Any horror stories out there related to integrated headsets?



B

Basjan

Guest
Considering a new road frame, I just wanted to know if reality matched the
feared drawbacks (frame damage, ovalizing of headtubes, etc.) of integrated
headsets?

TIA

Basjan
 
On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 16:02:05 +0200, Basjan wrote:

> Considering a new road frame, I just wanted to know if reality matched the
> feared drawbacks (frame damage, ovalizing of headtubes, etc.) of
> integrated headsets?


Biggest problem won't surface for some time. You have to wait until you
have to replace the headset, and find that they were only made the year
you bought the bike and are totally unavailable when you need a new one.

There are many components for which replacement parts are just not
available. Usually, this is not a problem, because most component/frame
interfaces have been standardized. But integrated headsets are an
exception; when that headset is unavailable, the frame becomes worthless.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Become MicroSoft-free forever. Ask me how.
_`\(,_ |
(_)/ (_) |
 
David L. Johnson wrote:

> There are many components for which replacement parts are just not
> available. Usually, this is not a problem, because most component/frame
> interfaces have been standardized. But integrated headsets are an
> exception; when that headset is unavailable, the frame becomes worthless.
>

For a very close example, ask anyone with a threaded steerer cut down
for a 32mm stack height Shimano headset. They never lasted long and
they're getting harder to find and more expensive.
 
>ask anyone with a threaded steerer cut down for a 32mm stack height Shimano
headset.

Cheapo Tange MA-60 headset from Sheldon Brown stacks only 31.2 mm and works
great; I've got 'em on my fixie and tourer.

In the worst case, you could sell your fork to someone else, recover some money
and buy another fork. IMHO it doesn't compare with a trashed frame.




Mike Yankee

(Address is munged to thwart spammers.
To reply, delete everything after "com".)
 
On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 17:24:59 +0100, Zog The Undeniable
<[email protected]> wrote:

>David L. Johnson wrote:
>
>> There are many components for which replacement parts are just not
>> available. Usually, this is not a problem, because most component/frame
>> interfaces have been standardized. But integrated headsets are an
>> exception; when that headset is unavailable, the frame becomes worthless.
>>

>For a very close example, ask anyone with a threaded steerer cut down
>for a 32mm stack height Shimano headset. They never lasted long and
>they're getting harder to find and more expensive.


Let's not be quite so alarmist. The frame in question become worthless
when the headset that fits is no longer available *and* it wears out,
which might be years if all goes well.

Sure, all else being equal, it's better to have a bike with parts that
are easy to find.

Also, there are a variety of "standards" of integrated headsets and
avaibility/long-term viability is likely to vary.

JT


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On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 17:24:59 +0100, Zog The Undeniable
<[email protected]> wrote:

>David L. Johnson wrote:
>
>> There are many components for which replacement parts are just not
>> available. Usually, this is not a problem, because most component/frame
>> interfaces have been standardized. But integrated headsets are an
>> exception; when that headset is unavailable, the frame becomes worthless.
>>

>For a very close example, ask anyone with a threaded steerer cut down
>for a 32mm stack height Shimano headset. They never lasted long and
>they're getting harder to find and more expensive.


When my old 105 headset was done for, I went to a Ritchey Logic, 33.5
or so stack height compared to the 105's 32. Replacing the fat Ritchey
washer with the thin 105 washer (between the upper race and locknut)
took up most of the difference. 3 years and no problems. I could
probably gain another couple of mm by facing down the head tube ends.
 
basjan-<< Considering a new road frame, I just wanted to know if reality
matched the
feared drawbacks (frame damage, ovalizing of headtubes, etc.) of integrated
headsets? >><BR><BR>

Two horror storeis we have seen first hand. Older frameset(Schwinn Fasbac) with
unique to that frameset bearings, no longer made..and a Pinarello and a Merckx
with not machined well headset 'shelves'...so no can adjust headset..

Hard to beat an installed HS cup...an inexpensive HS, on a prepped headtube,
maintained well, will last for years and years....



Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"
 
On 23 Oct 2004 13:49:00 GMT, [email protected] (Qui si parla
Campagnolo ) wrote:

>Two horror storeis we have seen first hand. Older frameset(Schwinn Fasbac) with
>unique to that frameset bearings, no longer made..and a Pinarello and a Merckx
>with not machined well headset 'shelves'...so no can adjust headset..


For a frameset that was worth the expense, would it not be possible to
have a bushing machined that would permit the installation of a
conventional headset? Of course, the steerer tube would probably be
much too short for it after that.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.
 
David L. Johnson wrote:
> On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 16:02:05 +0200, Basjan wrote:
>
>
>>Considering a new road frame, I just wanted to know if reality matched the
>>feared drawbacks (frame damage, ovalizing of headtubes, etc.) of
>>integrated headsets?

>
>
> Biggest problem won't surface for some time. You have to wait until you
> have to replace the headset, and find that they were only made the year
> you bought the bike and are totally unavailable when you need a new one.
>
> There are many components for which replacement parts are just not
> available. Usually, this is not a problem, because most component/frame
> interfaces have been standardized. But integrated headsets are an
> exception; when that headset is unavailable, the frame becomes worthless.


I have a dead pair of 7700 STI shifters. :( Throw away junk. I'm a
campy convert now.. I wouldn't buy an integrated headset frame, first
because they're not lugged, and secondly for replacement headset
reasons. :)





--
Mark Wolfe Lakeside, ca http://www.wolfenet.org
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If a 6600 used paper tape instead of core memory, it would use up tape
at about 30 miles/second.
-- Grishman, Assembly Language Programming