Looking after a headset

[fatboy]

My bike is off to the LBS today for a new headset after 3500 miles. I wondered firstly if this is what you'd expect for the life of a headset (budget 1" threaded on the bike from new) or whether there was something I should have done to make it last longer. Any ideas? Also if I got the LBS to put an expensive headset in would it last any longer?

[hamster]

Expensive ones definitely have better seals.

You can get excellent ones for around £30-50 which will last years.

The main thing is to keep water and muck off the lower race. Mudguards are best, but a piece of old inner tube zip-tied around it is a close second, and can make a cheapy one last pretty well. Ask the shop to fit it when they have the forks off to fit the headset.

[fatboy]

Hamster,

Thanks. Actually I have full size mud-guards, but the bike is kept in a, currently, damp garage (getting the roof done in the new year should help).

I'll chat the the bikeshop owner and see what he recommends.

[CJ]

My bike is off to the LBS today for a new headset after 3500 miles. I wondered firstly if this is what you'd expect for the life of a headset (budget 1" threaded on the bike from new) or whether there was something I should have done to make it last longer. Any ideas?

A budget threaded headset will have caged balls, for ease of assembly. But this arrangement means fewer balls to share the load and only helps to hold them still whilst they hammer little dints into the races. Result: "indexed steering" and an apparently worn-out headset.

But there is still lots of unworn raceway between the dints, and the simple way to get a whole new and much longer lease of life out of that headset is to throw away the caged balls and fit a full complement of loose balls (as many as will fit minus one). So provided the LBS hasn't got his mitts on it yet (a new headset is quicker and more profitable for him to fit than fiddling with loose balls), there is indeed something you can do to make it last longer - even now!

Quality of grease is also important. Lubricant failure, i.e. a grease that is too easily displaced from the quasi-static contact point of a headset ball, will share the blame for the early demise of your headset. Extreme pressure qualities and resistance to channelling are what you need in a headset grease.

[pigman]

"indexed steering" .

great phrase, we've all been there at some point

[hamster]

I used to go with CJ's approach until I tried it on a Ritchey logic headset which had a covering platic sleeve over the top race. Somewhere in the fun I got one ball between the inner race and the steerer which then ground a nice dent into the steerer tube...new steerer, so not exactly a saving!

OK, I admit to fouling up the job. But it doesn't seem worth the hassle.

[pete75]

My bike is off to the LBS today for a new headset after 3500 miles. I wondered firstly if this is what you'd expect for the life of a headset (budget 1" threaded on the bike from new) or whether there was something I should have done to make it last longer. Any ideas? Also if I got the LBS to put an expensive headset in would it last any longer?

In my experience these are pretty good - needle rollers are vastly superiors to balls...

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... b0s115p489

[PW]

Agreed. They are also available in 1" threadless.

[Si]

I know that I've said it a hundred times, but it's worth saying it again.....be wary of turning your bike upside down to wash it - this can lead to soapy water running into the headset from the bottom and manking it up. The covering sections on some headsets overlap in such a way as they protect from water coming from the top but if the bike is upside down the water can run in easily but can't get out again until the bike is righted.

[Mick F]

A good idea is to take the wheel and mudguard off, pull out the h'bar stem, and remove the front brake, then and rotate the forks a few times. This distributes the lub, rotates the balls, and excersises the whole lot.

[8Ball]

to add a couple of pence worth:

3500miles is pretty young in the life of a headset.

I find that while it's nice to have a smooth headset, the little movement it gets does mean that you can cycle a bike with a fairly coarse headset without really noticing, unlike a bottom bracket for example. A new set of balls and some fresh grease usually improve the thing significantly and save the inconvenience of changing the headset yourself or of leaving the bike at the shop.

to hijack the thread slightly, I need a new headset. What is the most hardwearing and water resistant headset available, either new or second hand? the Stronglight A9 has some reviews on the web which suggest that while excellent, it may not be the best for touring in the wet or for being left outdoors overnight in the wet, which is exactly what will happen to mine.

your opinions would be most welcome.

[Mick F]

I always find it strange that ball bearings, or roller bearings, are used at all.

Ball bearings and the like are good (and normal) for continually rotating devices. Headsets aren't like that at all.

Consider a car's steering. It uses bushes. Why can't a bike use sealed bushes with a grease nipple?

[squeaker]

I always find it strange that ball bearings, or roller bearings, are used at all.

Ball bearings and the like are good (and normal) for continually rotating devices. Headsets aren't like that at all.

Consider a car's steering. It uses bushes. Why can't a bike use sealed bushes with a grease nipple?

The steering might use bushes, but AFAIK the most common type of front suspension (MacPherson strut) usually has a rolling element bearing at the top to take the weight and provide rotation for steering.
(I recall that Cane Creek used do some headsets with grease nipples, but now seem to have gone over to using sealed bearings.)

[Mick F]

Yes, but does a MacPherson strut have ball bearing races? My Haynes Manual doesn't show a diag, it just says:
....and check the upper bearing for smoothness of operation. Renew .... as necessary.

But anyway, if it does, it would be far meatier than you could possibly get on a bike!

[squeaker]

Yes, but does a MacPherson strut have ball bearing races?

It does: I found out the hard way
But I know where you are coming from, though: 'plain bearings for limited movement to avoid fretting failure'. However, angular contact bearings do have the advantage(?) of adjustable clearance, and if you have a big enough safety factor then rolling element bearings can cope, provided that they are well sealed. I think the latter point is probably the main failing of lots of bike parts, through a combination of cost saving and / or friction reduction.