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And Welcome to The Wide World of Head Tube/Headset Standards...


RidingAgain
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I'm working on upgrading a GT hardtail for someone and could only find a tapered 29 fork for him. But his bike takes a 1 1/8 steerer tube. So I looked into the possibility of some sort of conversion headset, and yes, it can be done. But looking into this also introduced me to the world of head tube/headset standards... The wide world of head tube/headset standards... Wow... One day when I have a few minutes I think I'll make a list of all the variations of standards I've had to learn about as I've taken apart and put together bikes over the years.

http://dansbikestuff.blogspot.com/2013/11/headsets-and-associated-standards.html
 

Edited by RidingAgain
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Here's a little more on the subject... Not sure if it makes things more simple... Or more complicated.

Note... "...The headset in example #1 could have one of eight different names depending upon the catalog or website:

- 1-1/8″ internal headset

- 1-1/8″ Orbit Z

- 1-1/8″ InSet, low-stack

- 1-1/8″ ZeroStack

- Logic Zero Press Fit 1-1/8″

- Flat44 for 1-1/8″ semi-integrated

- Zero Superlogic

- Hidden Cup Headset

These models above are are actually interchangeable with one another. However these sundry monikers would not lead anyone to assume they are the same standard."

Gotta love the bike industry.

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/standardized-headset-identification-system
 

Edited by RidingAgain
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3 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

What was the trick for fitting a tapered fork in a straight steerer?

Cane Creek makes a tool called the Gary Gauge that is useful if you run into whacky headsets often.


It's just a headset that Cane Creek makes (and I think some others, but CC is a better price)... Part # EC44/40... But make sure as there are different width head tubes that fit the 1 1/8 steerer.

What it does is put a bearing that fits the wider tapered section of the tapered steerer below the bottom of the head tube... Which sort of extends the length of the head tube at the bottom, and gives it the wider diameter needed to fit the wider section of the tapered steerer of the new fork.

Note that this will add a bit of length to the steerer tube/headset — if it was a steerer tube that fit the bearings in it  versus the bearings outside of it... I think one of the names for this is "zero-stack"... The outside one being an external cup)... Whatever the case, where the crown of the fork comes in contact with the headset bearing will be the same distance from ground to crown... But the bike frame will be pushed up slightly, and this will change the head tube angle a little (make it slacker), which means the BB will be a little higher off the ground, the seat tube angle will be slacker too. Something akin to putting a larger tire on the front than on the back... Like a 2.2 rear to maybe a 2.5 front... But I'm just guessing at this point. I don't think it will hurt the handling of this bike I'm working on, as the head tube angle is a bit steeper than today's standards, so slackening it by a degree or less won't make too much of a difference to handling. In fact it might make it less twitchy.

See below link for video on the headset...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ak84ZBJc9w

Edited by RidingAgain
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51 minutes ago, RidingAgain said:


It's just a headset that Cane Creek makes (and I think some others, but CC is a better price)... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ak84ZBJc9w

just to clarify: when you say a bike takes a "straight steer tube," most people think of a frame with a head tube that has a 34mm ID top and bottom. that's what is colloquially known as a "straight 1-1/8 head tube," but a head tube can also be "tapered" and "straight" and have other dimensions. I have four bikes in my garage with three different kinds of head tube and headset arrangements, and all of them are "straight." in the case of the common but now archaic 34mm straight steerer tube, fitting a conventional tapered steerer tube is effectively impossible without doing something weird and probably dangerous. The bottom of a tapered steerer tube is about 38mm and won't fit inside a 34mm hole no matter what kind of lube you use. (come on folks, I set that joke up for you!)

edit: I see you clarified your original post. thanks, that makes more sense now.

what I think confuses people is that a lot of older frames use a head tube that takes an internal or integrated headset with a 1-1/8" steerer tube on the fork. if the inside of that head tube is 44mm and uses an internal cup, you can replace the bottom cup with an external one (EC in that language) to fit a tapered fork steerer. if not, you're probably out of luck.

For a more conventional 34mm head tube, it's not impossible. I only point this out because I don't want people to get hopeful and confused when trying to fit a newer fork on an older frame.

Quote

Your bicycle’s headtube must have an inside diameter of 44mm or larger in order to use any tapered steer fork.  Traditional 1 1/8 in headtubes, or 34mm inside diameter headtubes, cannot accept a tapered steering column fork, therefore we do not make an adapter that will allow you to use a tapered steering column on a traditional 1 1/8 in headtube.

Cane Creek

Edited by mack_turtle
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