I need my head(set) examined

rjsterry

Hopping on my trusty Giant last night I noticed that the headset is dying, with a pronounced notch as you swing the bars past dead centre. So, I need a replacement 1" threaded headset, with an emphasis on durability. Much as I might fancy a Campy Record, doubling the value of the bike seems a bit daft, so I'm looking for something around the £20-£0 mark. So far I've found a Stronglight A9, which has a nice enough classic look to it but seems to have wildly varying prices,and a Token one, which, err, doesn't look so good, but might still be worth a shot as it's more easily available.

Any thoughts on these or anything else I should look at?

itboffin

The stronglights are just fine

rjsterry

Ta for that. Thought so, but wondered if there was anything else.

itboffin

rjsterry wrote:

Ta for that. Thought so, but wondered if there was anything else.

I used the A9 on that mercian and my FGSS looked almost identical to the dura ace that it came with minus the dura ace label

alan_sherman

The stronglights are brilliant as they are light, but also you can replace teh bearings and races without a headset press in the future.

One thing to look out for is that the stack is higher than some original headsets so worth checking that you can still get the lock washer and locknut on (i.e. is your steerer long enough).

gtvlusso

My stronglight has lasted about a year - I am gonna fit something else. The alloy does not inspire confidence when fitting either - feels cheap.

UndercoverElephant

The Record ones are under £40 from Ribble. Just sayin'

itboffin

Campag record if you dont mind paying 30-40 notes tiz a work of art, I certainly took more care fitting than I would normally.

UndercoverElephant

I went for the Record one on the new Genesis build, mainly because I'd never tried a posh headset and wondered what difference it would make. Like I say, it was only £15 more than the cheaper one I would have bought, so I thought I'd give it a try. I have to say that I really love the silky smoothness of the turning and it's really one of these things that just adds to the joy of riding the bike as a whole. It won't make me faster, but it does make a difference.

rjsterry

UndercoverElephant wrote:

The Record ones are under £40 from Ribble. Just sayin'

Shush! I'm already in trouble for spending too much on the new wheelbarrow last weekend. Plus I'd have to buy two - I couldn't have Record on the Giant and not on the Mercian.

Good point about the stack height. The current £15 Shimano STX (:oops: got 3-4 years out of it - not bad I s'pose) is relatively short.

EDIT: 1" threaded Record Out of Stock for the moment. Think I'll get a Record for best (Mercian) and a Stronglight for everyday.

UndercoverElephant

rjsterry wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

The Record ones are under £40 from Ribble. Just sayin'

Shush! I'm already in trouble for spending too much on the new wheelbarrow last weekend. Plus I'd have to buy two - I couldn't have Record on the Giant and not on the Mercian.

Good point about the stack height. The current £15 Shimano STX (:oops: got 3-4 years out of it - not bad I s'pose) is relatively short.

EDIT: 1" threaded Record Out of Stock for the moment. Think I'll get a Record for best (Mercian) and a Stronglight for everyday.

Man, my Google-fu is strong today.

http://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do? ... aign=Cycle

itboffin

UndercoverElephant wrote:

I went for the Record one on the new Genesis build, mainly because I'd never tried a posh headset and wondered what difference it would make. Like I say, it was only £15 more than the cheaper one I would have bought, so I thought I'd give it a try. I have to say that I really love the silky smoothness of the turning and it's really one of these things that just adds to the joy of riding the bike as a whole. It won't make me faster, but it does make a difference.

+1 he's right you know it makes a huge difference to the feel of the bike, same as a good BB or hand built wheels.

itboffin

That's where mine came from

rjsterry

UndercoverElephant wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

The Record ones are under £40 from Ribble. Just sayin'

Shush! I'm already in trouble for spending too much on the new wheelbarrow last weekend. Plus I'd have to buy two - I couldn't have Record on the Giant and not on the Mercian.

Good point about the stack height. The current £15 Shimano STX (:oops: got 3-4 years out of it - not bad I s'pose) is relatively short.

EDIT: 1" threaded Record Out of Stock for the moment. Think I'll get a Record for best (Mercian) and a Stronglight for everyday.

Man, my Google-fu is strong today.

http://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do? ... aign=Cycle

Stoppit Stoppit Stoppit!

UndercoverElephant

itboffin wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

I went for the Record one on the new Genesis build, mainly because I'd never tried a posh headset and wondered what difference it would make. Like I say, it was only £15 more than the cheaper one I would have bought, so I thought I'd give it a try. I have to say that I really love the silky smoothness of the turning and it's really one of these things that just adds to the joy of riding the bike as a whole. It won't make me faster, but it does make a difference.

+1 he's right you know it makes a huge difference to the feel of the bike, same as a good BB or hand built wheels.

You see, now I need a good BB.

mtb-idle

Have you considered just servicing it?

I had the same on my Bianchi after last winter. I stripped it down and there was a load of grit in there but only in one area in line with the wheel funnily enough which was producing the notchy effect.

Wipe the grit off, regrease and refit and have ridden it for another 12 months without any issues.

This may be the case with yours so it's worth a try.

Even if you are just looking for an excuse for new shiny bits it's worthwhile doing whilst you decide what new bit to buy!

rjsterry

MTB-Idle wrote:

Have you considered just servicing it?

I had the same on my Bianchi after last winter. I stripped it down and there was a load of grit in there but only in one area in line with the wheel funnily enough which was producing the notchy effect.

Wipe the grit off, regrease and refit and have ridden it for another 12 months without any issues.

This may be the case with yours so it's worth a try.

Even if you are just looking for an excuse for new shiny bits it's worthwhile doing whilst you decide what new bit to buy!

I would normally agree with you, but I only stripped it down and cleaned it about 4 weeks ago anyway, and it's not been out in the rain since. I have however had a couple of serious encounters with potholes in the interim and given the cheapness and age of the current headset, I think it's time for a change.