I have a late 80's cannondale rs600 and the headset bearings are shot and I'm having a hard time finding them. Can someone recommend something else? 1" threaded with 30mm cups thanks.

Velo Orange Grand Cru.

Sealed cartridge bearing headset at a great price. Less than half of what you would pay for a Chris King, but functions just the same. The crown race is a split ring so installation is eazy peezy.

Or... a chris king if you are feeling spicy.

I assume you mean the races are shot (and not the bearings, which should be easy to find). Whatever headset you choose, make sure that it has the right stack height for your fork. What type of headset do you have on their now? What about the rest of the components? A late 80s Shimano 105 headset would be a nice period-correct option if you require a low stack height.

I'm not very familiar with Cannondales, but I wonder if they require a larger diameter headset due to the over-sized tubes. To be honest, I get confused by the various inner/outer race & cup diameter measurements. You mention 30mm cups. FWIW, Velo Orange lists the Grand Cru crown race diameter at a standard 26.4mm and a (fairly high?) stack height of 42mm.

I have the shimano 105 now and the cartridge bearings are shot

Woodman makes a cartridge bearing unit that seems like a pretty good value, thought I don't have any first-hand experience with it.

If you need short stack height or JIS sizing the Tange "Levin" headsets are a good value (also available in ISO).

+1 I'm using three of these at the moment. Show me a better headset for the money.

That said, if it's just that your cartridge bearings are shot, you should look for replacements.

The Grand Cru is nice but the stack height may very well be an issue. I have no idea why they made them so high. It really wasn't necessary but I guess they were aiming for "that look."

Are the 105 cartridges not serviceable? The Dura Ace version cartridges pop apart so you can clean everything, replace the balls, add fresh grease, then snap back together for many more miles of service.

Want one that could last a lifetime?....Try out Stronglight's A9 or Delta needle bearing headsets. Super light and super strong, plus hardly ever needs adjusting once the races are "bedded in". Plus, the steel races are replaceable if they do wear out (they usually go for just 5 to 7 bucks for a set). Pretty much one of the best components that the French ever designed for bicycles.......actually, one of the best designed bicycle components ever ...... Miche (Primato model) makes a copy of the A9 that is also less expensive and should work just as well.

The Stronglight "Deltas" are two on the second row, which I think will look better on a Cannondale because of their more modern shape.
The Miche "Primato" version is the middle one at the back row
JMOs

Chombi

First you determine the stack height that you need and then you shop for a headset. If the new headset is a bit too short, you can add a spacer. If it's too tall, you're screwed. Cartridge bearing and roller bearing headsets tend to be on the tall side, in my experience.

Not to worried about stack height, the forks are carbon profile design and the steering tube is way to long. Previous owner had about two inches of spacers on it when I bought it. Once I get a headset figured out I'm gonna cut it. I took the cartridge bearings apart and they are soaking in degreaser while I'm at work today, I will see if it does any good tomorrow. Thanks..

Or you can't orderer the bearings online or through your LBS? Are 600 bearings interchangable?

My local bike shop is about 50 miles away, better if I find them online, which I haven't been able to do.

Threaded fork with 2" of spacers? I'll bet that looks special!

Werkz donut?

My LBS has a drawer full of headset bearings, in a ton of sizes. He long ago forgot what they went to. I go in there and hunt around. If I had your old bearings, I'd do that for a fellow jarhead.

Yeah,not the most attractive setup... Thanks Robbie if the cleaning doesn't work I will take you up on your offer.

I agree 100%, the Stronglight A9 is my favorite headset. Unfortunately they stopped making them several years ago, now thye use cartridge bearings.

Why do you care about an extra 10 mm of stack height? Most if not all threaded headsets have taller stack heights than threadless ones anyway. The VO Grand Cru is a great headset for the money, and that's what I put on my most recent bike that needed a threaded one. If that doesn't float your boat, spend 2-3x times as much on a Campy Record or Chris King.

Why do I care about the extra stack height?

Because it made the difference between using the modified through-headset brake stop I was using as the upper part of my decalleur mount (to help firm it up) and not having room for it afterward. Not only could I not use it, but I didn't even have room for a super-thin washer at the top and had to use locktight instead on the headset locknut.

I ended up having to install an ugly Minoura accessory clamp directly on the 22.2mm stem just above the headset and needing to make a new longer custom aluminum stay from the higher position to my bag decalleur. It's nowhere near as pretty or slick as my previous solution.

So yeah, stack height matters. And many vintage steer tubes just will not work with the frames they came with and the Grand Poohbah headset. It's a usability thing. If it weren't so darn tall it could be used as a replacement on a larger variety of bikes. It is always easier to add a washer or two than make the steer tube longer after the fact.

For me it was either put on the ugly clamp or throw away the vintage Reynolds 531 fork and replace it with something that has a longer steer tube -or use a different, more costly and less sealed-bearing headset. I knew it was close -but a mm or two too tight.

I thought about having the ridiculously-large melon-headed threaded top race milled down a little bit on the top a couple of mm but because of the way the wrench flats were situated it would have required more milling to bring them down as well or have no flats at all. It could have been done -but changing the mount and disposing of the headset stay was simpler.

My point being that if VO would have only made the stack height a couple of mm's less it would be a much more handy headset that would cover a greater variety of bikes -or make a shorter version too as well as the melonhead version.

I don't mind the looks but it puts my stem up to high.

Has it occurred to you that the headset stack height is what it is due to the bearings used and is as short as reasonably possible, Amesja?

I don't think it would need 2" of spacers.

No, there is a ton of metal between the top of the drop-in cartridge race and the top of the threaded cup. A TON. you could literally mill off 2-3mm of thickness at the top and it would still work and have enough threads IMHO.

The high stack height in this headset is mostly a factor of the shape and form of the "look" the folks who designed it were shooting for.