Headset replacement...

[echoplex]

My '97 T900 has a Tange-Seiki SE-II headset that is pretty seriously 'indexed'/notched (with the wheel/stem/bars on it's really just the significant straight-ahead index I feel, but with them off it all feels pretty notchy & grindy)... I know one can get a bit more life out of an indexed headset by switching to loose bearings, but I figure I may as well replace the headset. Any recommendations? And can anyone tell me what the specs are that I need to match? Thx!

 

[black lightning 1987]

You want a 1" threaded headset with ISO dimensions - 30.2 mm cup diameter and 26.4 mm crown race diameter. You should also check the stack height of the current headset. You won't want one that's much taller. I've used Ritchey and Tange Passage at the lower end of the price range and Campagnolo and Chris King at the upper.

 

[echoplex]

Thanks, black lightning! The headset that's currently on there has a brake cable hanger and 4 washers/spacers under that... if I'm trying to get the stack height of what's on there, do I include all the spacers and the cable hanger? Just one spacer?

 

[black lightning 1987]

You can always add spacers if the fork tube is too long. Since you have some spacers now, you can use headsets that have more stack height than your present one. Measure the total stack of all your present headset parts, including the spacers. Don't include the cable hanger as you will need to keep it. That will give you the maximum stack height of your replacement. As I recall, the Ritchey stack height is 35 mm. There may be some Tange headsets that are shorter. There's a nice looking aluminum FSA on eBay that is 40 mm. Every headset listing should list the stack height but more often than not they don't.

 

[echoplex]

Once again, thx black lightning!