needle vs cup n cone threaded headset

[amator]

Im looking at the stronglight A9 classic 1 inch w needle bearings. Does it require much maintenance vs a cup and cone.
supposed to have more resistance/less smooth...
*british thread will fit italian thraeded forks?

[David Kirk]

I've never been a fan of that headset. I know there are folks that like them.

The fact that the races and bearings float can make adjustment problematic and I've seen cases where one needs to over-tighten (to the point where it drags when pivoting) to get rid of all the knock.

Cone and cup headsets are dead easy to deal with. Not as easy as a King but pretty close. Get the headset in the ballpark adjustment wise. Install your stem and tighten it down and then adjust the headset just tight enough so there is no play and you are good to go.

Kapeesh?

Dave

[Vancouverdave]

I'll second David Kirk; adjustment of the needle bearings is tricky and it's hard to adjust for a "sweet spot" even with a reamed and faced head tube.
I haven't used a threadless needle headset yet; it might be better. I'd recommend a Shimano cartridge headset, or a King. I'm a full time mechanic and would describe loose bearing headsets of any kind as "bike mechanic welfare." They're a design that's really no longer necessary.

[chrisroph]

third. i had a stronglight. it sucked as it was impossible to get adjusted properly. get a king, they are well worth the money.

[michael white]

yeah I agree with y'all except:

there was a time when the Stronglight was pretty much the only game in town. This was a couple of decades ago, before cartridge headsets were common. Both Shimano and Campy had been making alloy ball bearing headsets that seemed disposable to me; they would develop "index" steering. The older Campy steel headsets did not do this, it was when they started trying to shave grams that this happened. So the Stronglights were the cure, since they could actually last a long time. Yes, they could be tricky to set up. Personally, I think they also were too light, with the delicate little steel races riding on alloy cups.

mw

[pdxmech13]

ditto.

[saab2000]

Get a King. Or a Shimano DA or Ultegra cartridge for a threaded headset. I have also had Stronglight roller headsets with mixed results. Some OK and some not OK.

The Shimano headsets are great. And I am not really a big Shimano guy. But they really work forever.

Of course, Kings are made in the US and are the standard of the industry. I have seen King headsets on Surly frames.


But for the money ($25--$50 used on eBay), Shimano headsets are hard to beat. Just my opinion.

[sspielman]

I know that to get them to work right the headtube has to be properly faced...but I have had really good luck with a couple models of the Stronglight roller headsets.....namely the Delta for threaded setups....have a couple that just won't die...and the threadless Headlight. I just assemble them with lots of grease and pretty much forget about them. The whole centering/adjusting thing must be an issue, though, because in recent years Stronglight seems to want to invert the upper cup bearings...which would certainly help with the centering issue....

[Peter P.]

I've got a Stronglight Delta headset installed in my Bilenky. It's been installed for about 10 years/40k miles. No problems. Maybe it's not as smooth as cup and cone; it's hard to tell and impossible to tell when riding. The cool thing is, if the races wear out, I don't have to replace the cups as the races are loose, just like the bearings.

Adjustment didn't seem any more difficult than a standard headset.

Only problem is, I don't think repair parts are available anymore.

[Fixed]

thread machup?

[sspielman]

As I was re-packing a 10 year old Stronglight Delta headset yesterday, this thread came to mind, and I thought of something else that should be mentioned. When you are assembling one of the Sytronglight roller bearing headsets, it is important to grease BOTH sides of the removable races. The grease on the side that makes contact with the alloy headpart will then be able to move about much more easily to "find its place" for proper alignment. Also, to aid this process it seems best to assemble everything on the rather loose side, stand the bike upright, and shake the bike back and forth with the front brake applied to settle everything in place....and perform the final tightening/adjustment using this method. Incidentally, the 10 year old headset in question was as good as new on the inside...and it is on my rain bike...I think if the Stronglight headsets cost 4 times as much they would get alot more respect....

[Polyglot]

I too am a big supporter of Stronglight headsets. Never had any difficulties fitting or adjusting one and they last and last and last. On tandems, I find them to be the best solution.

[amator]

As I was re-packing a 10 year old Stronglight Delta headset yesterday, this thread came to mind, and I thought of something else that should be mentioned. When you are assembling one of the Sytronglight roller bearing headsets, it is important to grease BOTH sides of the removable races. The grease on the side that makes contact with the alloy headpart will then be able to move about much more easily to "find its place" for proper alignment. Also, to aid this process it seems best to assemble everything on the rather loose side, stand the bike upright, and shake the bike back and forth with the front brake applied to settle everything in place....and perform the final tightening/adjustment using this method. Incidentally, the 10 year old headset in question was as good as new on the inside...and it is on my rain bike...I think if the Stronglight headsets cost 4 times as much they would get alot more respect....

deltas are no longer in prodution... sadly.
I do love the old school coke bottle shape and the taller stack height and they are reasonably priced vs campy NOS

[J.Greene]

I have the original stronglight that came on my 87 waterford Paramount. It's everything that has been described above. I think it was a great headset for what was available in 87. Today I buy a king.

JG