Originally Posted by
bikemig
150 euros for a Campy NR headset? You said you were in Germany, right? I'll bet you can find one for less than that but honestly the stronglight headsets are good quality.
Every French “Campagnolo” bike should have a few French parts supplied in lieu of Campagnolo. A Stronglight headset is a perfect place for one of the substitutions. I am a fan of the quality and durability of of most Campagnolo parts, but the ( Nuovo) Record headset is not one of their better efforts….precision machined, but not up to the rest of the gruppo in terms of durability and definitely not tolerant of even slight misadjustment. Stronglight headsets have always been excellent. One other item related to the OP’s P3 and the next model up V4 models…..The toothed washer makes the a bit fiddly to adjust…You have back off the locknut enough to lift that washer enough to free the adjustable cup for adjustment, tighten again, and then check for proper preload…and the repeat as necessary. There is normally a bit of play with the toothed washer against the flat of the steerer which sometimes makes things a bit tricky to hold the adjustment while tightening the locknut, but once tightened these are usually rock solid against loosening. One other word of caution should you decide to switch headsets….The existing P3 likely has a crown race diameter of 26.5 mmm or possibly 27.0….A Campagnolo will have a 26.4 mm crown race which will require machining with a proper cutter. (Stronglight V4 headset on a French “Campgnolo” bike, still perfectly smooth and in use since 1971….although you would never guess that it is mostly Campagnolo equipped as everything pictured is French…)