Is this what worn bearing races look like?

[johnnylarue]

In doing my due diligence to assess the needs of my new-to-me 2002 Litespeed Tuscany, I came to notice that the steering was slightly stiff, and that dialling in the preload on the bearings was proving a lot more finicky than it should be.

I half-assedly gave the bearings some grease a few days ago but didn't pay particularly close attention because I knew they were likely going to need replacing anyway. I just wanted to make sure things were still sufficiently slippery in there to allow a few days riding while I sourced new parts.

Anyway, tonight I decided to take the time to give the situation my undivided attention. The bearings are definitely worn--not catastrophically so, but I can feel some roughness when I move them, and some very slight vertical play in one of them. (I don't know how easily these are meant to spin--i.e. they're certainly not like skateboard wheel bearings. They take some effort to move.) But upon wiping down the headtube and races, I noticed what looks like some mild abrasion forming on three sides of the lower bearing race. (See telltale photos.)

I dry-fitted one of the bearing cartridges onto the race to see if there was any play and while it wasn't a 110% perfect fit, if I applied any amount of pressure to the underside of the cartridge it seemed to stay perfectly in place--no wiggling, rocking or sliding in any direction. Which suggests that it's probably fine, nothing to worry about.

But before I go about investing a relatively absurd amount of money (try about $70 Canadian Fool Dollars) into a new set of bearings, I figured I'd but this one past the community to help me potentially sidestep a world of hurt and give up on this bike before I get too invested in it. (It's a recent enough transaction that the seller would probably take it back. He's good people.)

So a couple of questions for the TL;DR crowd:

1. Can old bearings be responsible for the "either too stiff or too loose" fussy adjustment problems that plague some older integrated headsets? (Note that this one definitely has all of its constituent parts and I do have a nominal idea of what I'm doing when I'm assembling and adjusting it.)

2. Is there anything in your first-hand experience that would suggest that those races might be royally screwed?

Your two-penny contributions are most appreciated. And I love this bike, by the way. I want to keep it--unless I'll always be plagued with the choice between stiff steering and riding with a loose headset!

[Cicli]

Those are not the races. Just a cup that the bearing sits in. It looks fine, put a couple of new bearings in there and ride it.

[tuscanyswe]

Hard to believe that the frame "cups" could get worn unless the wrong headset has been used (and even then..).

[Ralph]

You didn't mention bearing size.....but I would not assume bearing top and bottom same size. I was having some problems with a frame with a Chorus head set some time back....it was either too tight or too loose.....and discovered the bottom bearings were 1/32 (or 1/16...can't remember) larger than the top. After that.....fine.

[AngryScientist]

one thing that might be worth doing is taking a set of calipers and making sure the bore is perfectly round.

[sales guy]

That's not worn. That's just friction marks more than anything. Usually from the lack of grease and or the cups not being fully seated.

I would press them in again to make sure they're in all the way. Make sure to grease them up. But wear, you'd see grooves in the cups just like you would of a pitted cup with regular bearing headsets.

[Clancy]

Use a tip of a pencil to "feel" for irregularities. Often the wear in races and cups is not noticeable to the eye. If it feels smooth using the pencil tip, they're good.

This is a tip I picked up at Barnett's. Used it ever since. Eliminates guessing

If the cups are not completely seated you should see a very small gap between the cup and headtube.

[Mark McM]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fretting

Due to the shallow taper fit and larger lateral loads experienced by integrated headset bearings, they will always be subject to some amount of fretting. As long as the wear isn't too deep, it should be fine.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fretting

Due to the shallow taper fit and larger lateral loads experienced by integrated headset bearings, they will always be subject to some amount of fretting. As long as the wear isn't too deep, it should be fine.

so what you're saying i is not to fret?

[johnnylarue]

Originally Posted by Ralph

You didn't mention bearing size.....but I would not assume bearing top and bottom same size. I was having some problems with a frame with a Chorus head set some time back....it was either too tight or too loose.....and discovered the bottom bearings were 1/32 (or 1/16...can't remember) larger than the top. After that.....fine.

Good tip. I don't have a caliper but I did quickly check the outer circumferences of the heat tube and the top and bottom look to be identical. Given what a pain it must have been to flange a titanium tube in the first place, I doubt the builders would have wanted to complicate their lives further by sizing the top and bottom differently, but you never know. I suppose I could always *try* to confirm this with the Litespeed people...

Originally Posted by Clancy

Use a tip of a pencil to "feel" for irregularities. Often the wear in races and cups is not noticeable to the eye. If it feels smooth using the pencil tip, they're good.

This is a tip I picked up at Barnett's. Used it ever since. Eliminates guessing

If the cups are not completely seated you should see a very small gap between the cup and headtube.

Also incredibly valuable info. I certainly couldn't feel any pitting or roughness with my finger or fingernail, but the pencil trick sounds like it would give more accurate feedback. I'll give it a shot when I open it up again to install the new bearings.

Speaking of which: do you all know if headset bearing cartridges are supposed to spin freely and loosely, or do they typically have a bit of tightness/weight/stickiness to them?

And thanks to everyone for talking me off the ledge. This is my first integrated headset and I'm still adjusting from 30+ years of vintage steel--and essentially never even having to think of headsets!

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by johnnylarue

Speaking of which: do you all know if headset bearing cartridges are supposed to spin freely and loosely, or do they typically have a bit of tightness/weight/stickiness to them?

They should turn smoothly (no roughness or notchiness), but they generally will have some seal drag. High seal drag may be a good thing, as this shows the seals are tight. Headset bearings don't turn fast or far, so seal drag is not an issue.

[johnnylarue]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

They should turn smoothly (no roughness or notchiness), but they generally will have some seal drag. High seal drag may be a good thing, as this shows the seals are tight. Headset bearings don't turn fast or far, so seal drag is not an issue.

Beauty--thanks, Mark. The current set have some faint but noticeable grit in them--almost like a tiny grain of sand or dirt got in there at some point. The notchiness is slight, arguably more noticeable when the headset is assembled.

It seems like they still have a bit of life left in them, which doesn't make me optimistic that new bearings will necessarily solve my stiff steering issues... but I'm not used to dealing with headsets with such relatively fine tolerances so I'm still hopeful a fresh set will fix everything.