Road headset on mountain bike?

"Dave Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have an old Specialized S-Works Steel that I've converted to a city bike. Now I'm having trouble
finding a new 1" mountain headset for
it. I'd rather not have to spend the bucks for a Chris King or something. Can I use a road
headset on it?

Headsets are headsets... The biggest difference between road and mtn are the "seals." More better
seals to keep the grunge out of the bearings on the mtn versions.

I like the Shimano sealed bearing headsets. Nice, light, durable, fairly inexpensive. If you've gone
threadless on this bike, try the Cane Creek C2.

Mike

Dave Smith said:

I have an old Specialized S-Works Steel that I've converted to a city bike. Now I'm having trouble
finding a new 1" mountain headset for
it. I'd rather not have to spend the bucks for a Chris King or something. Can I use a road headset
on it?

Yeah you could... especially any of the lower grade ones .. there is almost no difference at that
point ...but drop me an e-mail. I've got an unused XT headset circa '92 kicking around the basement
.. If your interested... $20 plus S&H ...(assuming I can find it )

"Mike S." <mikeshaw2@coxDOTnet> wrote in message news:5Rkia.54$sk.41@fed1read07...

Quoted message said:

"Dave Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I have an old Specialized S-Works Steel that I've

converted to a city

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

bike. Now I'm having trouble finding a new 1" mountain

headset for

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

it. I'd rather not have to spend the bucks for a Chris

King or

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

something. Can I use a road headset on it?

Headsets are headsets... The biggest difference between

road and mtn are

Quoted message said:

the "seals." More better seals to keep the grunge out of

the bearings on

Quoted message said:

the mtn versions.

The most important seal is still the one that seals around the top locknut, keeping out sweat that
drips down on the stem. Good road headsets have this.

Quoted message said:

I like the Shimano sealed bearing headsets. Nice, light,

durable, fairly

Quoted message said:

inexpensive. If you've gone threadless on this bike, try

the Cane Creek C2.

In fact the Shimano ones are best, particularly for a rigid fork. This is because on long descents
under hard braking, the fork flexes fore and aft over bumps, rocking the lower bearing race, causing
fretting damage. Back in the days of lightweight rigid forks and 1" head tubes on mountain bikes,
headsets were treated almost as consumables. The Shimano design goes a long way toward curing the
problem. There's an article in the FAQ which explains this:

draco.acs.uci.edu8f.13.htmlOpen ↗

So get a Shimano headset, if you can.

Matt O.

orngcat-<< I have an old Specialized S-Works Steel that I've converted to a city bike. Now I'm
having trouble finding a new 1" mountain headset for
it. I'd rather not have to spend the bucks for a Chris King or something. Can I use a road
headset on it?

of course...

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"