I found this Raleigh Competition and it has a headset with "hexagonal" top and bottom cups. Can any one identify the make and model? Thanks

pics?

Yes sir..

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Brampton Alatet



https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.a...m=111&AbsPos=9

those are not hexagons

count the flats; those are decagons

headlugs are Prugnat 62d

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Close. Decagons but no "teeth"


But here's one like mine. Thanks. The one I have is heavily indexed, but very cool looking. Any thoughts as to whether is worth finding another one?

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production life was long and there are variations

here is another -

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note pattern of lock nut

​​​​​​https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.a...=111&AbsPos=10

quality of finish varies

your example is relatively late production and exhibits indifferent finish

races take 26 5/32" balls each and are not rectified after plating

head cup diameter is 30.0mm

fork crown race i.d. is 26.9mm

stack height is 36.1mm for your version; it is a bit greater for the toothed version

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I have a NOS Stronglight Competition headset with the V races. Any thoughts on relative "performance"?

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these have rectifed after plating races which a plus

the V design spreads loads for each ball to four points instead of two

V races are less forgiving in terms of self-centreing than traditional cone & cup designs

so fitment is more critical


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Thanks!

TDC made a headset in a similar style.
often fitted to Bob Jackson’s in the 70’s

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one possible complication of fitting a Stronglight V-4 is the fork crown race

its i.d. is stepped with the lower portion for fitment to the fork crown being 27.0mm

the upper half is smaller and can be a problem in cases where the fork crown race seat is too tall

if you look closely at the manufacturer's illustration below you shall be able to see the feature -




stack height is greater than Alatet at 39.3mm

races also take 26 5/32" balls each

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Those were more durable in that the balls had two contact tracks on the race rather than just one, but they were very fussy about alignment. The later roller bearing models were more accommodating.

Magistroni made a headset with octagonal cups. The notched lockring on the OP's headset might be anomalous:

No steps on my example. The bit about being more dependent on alignment than needle bearing head sets is a little concerning, but I'm planning on keeping this bike, so it may be worth sending it out to a framebuilder for alignment and faceing.

Not Magistroni, Way-Assauto on the Bot.
VeloBase.com - Component: Way-Assauto (flats on cups)
P1030664 on Flickr

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thank you for this clarification

the fitting in the middle of the photo appears too tall to be a fork crown race

it looks more like an upper head tube race

the fork crown race of the Competition V4 set has a thickness/height of 5.2mm


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I was digging through my stuff and I actually have 2 sets of Stronglight Competition headsets. The second has the step in the crown race.