Question about unfamiliar type of headset
 

I have a headset that I have no clue whether it is missing parts. I am not familiar with this type of headset. I don't see any branding. It does not include the crown race or the top race. Not sure if they are missing or if they are even needed with this headset. Can anyone help me with this and let me know whether parts are missing. Thanks.

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Look here:Servicing Bicycle Headsets. Scroll down about 3/4.
Apart from the locknut, what you have acts like a cartridge bearing headset, with cartridge bearings that can be taken apart.
Best I can remember, those were/are considered quite fancy units.
The parts that are press-fitted to the frame and the bearing races are separate units. The press-fit parts double as - let's call them "bearing race carriers".

One of those conical rings should be/fit and act like the crown race.

Then one set of the caged rollers go on top of that.
Another of the conical rings should be a snug fit into the bottom press-fit item/"bearing race carrier", which go on top of that.

Looks like you're missing the top press-fit/bearing race carrier - unless it's hiding in the 2nd item from the right.

There should be another "bearing race carrier" that's pressed into the top end of the top tube.
This would then be a snug fit for another of those conical rings.
The 2nd set of caged rollers would go on top of that.
Then the last conical ring should be a snug fit for the adjustable race(carrier).
Then there's the locknut, just as a standard threaded headset.

Those bearings are rollers, not the more typical balls. Stronglight?

Yes, a Stronglite A9 headset. Roller elements that ride on conical steel races that fit within the AL cups and fittings. Looks to be missing the crown seat (I'd sat race but that's actually the before mentioned steel ring, the AL base for this ring is what's missing).

There's a bit of lore with these headsets. Some who make claims of installing one will fix a bike from a shimmy prone to a stable one. Others who have never been able to get theirs to be nicely adjusted, no slop and easy spin. I've used a number in a bunch of my own bikes as well as sold and installed a bunch more back in the 1980s and 1990s. They do like really well faced frames and forks, the rollers are not as compliant to misalignment as balls are. They don't have a lot of free space (empty volume) inside with the thick plastic roller retainer so they don't hold much grease. There have been a few variants with the elements either side up or down and with or without "O" ring seals. These details didn't seem to make much difference IME. They do have a tall stack height, 40+mms. I've only seen AL bodied versions buy plastic might be out there. There are a few other brands that also have used the roller elements, some with the exact same elements and at least one Asian brand with it's own roller element spec. Andy.

That's a Stronglight A9 headset. Looks like you're missing the crown race (the piece on the far left, below), the upper pressed race (top piece in the middle row), and a washer to go between the threaded cup and locknut. You can live without the washer, but the crown race and pressed race are essential. Are they perhaps still installed on the fork and frame?

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/stronglight-A9.jpg

Here's another image of a broken down Stronglight headset. I doesn't appear to have as many pieces as the headset shown above.
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u...psy2gtu6l8.jpg

That's a "Delta" headset (with O-rings to seal it). Looks like its missing one of the conical races, but otherwise intact.

The Delrin version was the B10, otherwise identical to the A9. We used them on some models at Trek. The B10 was a little lighter than the A9 (already quite light), and a little cheaper. In my experience, the Delrin cups didn't support the races as solidly as the aluminum A9 cups, which may account for the reports of "slop" you mention.

Yes, some were simply re-branded Stronglight units, others were manufactured elsewhere. Tange still offers a hybrid roller/ball unit:

http://cdn3.volusion.com/ctxtv.wmppt...tos/hsrd-2.jpg

Headset Tange/IRD NeedL BlastR Roller Drive

Stronglight made a couple [VTT?] models where the upper race 'point of cone' faced downward, rather than both up.

The "bearings" themselves are a sandwich of the larger and smaller conical steel rings and a set of rollers. You have them, but are missing 2 of the aluminum cones that they sit on; the one for the fork crown, and the one for the upper head tube.

Besides those, it seems that you're missing a spacer or tabbed washer.

Without the two missing parts, the headset us useless, but if the bearing (3 parts to each) are OK, they might be salable since a number of headsets used them and people may need replacements.

That version of the A-9 has been out of production for years. I'm glad that I stocked up. There is a new version that uses cartridge bearings.

Thanks to all for the info. I can't remember where I got this headset. It was not installed on a bike. I assume I need a specific crown race and pressed race for this to work. I have plenty of spare races. It would be nice to use this headset because it is so light.

Yes, You do need the specific crown and upper head tube parts made for this headset. While we call them races for convenience in language, they aren't truly races. The actual races are the steel cones of the bearings. These parts are basically seats for the bearings, so they have to match.

You also (usually) can't mix parts, even those made for these bearings, because the outer parts are a close fit to the mating part, so they leave a narrow gap for free turning, yet keep weather and dirt out. As I said, a number of companies made headsets that use these bearings, so you'd have to find the right version of the missing parts.

Really? I've always believed that the opposite is true, since the races have the ability to float.

If the conical races were sitting on a hemispherical "cone" or cup, then they could float. But they sit on matching cones and can only sit one way.

Yet this extra layer of bearing element, the conical steel race, is why I feel that i feel slop or much frictiom, in the many of these rollered headsets that I have worked with. Andy.

The cylindrical rollers and floating races were used to make the bearing more tolerant of misalignment, at the cost of increased friction from some sliding contact on the rollers.

A tapered roller bearing would eliminate the sliding contact, but such bearings are extremely fussy about alignment and were judged more bother than they were worth for headset duty.

Roller bearings are sometimes called needle bearings?
My first recumbent, a 2000 RANS model, had an FSA headset with roller bearings in the bottom and ball bearings in the top. Worked ok.

The needle bearing ruddeli on my moser is very similiar. I have been riding it in the rain and just repacking it yearly for 5 years. It is still very smooth. The last owner babied it but it's the original headset from 1994 and maybe even the original bearings.

Very quality stuff.

I'm not as knowledgeable as others so I can't comment on what parts it should have sorry.

In my experience, they feel a bit tight on the workstand when adjusted properly, but it's not noticeable when riding the bike.