Just a follow up to what was said earlier about integrated headsets
and possible frame damage: Chris King has an explanation on their
webpage about why they think integrated headsets do pose such a
risk--what I think an earlier poster was getting at when he suggested
that the bearings could brinnell the integrated races and damage the
frame. See:
chrisking.comint hds explain appendix1.htmlOpen ↗
(and preceding pages) for the CK explanation. Note that CK distinguish between "integrated" and
"internal" or "zero stack" headsets, which apparently do not have this problem.
About standardization: I was building a bike awhile ago (last summer) when I was in Europe, and
ended up with--against what I would have preferred--a frame built for an integrated headset. The
manufacturer claimed that it accepted some Cane Creek standard, but not a single bike store in
Berlin had that size--each store had maybe 2 on hand, and no two I saw were alike. There was no
standardization in size whatsoever--one mech actually got out calipers, measured and drew a diagram
before going and trying to see if he could special order a headset to fit, and it took another store
about 2 weeks of trying to special order one before they just gave up. So maybe it's different in
the US or is getting easier, but for what it's worth, that was my experience.
The frame I got was cheap, fits right, etc., and so I have no complaints--except for that damn
headset. I tell myself now that if the frame *does* get trashed b/c of the headset--however likely
or unlikely that may be--as long as I get 3-4 years of riding out of it, it will have paid for
itself, it was so cheap. --V.
