headset renewal

[amator]

thinking of removing the late 80's 1 inch threaded campy headset off the beater and putting it on the no. 2. any idea on the things to do to renew the bearings or do i just pack it with new grease?

[Dave]

Any headset used for that long should be carefully inspected for damage to the crown race or the race in the lower cup. If either is dented or pitted, junk it. If the races still looks good, I'd still replace the balls. Good grade 25 bearing balls are cheap. You can either replace the ones in the cages or just put in enough to fill the entire race, leaving a gap that's no larger than the diameter of one ball - the same as many loose ball hubs.

[saab2000]

I once had a Surly Cross-Check with a Chorus headset. Thankfully it had been properly installed. But with heavy usage it did start to develop the early signs of pitting - indexed steering. But only if you really were careful and held the front wheel up by hand.

Anyway, we took the whole headset out and reinstalled all the races so the pits in the races (not even really visible) would not line up with each other. This did the trick. A very good wrench helped to reinstall it all and readjust it and it was as good as new.

Just gotta make sure the pits in the races don't line up. Of course, getting a newer sealed cartridge headset would have been a lot simpler.

[amator]

Any headset used for that long should be carefully inspected for damage to the crown race or the race in the lower cup. If either is dented or pitted, junk it. If the races still looks good, I'd still replace the balls. Good grade 25 bearing balls are cheap. You can either replace the ones in the cages or just put in enough to fill the entire race, leaving a gap that's no larger than the diameter of one ball - the same as many loose ball hubs.
Thanks. I guess smoothness whilst installed currently does not denote that there is abnormalities in the cup races?

I'll probably spring for a new one (i do like the old school style on this though)

[Peter P.]

I once read an article by Jobst Brandt regarding headset wear (I can't find it now) where he basically said, the reason a properly adjusted headset develops the dimpling so characteristic of worn headsets is due to a LOSS of lubrication (not lack of; you KNOW you put some in there when you installed it, right?!)

Anyway, the compressive impact forces seen by the lower headset race will displace the lubricant between the balls and the race. The balls no longer slip and hence, over time, the races dimple. He uses more technical terms for this but you get the gist of it.

The solution he offered was this: before each ride, rotate your handlebars lock to lock, to spread the grease along the races. That should be sufficient to last your ride and will greatly add to the longevity of your headset.

I've been doing this for over five years and strangely enough, it's working on my cheap, $20-30 headsets. So much for Chris King; more like Cha-Ching! in my wallet.

[stevep]

I once read an article by Jobst Brandt regarding headset wear (I can't find it now) where he basically said, the reason a properly adjusted headset develops the dimpling so characteristic of worn headsets is due to a LOSS of lubrication (not lack of; you KNOW you put some in there when you installed it, right?!)
.

i thk hes wrong.
i thk they just wear out.

you can salvage some additional use if yr not fussy by reinstalling the thing at a different position... but that is purely for winter bike use.
not for a prime bike.