The other day when I went to put my winter commuter into storage, I noticed that the handlebars didn't turn freely. I opened up the headset and found this:
The crown race is rusted and pitted all the way around. The bottom cup is about half as bad. The bottom cup looks good, and the top cone is in perfect condition.
The headset has maybe 2000 miles on it, but it looked like new when I overhauled it 150 or so miles ago. Those 150 miles were mostly in harsh conditions, but even so this kind of damage seems excessive. Could I have done something wrong when I repacked the headset to cause this? Beyond that, what can I do to keep a headset going in the winter?
The other day when I went to put my winter commuter into storage, I noticed that the handlebars didn't turn freely. I opened up the headset and found this:
The crown race is rusted and pitted all the way around. The bottom cup is about half as bad. The bottom cup looks good, and the top cone is in perfect condition.
The headset has maybe 2000 miles on it, but it looked like new when I overhauled it 150 or so miles ago. Those 150 miles were mostly in harsh conditions, but even so this kind of damage seems excessive. Could I have done something wrong when I repacked the headset to cause this? Beyond that, what can I do to keep a headset going in the winter?
1. do what you can to limit moisture running in from the top - use plenty of grease and make sure seals are good.
2. use marine grease - the ingredients of normal grease do not form an effective water barrier.
The other day when I went to put my winter commuter into storage, I noticed that the handlebars didn't turn freely. I opened up the headset and found this:
The crown race is rusted and pitted all the way around. The bottom cup is about half as bad. The bottom cup looks good, and the top cone is in perfect condition.
The headset has maybe 2000 miles on it, but it looked like new when I overhauled it 150 or so miles ago. Those 150 miles were mostly in harsh conditions, but even so this kind of damage seems excessive. Could I have done something wrong when I repacked the headset to cause this? Beyond that, what can I do to keep a headset going in the winter?
1. do what you can to limit moisture running in from the top - use plenty of grease and make sure seals are good.
2. use marine grease - the ingredients of normal grease do not form an effective water barrier.
salty sweaty hands on assembly don't help the situation either.
The other day when I went to put my winter commuter into storage, I noticed that the handlebars didn't turn freely. I opened up the headset and found this:
The crown race is rusted and pitted all the way around. The bottom cup is about half as bad. The bottom cup looks good, and the top cone is in perfect condition.
Clean, repack, and adjust as well as you can. As Andrew said, that's some major damage in a short amount of time--but I guess even short rides can introduce moisture and corrosion. Use LOTS of grease, you want it to be enough so it oozes out when you reassemble. That's what paper towels are for.
Quoted message said:
The headset has maybe 2000 miles on it, but it looked like new when I overhauled it 150 or so miles ago. Those 150 miles were mostly in harsh conditions, but even so this kind of damage seems excessive. Could I have done something wrong when I repacked the headset to cause this? Beyond that, what can I do to keep a headset going in the winter?
Use fenders. I've also seen neoprene gaskets for the bottom race, but have never used one.
The other day when I went to put my winter commuter into storage, I noticed that the handlebars didn't turn freely. I opened up the headset and found this:
The crown race is rusted and pitted all the way around. The bottom cup is about half as bad. The bottom cup looks good, and the top cone is in perfect condition.
The headset has maybe 2000 miles on it, but it looked like new when I overhauled it 150 or so miles ago. Those 150 miles were mostly in harsh conditions, but even so this kind of damage seems excessive. Could I have done something wrong when I repacked the headset to cause this? Beyond that, what can I do to keep a headset going in the winter?
Clean as well as you can (literally, a toothbrush is handy for this) and fill the space with grease. Fill it. Any excess will goosh out anyway so you really cannot add too much grease.
Did you fill the area with grease last time? Did you forget or flip a seal on assembly? That's pretty ugly for 150 miles, but probably not fatal.
-- Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971
The other day when I went to put my winter commuter into storage, I noticed that the handlebars didn't turn freely. I opened up the headset and found this:
The crown race is rusted and pitted all the way around. The bottom cup is about half as bad. The bottom cup looks good, and the top cone is in perfect condition.
The headset has maybe 2000 miles on it, but it looked like new when I overhauled it 150 or so miles ago. Those 150 miles were mostly in harsh conditions, but even so this kind of damage seems excessive. Could I have done something wrong when I repacked the headset to cause this? Beyond that, what can I do to keep a headset going in the winter?
Were those 150 miles in a short period of time? If the bike was sitting, it could have allowed time for more corrosion to occur. -- Phil
Clean as well as you can (literally, a toothbrush is handy for this) and fill the space with grease. Fill it. Any excess will goosh out anyway so you really cannot add too much grease.
Did you fill the area with grease last time? Did you forget or flip a seal on assembly? That's pretty ugly for 150 miles, but probably not fatal.
Yes, I filled it with grease. There was still a thin film of grease on all surfaces when I opened it up, but not as much as I'm used to seeing. The only thing I did differently this time versus past overhauls was to use loose balls because the LBS didn't have the correct retainers in stock.
It's possible that I could have installed a seal backwards. Also, the upper seal looks deformed:
The fibers that you see in that picture are from the paper towel that I used to wipe grease off before taking the picture. They weren't there when I opened up the headset. On further inspection there is no rust in the top cup but there is pitting in a few areas.
On Mar 25, 7:28 pm, Steve Gravrock <[email hidden]> wrote:
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Quoted message said:
Beyond that, what can I do to keep a headset going in the winter?
Use fenders. I've also seen neoprene gaskets for the bottom race, but have never used one.
I'll try that next winter. I avoided fenders on this bike because I lock it outside during the day after riding it in the snow, and I didn't want to worry about the wheel freezing to the fender. However, with the tires I'm running now I should be able to get enough clearance between tire and fender to be able to clear the snow out.
Were those 150 miles in a short period of time? If the bike was sitting, it could have allowed time for more corrosion to occur.
I repacked the headset last summer, then rode the bike off-road in dry conditions a few times. The bulk of the miles were between November and February, and I'd say about half of that was in wet or snowy conditions. The bike has been sitting inside for about a month now. I last rode it briefly last weekend to check derailer adjustment after some maintenance. At that point, the handlebars still turned smoothly.
That's pretty strange. Any chance it was overtightened ? (now i shall don my protective suit and get ready for a barrage of needless criticism from jobst 'no such thing as brinneling' brandt who is incapable of destroying his own headsets in any way other than fretting ... )
In what environment did you repack the headset? A warm humid house vs. a cold wintery garage might have helped to trap some moisture or condensate underneath the grease ...
What kind of grease was used?
I quite frankly don't think that falling snow will do that to a headset, usually you'd need to ride through rain or spray to get a lot of moisture into even a headset with damaged seals, and/or the grease would have to either be bad (i.e. containing moisture) or it would have to be missing to a great extent ...
On Mar 26, 10:57 am, Steve Gravrock <[email hidden]>
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landotter said:
Steve Gravrock said:
Beyond that, what can I do to keep a headset going in the winter?
Quoted message said:
Use fenders. I've also seen neoprene gaskets for the bottom race, but have never used one.
I'll try that next winter.
You can make one from a "calimari-like" slice of an appropriately sized dead bicycle inner tube, install it when you service the headset. Simple, cheap, effective.
On Mar 26, 10:57 am, Steve Gravrock <[email hidden]>
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On 2007-03-26, landotter <[email hidden]> wrote:
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
On Mar 25, 7:28 pm, Steve Gravrock <[email hidden]> wrote: > Beyond that, what can I do to keep a headset going in the winter?
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
Use fenders. I've also seen neoprene gaskets for the bottom race, but have never used one.
Quoted message said:
I'll try that next winter.
You can make one from a "calimari-like" slice of an appropriately sized dead bicycle inner tube, install it when you service the headset. Simple, cheap, effective.
Doh!
I did have calamari last night. Shouldda thunk of that.
On Mar 26, 10:57 am, Steve Gravrock <[email hidden]>
Quoted message said:
landotter said:
On Mar 25, 7:28 pm, Steve Gravrock <[email hidden]> wrote: > Beyond that, what can I do to keep a headset going in the winter? Use fenders. I've also seen neoprene gaskets for the bottom race, but have never used one.
I'll try that next winter.
You can make one from a "calimari-like" slice of an appropriately sized dead bicycle inner tube, install it when you service the headset. Simple, cheap, effective.
not the right type of rubber. it'll last a little while, but it'll eventually end up a swollen sticky [ineffective] goo. real-deal buna-n o-rings are ridiculously cheap and come in so many size options, you're very likely to find one that works.
Clean as well as you can (literally, a toothbrush is handy for this) and fill the space with grease. Fill it. Any excess will goosh out anyway so you really cannot add too much grease.
Did you fill the area with grease last time? Did you forget or flip a seal on assembly? That's pretty ugly for 150 miles, but probably not fatal.
Yes, I filled it with grease. There was still a thin film of grease on all surfaces when I opened it up,
which is why you should use marine grease. in the working regions, the grease will arrange itself into thin film. in this condition, ordinary greases are moisture permeable. marine greases /much/ less so.
much better to prevent moisture ingress in the first place though, so replace that munged seal.
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but not as much as I'm used to seeing. The only thing I did differently this time versus past overhauls was to use loose balls because the LBS didn't have the correct retainers in stock.
It's possible that I could have installed a seal backwards. Also, the upper seal looks deformed:
The fibers that you see in that picture are from the paper towel that I used to wipe grease off before taking the picture. They weren't there when I opened up the headset. On further inspection there is no rust in the top cup but there is pitting in a few areas.
That's pretty strange. Any chance it was overtightened ?
It's possible, but unlikely. I was pretty careful about the adjustment. Also I could be wrong here but I'd expect overtightening to affect all races equally.
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In what environment did you repack the headset? A warm humid house vs. a cold wintery garage might have helped to trap some moisture or condensate underneath the grease ...
It was repacked indoors.
Quoted message said:
What kind of grease was used?
I used Park grease.
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I quite frankly don't think that falling snow will do that to a headset, usually you'd need to ride through rain or spray to get a lot of moisture into even a headset with damaged seals, and/or the grease would have to either be bad (i.e. containing moisture) or it would have to be missing to a great extent ...
That's just it: I *did* right through a lot of rain and spray on this bike.
Yes, I filled it with grease. There was still a thin film of grease on all surfaces when I opened it up,
which is why you should use marine grease. in the working regions, the grease will arrange itself into thin film. in this condition, ordinary greases are moisture permeable. marine greases /much/ less so.
much better to prevent moisture ingress in the first place though, so replace that munged seal.
Next fall I'll put on fenders and a new headset packed with marine grease. Unfortunately it looks like this headset is too badly damaged. I repacked and tried to adjust it last night but I wasn't able to get it to a point where there was neither play nor binding.
The good news is that 1-1/8" threaded headsets are still available, although the selection is getting a bit slim.
