My Miyata 610 is in need of a new headset. I installed a Tange Levin about 1 year ago and now after re-finishing the frame is shows quite abit of wear on the fork race. The specs are as 27mm fork race and 40mm stack height.
So I am looking for a quality headset as this is my favorite and most ridden bike.
Thanks!

There's no reason a Tange Levin should have worn within a year if installed properly. Was the head tube faced? Did you pre-load the headset properly? I would venture to say that improper pre-load is the most likely reason for premature wear.

Did you replace the crown race or use the old one?

I replaced the race. The race just looks quite worn for only 1 year. The other mechanic at the LBS suggested eliminating the caged bearings and going with loose in order to get more bearings in play.

+1

Replace the headset with a Stronglight A9 (old style with needle bearings) and you could literally go for decades without any bearing race wear, plus it will need much less maintenance adjustment if you preload it correctly....

Go with a roller bearing headset. I put a Stronglight Delta on my tandem over 30 years ago and it's still going strong. Unfortunately, they're not being made anymore. But Tange/IRD still offers a similar model:



Headset Tange/IRD NeedL BlastR Roller Drive

A "perfectly adjusted" headset can pinch it's bearings hard enough to dent the races by a combination of factors.

Firstly, just as with hub bearings becoming orders of magnitude tighter when the quick-release compresses the axle, a quill stem expanding in the steerer effectively shortens the steerer and tightens the bearings. This often goes un-noticed as the handlebar and stem, together with lever cables, masks the symptom of slight tightness, especially with a smooth new headset in place.

While riding, the bending loads fed into the fork crown slightly tilt the crown race, creating an asymmetric "pinch" on the bearings toward the front of the headtube, which may be sufficient to dent the crown race on the first ride!
Over the course of hundreds of miles, the occasional peak load of impact may exceed the yield strength and hardness of the contact points of the crown race, denting the race.

I always leave retainers in place upon initial installation, unless the bearing count is ridiculously low (as with Steyr's 14-ball retainers, shown below).
This way, when the races have truly worn, a full complement of balls (no, not "with one removed") can be fitted, preventing the balls aligning with dents in the races.
Doing it the other way around, with an initial full complement of balls, the springy retainer (with freeplay at each ball) may not be so effective at preventing alignment with dents in the races.
Of course it also helps to rotate the crown race to a new position on the crown at this time, as well as the cup if it too is damaged. A third of a turn in opposite directions of cup and crown race might have the greatest effect to the better.

In that it causes steering problems and is destructive, a slightly over-tight headset is far worse than a slightly loose one, and unfortunately all to common.

+1 on needle bearing headsets.

Absolutely bulletproof.

Has anyone ever had an issue with one?

I tried the one VO makes, and it developed a serious rust problem after a couple of wet rides. I can't remember if it has some sort of seal, but the materials themselves seemed weren't exactly corrosion resistant, I.e., cheap steel.

They can be hard to adjust. I had one that was a pain, but two others that have had no issues. Most of my headsets are standard tange and the like, with no issues. My favorite are Shimano 600 series. Those are really nice.

That is the question. Until it is answered, other questions are of questionable value.

The headtube was not refaced since I bought the frame. I may just do it as I have access to the tools. Did not think about it prior to re-painting.

I used a Tange Levin once, and it became brinnelled after only about one year of use. It was installed by a bike shop that I've used for a long time and trust.

In contrast, I have had excellent performance and durability from Velo-Orange, Chris King and Campy Record headsets. The VO headsets are a tremendous value, IMHO, and they have sealed bearings, which I prefer. I have heard many recommendations over the years for Stronglight headsets, but are they still in production? I tried to purchase one once and had a hard time finding except old used ones on eBay.

The few bikes I bought with destroyed headsets usually had it far too tight or too loose. The ones that are adjusted well are usually in great shape even after the grease has dried and crusted. I really like the new Chris King threaded headsets though... but they're neither retro nor cheap... very not cheap. The base Velo Orange ones I wouldn't recommend... they seem more fragile than a Tange.

I'd be inclined to hunt for an older, or NOS Shimano 600 era headset on ePay. I love those things, great fit and finish and typically they have a low stack height you can solve with spacers easily.

Today I decided to check the headtube for parallel surrfaces. I thought that when it would be faced the tool would create 2 parallel ends. So I attached a plate top and bottom held in place with some threaded rod. I then used my steel rule and measured at 4 locations 90 degrees apart. Came up with exactly the same measurement, so this tells me it is ok.

That was a clever trick. What kind of plates did you use?

Have we really gotten this far without any requests to see a pic of this crown race?!

If my camera would do justice to a close up I would post it. But I spend too much on bikes!
I used 1/4" MDF.

Unfortunately Stronglight had ceased production of the needle bearing style headsets like the A9, the Delta and a few later iterations of the same needle bearing design. You can still find some needle bearing style Stronglight headsets out there, but they will cost about a hundred bucks NOS if you do find them, the A9's a bit more.
Stronglight did follow through with a current version of the A9, but they now employ cartridge bearings, which might last longer than conventional caged or loose bearing headsets but I think not as long as the previous needle bearing type. Kinda de-evolution on Stronglight's part, IMO.
You can still buy copies of the A9 and Delta needle bearing headset though, and for very reasonable prices. Check ot Miche's latest version of their Primato headset. I have one installed currently on my ALAN, and so far it seems to be performing just as well as the A9's and Deltas on my other bikes.....
BTW,try to avoid getting the "B. Hinault" version of the A9. Don't have anything against the enterprising "Badger", but the Delrin cups on those A9's do sometimes tend to crack when exposed too much/too long to UV light...

I know it's a cliche at this point, but ...Chris....King. Can't go wrong.

I like Velo-Orange's threaded headset but it needs a little bit more threading at times than the headset in may replace.

The question was eventually answered, but I disagree on the value thing.

Today the frame made a trip over to our other shop and a short time later and a few turns of the facing tool and Voila! The headset is installed with loose bearings and the BB is in place. Slowly it is coming back together.