitted was about half the weight of the old Tora. That is a good start! OK... it is a 2009 model but the actual performance of the F100 is so much better than the Tora it is unbelievable.

If you are thinking of upgrading - I recommend you do! Watch out for frame / fork interference tho.

Hope that helps!

benjiwenge

Been researching this myself and here is what is going on. Cannondale headshox STEERER TUBES are not 1.5 inch. The steerer tube is what 1.5 refers to as opposed to the inner headtube diameter. So you cannot use a standard 1.5 headset with a Cannondale FORK. However, the inner diameter of the headtube on Cannondale bikes in 49.6mm, the same as the 1.5inch standard. So any 1.5 inch headset reducer, tapered or otherwise will work fine with the relevant fork steerer. However some models have limited press depth meaning you need a shorter headset that doesn't go in as far, not sure exactly which ones but some companies offer machined down options for these. Hope this clears things up.

williambowland

benjiwenge has it nailed there... there is a lot of contradictory BS flying around the net about Cannondale headtube sizes - but I concur completely with his comments.

skinheadjc

yep - same

kurt d

hi williambowland,
which headset are you using now. I wish to use an Rockshok sid race fork in my F2.

greetz Kurt

williambowland

Hey Kurt...

I am using a FSA Gravity 1...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=41906

kurt d

Hey,
is it also an caffeine ? Did you remove the original cups ?

gr.
Kurt

williambowland wrote:

Hey Kurt...

I am using a FSA Gravity 1...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=41906

williambowland

Hey Kurt...

Yes and yes... it is a caffeine and I did remove the original cups!

Redefined_Cycles

Just a bit of an update on the awkward headset standards of b@%?dy Cannondale.

I've been asked to strip and rebuild an F800 Lefty with an oversized headtube. It's got an oversized headtube on. Before deciding which headset I need to go for I made sure I checked what Cannondale were advising on themselves. They advise on http://www.cannondaleexperts.com/FSA-Orbit-DL-15R-Reducer-Headset-15-to-1-18--9528_p_306.html. So I checked the sizing of the outer diameter of the cups that'd fit into the headtube by visiting the FSA website and checking the techdocs on said headset.

FSA stated that the OD of cups that'd fit into the frame is 49.65mm. Although a bit sceptical as the ID (inner diameter) of my headtube was 49.2mm (for pressfit to work and be possible for the cups to be pressed in without having a hernia, there should only be a max of 0.2mm difference between the two) I ignored my head and decided to trust the nice people at Cannondale as they obviously know what they're talking about. So I bought a Token headset from ChainReactions with the same measurements as the FSA recommended by FSA.

Today I've spent literally hours pressing the topcup in. When I finally reached the final 1mm before the cup sat next to the frame, the fit is so tight that the damn thing isn't budging (and yes the cup wasn't too long, I ensured that there was plenty depth available in the HT before fitting). So I've knocked the cup back out and am slowly reaming it down with sandpaper. I know this is gonna take hours and please people, take a lesson from this. Next time a manufacturer tells you some b@&*sh*t on their site, go with your head, not their info.

Also, just to put everything straight. Cannondale say they use 49.6mm ID on their headshock headtubes. The one I've got in my loft right now is a 2003 model and it's got a 49.2mm headtube ID !!! Thank for that!!!

mrmonkfinger

Maybe Cannondale have changed their headtube spec over time? wiki's entry reckons its identical to the traditional 1.5" standard. Obv the steerer tube is compatible with nothing else.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headset_(bicycle_part)

Cannondale Headshok. Although a Headshok steerer is close to 1.5" it is actually 1.5625" or 1 9/16 inch. The Headtube dimensions for 1.5" and Headshok are very similar, differing only in the minimum press depth.

Hope's pick'n'mix headset brochure does an excellent job of explaining the different standards, too (although headshox are not covered).
http://www.hopetech.com/webtop/modules/ ... 011Web.pdf