I just can't seem to find them, but may not be calling it the right thing....went to Sheldon Brown's site / Harris, Performance, Nashbar....

Am building up a Raleigh MTB frame (mid 90s....maybe newer) to be my commuter in Japan.

It needs external cups...is there another name for these kinds of headsets? Can you even get a threadless headset with external cups?

Is the headset going to end up costing me more than the rest of the bike??? (Am building this from my 15 year old college MTB drivetrain).

Thanks!

(p.s. - on 1.5 inch rims, what is a good compromise commuter tire width? Stick with 1.5? I saw a few 1.25 and 1.4 tires.)

Thanks!

Uh...by "external cups", do you mean the standard non-integrated headset? They're quite easy to find...do you need a 1" or 1 1/8"?

Non integrated! That's the word I was looking for.

I am 99% sure I need a 1 1/8 -- will have to go measure with calipers.

To ask a dumb question -- to I measure the HT size, or the fork steerer size, or both********** Which is the needed measurement?

Thanks!

Measure the outside diameter of the steerer tube...1" steerer=1" headset. I hope for your sake it's 1 1/8".

Either way they are readily available in both size, I just ordered a very nice 1" cane creek threadless headset this week.

Yeah...I guess I'm just overly budget minded, and had a hard time finding a cheap (sub $20) 1" threadless...

Is your steering tube threaded on the outside?