realcharles

Are all crown races the same for certain types of headset?

I've got an integrated 1 1/8 aheadset that says "mfg by FPD for Cane Creek". Its made by a Taiwanese manufacturer under license by Cane Creek (who seem unable to advise me).

I need to acquire a crown race, but FPD don't sell any in the UK.

It has caged loose ball bearings. Can I buy any old crown race? Or do integrated headsets with loose ball bearings require a precise crown race match?

I'm getting conflicting advice from London bike shops. Help greatly appreciated!!

HillRider

I expect the crown race is specific to each model (or family) of headsets. You might get away with a mix-and-match approach but I doubt it. If you can't get the correct part, it may be worth the expense to buy a complete new headset.

same time

Probably not. I had a Specialized frame with a headset that said, "manufactured by fsa for cane creek". I bought a cane creek s3 headset, and the crown race was totally different - not even close.

It's worth a shot, though - you could buy a new (inexpensive) headset and try it, if it doesn't work just get the whole new headset installed.

Svr

Most crown races are suited only to their own headset. On occasion you'll be able to find some that are cross compatable, but it's rare.

FarHorizon

Boy, I can answer this one from experience - NO! The diameter of the fork mounting flange for the lower race is different diameters on various forks. I've found at least three different diameters so far. If your headset race is smaller inner diameter (ID) than the fork's outer diameter (OD), you can use a file to shrink the fork flange until the race will press on. Obviously, this may not be an option with carbon forks unless the flange is metal instead of carbon.

If the crown race is small enough in OD to fit under the "cup" in the head tube, you should be able to get some loose or caged bearings to work. If the race's OD is too large for the head tube cup, you might also be able to file down the OD of the race so it will fit. The bearing surfaces are hardened and single-point contact anyway, so the exact curve of the race shouldn't matter much.

Happy filing!

realcharles

Found the answer. FDP headsets are clones of Cane Creek. They even use the same name - so I found my headset, the FPD SAS here...
https://www.wheelgiant.com.tw/script/...&cPd_No=000016
I ordered a Cane Creek SAS crown race, and it fits perfectly.

Thanks for the tips