Retro Bob said:OK... trying to fit a headset to a Raleigh Competition (circa '73 or
'74). I don't have the old headset and no history on the frame. I
am getting a bit confused.
Whoops, mea culpa. You need a BRAMPTON headset, long out of
production, for your bike. It's a low-stack headset, in the low 30
mm's i believe. No relation to Brompton headsets and folding bikes.
Here's a picture of the brampton headset, except the lock nut is
abnormally high on this one. I have three of these headsets and they
have a rather standard interface between the top race and the locknut.
http://www.flying-scot.co.uk/components/headset.html
These headsets were used on all Raleigh models from the Raleigh Sports
3-speed to the Raleigh Record 10 speed up to the Raleigh competition,
1965-1976. Perhaps you can find one in the parts bin at an old
raleigh shop. If it has pitting this problem can be ameliorated by
"lapping" the headset ( running it with abrasives ) to smooth out the
races.
If you cannot find such a headset, I think that a Stronglight A9 might
work for you (check stack height to be sure.) Stronglight would be
much more appropriate for a Raleigh than any retro Gipiemme product
would be - stronglight headsets shipped on the RRA model in 1973.
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA