Integrated Headsets = Planned Obsolescence
 

I just bought a bike with an integrated headset. I didn't know too much about this newfangled tech(for me) when I bought it and I am having buyers remorse since I hear that the crown race is built into the headset. So once the this part wears out, the frame is toast. This apparently is one of the reasons why Chris King doesn't make integrated headsets.

What is the best way to prevent wear to this unreplaceable part? I hear that keeping it free from water and grit. What is the best way to cover the headset so water doesn't enter the bearings without affecting the steering of the bike? Would replacing the bearings to ceramic ones help reduce the wear rate of the race surface?

How often should I regrease the bearings and/or change them? I suppose I it should be more frequent than traditional threadless headsets.

Am I worrying about nothing here?

It really does appear to be a good case of planned obsolescence on part of the cycling industry. Once the integrated headset race wears out, the consumer got no option but to buy a new frame/bike. :(

don't listen to chris king.

Truth is, that article from chris king is really old, but you don't hear about bikes with integrated headsets wearing out their head tubes, now do you?

The crown race isn't really in the frame, it's just a tapered area where the cartidge bearings can sit. The cartridges contain the actual bearing races, so the headtube never wears out from 'steering'.

You know you can "wear out" the head tube if you install and remove enough headsets, right?
It's not that different from how the square taper cranksets will eventually fit loosely, because the holes get squished.

Quest for and then selling New!, Improved!, the merely completely adequate
is pushed over the side.

Integrated Headset, specific, Cane Creek A-head IS-2 industrial-bearing 1 1/8" ,

is a collection of loose parts... when I got bored with the fork slipping out
while I was fussing with the stem, I got one of QBP"S .. Locking Spacers
Its a small pinch bolt collar in the form of a 10mm spacer..
sits directly on top of the upper race assembly .

Headset pre-load adjustment still is the bolt in the the top caps center of course.

more things gripping the steerer tube must be loosened
before you adjust the bearing pre-load, , but each of them will contribute to

retaining that adjustment, when they are re tightened around the steerer tube.

And this affect headsets how?

I think his headset's a little loose

So how long have integrated headsets been around? 8 - 10 years maybe? Heard many stories about head tubes actually failing? I certainly haven't.

1. The bearing races (cups) aren't built into the head tube. What is machined into the head tube is an angled stop that a cartridge bearing, with a matching angled face, drops into. The race (cup) is contained in the cartridge bearing not the head tube. If it wears out, all that you have to replace is the cartridge bearing. Just make sure that you get one that matches the angle of the stop that's machined in your head tube.

2. What Chris King really objects to:
Ever install a Chris King headset? Every part is a very tight fit. That's what makes them so precise. Integrated headset bearings, on the other hand, are a drop in fit. During installation you actually over tighten the preload a tad to center the bearing in the machined angled seat. Chris King thinks that's a sloppy way of doing it.

aren't you supposed to be the retro grouch? :innocent:

All that means is that you haven't crossed me - yet.

Keep your headset adjusted, keep it dry and free from grit, and repack it every five years. It will last as long as the bike.

BL

OK. I'm going to stop worrying now. Thanks for the post.

The bearing seats (not races) on many frames are replaceable. LOOK uses replaceable seats on all of their frames. Some brands may not have replaceable seats, but if damage does occur, there are tools to recut the seat area and restore it. You really need to investigate how the frame is made.

That's one of several things I disliked about a Cervelo R3 that I owned very briefly. The bearing seats were made of very thin aluminum and permanently bonded to the frame. Not only that, the lower seat didn't even have full contact with the carbon. If any damage did occur, it would not be easily repaired.

You are talking about an internal headset or zero stack and not an intergrated one right?

No. LOOK used the IS standard headset until recently, but they still have removeable bearing seats. They are split ring types that slide in by hand.

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-...t-standards#is