Originally Posted by
jesspal
Does the fact that the CAAD9 has an integrated headset make it easier to work on that area, because the stuff doesn't fall out all over the place? i.e. changing stems, forks stuff like that?
So long as the front wheel is resting on the ground, nothing is going to "fall out" when you change the stem, no matter what style headset you have. There will be some loose pieces if you pull the fork completely out though.
Basically, there are two big variations on headsets; threaded and threadless. Threaded is the old style, where the stem is an "L" shaped piece that disappears into the headtube of the bicycle frame. Threadless is the new style. There are a couple variations on the threadless style (hidden, integrated, etc) that were designed to save a few grams over the other variations.