Large Diameter Head Tube
 

Can anyone tell me who sells the large diameter head tubes in steel, for instance, something large enough to accommodate an Inset-style headset? Is there a frame builders supplier or are they just buying them from whoever sells chromoly tubing? Thanks.

http://www.cycle-frames.com/bicycle-...HEAD-TUBE.html

^^^
Dmitri,
Nova has them.

Really? I checked their site last night and didn't find them. Anyway, thanks AllenG.

No problem.

For 28.6 headsets? Joe Bringheli carries some nice ones.

Thanks for the info, I'll check'em out.

If your talking about the 44mm head tube ID zero stack, like the Chris King InSet, I think the only way to get them is to turn them from tube stock. I've built with one and I turned it from 4130. I also had to make headtube rings as the outer lip on the InSet is quite a bit thicker than the wall thickness of the headtube I made. Hope that helps.

Actually, I think Joe Brigheli was talking about stocking the King ones as well. The ones he currently has work well with the Campy internal headset dimensions. You can also get the ones to match other dimensions like Cane Creek and FSA. Joe is really knowledgeable with this stuff and he's a no BS kinda guy. He won't give you the typical American products are the best rhetoric either.

Hey Cabatic, what is your opinion on the CK Inset? I have never used one and was curious about it. Any advantages, disadvantages, or basically just something different? Got any photos of the build? Thanks.http://meechcustombikes.blogspot.com/

In the name of transparency I actually work at King building Cielo bike frames so maybe my opinion is biased. The advantages for my build are lower stack height, larger headtube diameter and of course it's a Chris King headset. We do build a steel production bike with them that you can check out here http://cielo.chrisking.com/bikes/mountain-bike-details/ The bike I built where I turned my own head tube was a "Bakfiets" cargo bike where the large head tube was a huge plus because my main tube was a 2" and I would have had to do pretty drastic squeeze to miter to a 36-37mm head tube. I'll try and get a few pictures of my cargo bike up. The only disadvantage that comes to mind is the need for another sized reamer and facer set to prep the head tube. I had pretty easy access to one but I honestly don't know how prevalent they are out there. Bike shops selling the InSet should have them.

Your average machine shop should be able to do all this fairly easy shouldn't they?

What was the wall on the 2" tube 49 thou? Thanks.

they will probably take your first-born and delivery will be measured in months, but yes they can do this.

The tube was 2" .188" wall 4130. I don't recall the finish dimensions off the top of my head I have them written down at the shop. The InSet uses a 44mm head tube bore and the lip of the cup is just under 2". Hence the need for head tube rings.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but recently True Temper made a run of 44mm steel head-tubes and I figured that this thread is a better choice than starting a new one. See this thread on MTBR.com for more information (warning, Mountain Bike Content) http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=617931

Walt Wehner of http://www.waltworks.com has some steel 44mm head tubes in stock now. He is also selling tubing direct to other frame builders. You can get one of these tubes built into a bike by Walt or by Sean of http://www.vertigocycles.com/ and probably quite a few other builders at this point.

The custom drawn tubing is/should-be cheaper and lighter than most lathe milled pieces, although since it is designed for long-travel mountain-bike usage it is probably heavier than something optimized for road bike use.

Disclaimer: I'm a customer of Walt's but have no relationship other than that. He's currently building me a 44HT full-suspension mountain bike with this tubing.