Commuting - Headset choices

My winter commuter has a nasty habit of eating up headsets. I'm not sure if it is the added weight of the bike with racks, fenders, panniers, lights, etc. or the extra exposure to the elements...rain, grit, etc. It will wear to the point that it has the classic detent feel in the straight ahead position. The latest headset is a Shimano 105. It was replaced 2 years ago. I have multiple bicycles and this one racks up about 2000 miles per year. Seems like headsets should last longer than that. Here's my question(s):

Have others of you had this same situation?
Is this solved simply by using a better quality headset?
I also thought about removing the caged bearings and replacing them with loose balls. This would increase the bearing count from 15 to somewhere in the 20s. This is what we used to do with the old multi-piece bottom bracket. Has anyone tried this and did it work?
Should I just expect them to wear out this soon?

I only use Chris King headsets, well worth th extra $. I have one that is more than 5 years old.

My winter commuter has a nasty habit of eating up headsets. I'm not sure if it is the added weight of the bike with racks, fenders, panniers, lights, etc. or the extra exposure to the elements...rain, grit, etc. It will wear to the point that it has the classic detent feel in the straight ahead position. The latest headset is a Shimano 105. It was replaced 2 years ago. I have multiple bicycles and this one racks up about 2000 miles per year. Seems like headsets should last longer than that. Here's my question(s):

Have others of you had this same situation?
Is this solved simply by using a better quality headset?
I also thought about removing the caged bearings and replacing them with loose balls. This would increase the bearing count from 15 to somewhere in the 20s. This is what we used to do with the old multi-piece bottom bracket. Has anyone tried this and did it work?
Should I just expect them to wear out this soon?

From what you've said, it sounds like the headset is not properly adjusted. The classic solution to this is to, indeed, replace the caged bearings with loose ones. This may get you a few more miles out of the headset but it is a stop gap measure at best. Eventually the headset will have to be replaced. I'd replace it with one that has sealed cartridge bearings - these seem to be more durable, in my experience.

You do need to address the adjustment of your headset. Headsets should last for a long time.

Stuart Black

Check the facing on your headtube and the alighnment of your frame (using a good bike shop). Is your head tube particularly short? These can eat headsets.
Chris King are certainly good headsets, but there are plenty of good ones for half the price.
Roller bearing headsets may help, and sealed ones are better in winter. My own choice is a Stronglight A9.

cane creek has been blowing out some pretty nice sealed bearing headsets for like 20-30 bucks online lately if your comforable doing stuff yourself....

two years is definitely not a longtime, even for a cheap headset...

This is a common problem with road bike headsets in particular. It is called "false brinelling" because the marks in your headset race that cause the "indexed" headset syndrome that you describe look the marks from a brinell hardness test. What is happening is, when you ride for long periods of time in a straight line, like on the road, the grease film between the ball bearing and race gets squeezed out by rocking and vibration. Once the grease film is gone, the bearing actually "welds" itself the the race, then is torn away the next time you turn. This happens repeatedly, and eventually you get pitting that lines up perfectly with the bearings in your headset. Some headsets have a bearing design which addresses this, like the Chris King. Shimano cartridge units do as well, although I'm not sure that they are still made. To revive (temporarily) an indexed headset, remove the caged ball bearings, and replace with free bearings. This way, you can add one or two more bearings to the upper and lower races, and the pits and balls will not line up. Keeping your headset clean, greased, and adjusted correctly (not too much preload) will also prolong headset life. The advice to get your headtube faced is also sound.

This is a common problem with road bike headsets in particular. It is called "false brinelling" because the marks in your headset race that cause the "indexed" headset syndrome that you describe look the marks from a brinell hardness test. What is happening is, when you ride for long periods of time in a straight line, like on the road, the grease film between the ball bearing and race gets squeezed out by rocking and vibration. Once the grease film is gone, the bearing actually "welds" itself the the race, then is torn away the next time you turn. This happens repeatedly, and eventually you get pitting that lines up perfectly with the bearings in your headset. Some headsets have a bearing design which addresses this, like the Chris King. Shimano cartridge units do as well, although I'm not sure that they are still made. To revive (temporarily) an indexed headset, remove the caged ball bearings, and replace with free bearings. This way, you can add one or two more bearings to the upper and lower races, and the pits and balls will not line up. Keeping your headset clean, greased, and adjusted correctly (not too much preload) will also prolong headset life. The advice to get your headtube faced is also sound.

I thought it was a brinelling phenomenon but wasn't sure (I like your use of mechanical engineering terms!). I wasn't sure if this was a preload issue or dirt/debris caused. After my original post I remembered that the headset is sealed (well sealed as good as a 105 headset can be) and I did run a Lizard Skins wrap for a year or more. I believe it has to do with adjustment then.

Does this typically occur from too much preload or not enough...or either one? I usually adjust the headset until all the play is removed. I check it by locking the front brake and moving the bike fore and aft and feeling for play in the headset. Should I leave a bit of play?

My Bianchi has a Campy Chorus headset on it that has a design called "differential bearing" or something like that. Basically the balls are different size on top than they are on the bottom. This way the wear spots don't line up top to bottom so it feels smoother as it wears. I've adjusted it the same way as all my other bikes and no problems so far (5 years at least).

Thanks for the posts so far. I'll probably try the loose ball trick temporarily and then go with a better quality headset. Hopefully there will still be ample choices as this is a 1" threaded set.

I believe having the headset too tight can speed up the wear process. With a new HS, it is easy to overtighten it, and not notice any extra drag. I figure the best way is to set up the preload just enough so there is no slop, but no more. FWIW, the 1" ritchey headset on my commuter went indexed within one month-I may have overtightened it, I'm not sure. It surprised me, because I had the exact same headset on my MTB for years with no problems.

Having different sized bearings top to bottom won't help, unfortunately. The top and bottom will still develop pits that line up with the individual bearings in each race, always with the wheel pointed straight ahead. I think many, if not most cartrige bearing headsets will not suffer this type of race failure. Once I tossed the ritchey on my commuter, I replaced it with a shimano 600 cartridge unit off another road bike I had, and it solved my problem. This headset has at least 40 000 km on it, and it is just starting to get tired. No indexing, but it needs new bearings after numerous winters.

For more info, check out:

http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8f.13.html

and the RBT newsgroup, very informative, and geek-like:

http://groups.google.ca/groups?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&group=rec.bicycles.tech

I believe having the headset too tight can speed up the wear process. With a new HS, it is easy to overtighten it, and not notice any extra drag. I figure the best way is to set up the preload just enough so there is no slop, but no more. FWIW, the 1" ritchey headset on my commuter went indexed within one month-I may have overtightened it, I'm not sure. It surprised me, because I had the exact same headset on my MTB for years with no problems.

Having different sized bearings top to bottom won't help, unfortunately. The top and bottom will still develop pits that line up with the individual bearings in each race, always with the wheel pointed straight ahead. I think many, if not most cartrige bearing headsets will not suffer this type of race failure. Once I tossed the ritchey on my commuter, I replaced it with a shimano 600 cartridge unit off another road bike I had, and it solved my problem. This headset has at least 40 000 km on it, and it is just starting to get tired. No indexing, but it needs new bearings after numerous winters.

For more info, check out:

http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8f.13.html

and the RBT newsgroup, very informative, and geek-like:

http://groups.google.ca/groups?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&group=rec.bicycles.tech

Cool links...lots of info there. I'll probably look into a sealed cartridge unit after it wears out completely. My singlespeed also has a worn out headset so maybe I can get a quantity discount... :rolleyes: