I *think* jags is looking for a 1-1/8" headset for his Sherpa, but I'm not sure. He'll tell us soon enough.
That Stronglight A9 is supposed to be the cat's whiskers. Never had one though.
For 1" threaded headsets, they're long-lived -- I have over 40,000 miles on three of them, but they are unsealed and have wide cup clearances, allowing for lossy lubrication. They should be used with mudguards for best protection against water and dirt. They're not very well-finished, and are below Stronglight's usual execution.
My favorite by
far is the old Stronglight Delta. It is the A9 with tight tolerances, much better machining, polishing, and anodizing, with o-ring seals and uses the same
replaceable tapered roller-bearings and tapered races as the A-9. In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful headsets ever produced and is a study in sturdy minimalism. Mine has gone well over 28,000mi on my 1983/84 Centurion Pro Tour 15. Some nice catalog photos of them from back in the day are here:
http://www.bikepro.com/products/headsets/strong_hst.html Tange made a Roller2000 with very nicely finished alu cups modeled after their Falcon/Levin series, but with tapered roller-bearings. I installed one in my father's bicycle in the mid-1980s and its still there, good as new.
My other favorite dated from the very early 1980s, the Galli Supercriterium (produced in cooperation with Stronglight) fitted to my 1980 Centurion ProTour, also with tapered rollerbearings but with Ti races and unusual stepped labyrinth shields, doing fine at 35,000mi.
A recent favorite is the Saavedra, also with TRB, from Argentina. It resides happily on the tandem where it gets really rough service and soaks it all up happily. For photos, see:
http://www.tearsforgears.com/2005/11/saavedra-headset.htmlIn my experience, for 1" threaded headsets, tapered rollerbearings are *it* for longevity and very much maintenance-free. Since they're also completely rebuildable in the same cups, well, they'll just go on indefinitely. I have a half-dozen pairs of Stronglight TRBs and races in backstock for rebuilds, but have never needed a single one. Fill 'em with Phil Waterproof grease and you're set for a very long time.
The old Onza Mongo II was in there as well. Miche make the Primato, a Delta lookalike with TRBs. See:
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=29717&category=3944Roller-bearing headsets feel much different from ball- or cartridge bearings. They have a much greater bearing contact area (cylinder-lines instead of ball-points) and more friction as a result. They do wonders at quelling shimmy on bikes where this is a problem. Unfortunately, they're nearly a dead product, replaced by pre-assembled cartridge bearings with seals.
Dia-Compe/Dia-Tech offer a hybrid in 1-1/8: The Melon A-headset, which has a cartridge bearing in the top and hugely oversized tapered rollers in the lower bearing case. It is designed for dirt jump, freeride, and downhill use. See:
http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/dia-compe-melon-a-headset-1-1-8-black-id19842.htmlShimano did a very nice job with their introduction of sealed cartridge bearings set on selform seats. These made the 'sets essentially self-centering, which solved a myriad of alignment issues and greatly extended life. The FSA Orbit X IIs fitted by Thorn are essentially rebranded Cane Creeks, even to the licensed split-cone alignment ring. What can kill them in a moment is over-tightening the preload screw on the top cap. My preferred method is to set them up loose, then rock the bike back and forth with the front brake locked, taking up a small amount of play at a time until no excess play is felt, then elevating the front wheel and bars and letting gravity determine if the final adjustment has enough slack. Get them too loose, and the bearing cartridges eat away at the cups (you'd think people would feel it, but not so much when crashing through obstacles off-road). I laid-in a spare for the Nomad; only USD$28 postpaid NIB from eBay. To keep this thread-relevant, I'll add I always coat the cartridge bearings and cup-inners with a light coating of grease for extra sealing, as FSA advise...Phil waterproof, of course. One more step to the Zero-Maintenance Bike.
Hope this helps,
Dan. (...whose head sets on his neck)
