Headsets

Looking for bicycle headsets? Check out our range of threaded, threadless, integrated, semi-integrated, cartridge bearing & many more headsets here!

Needing to replace your worn headset or looking to upgrade your bike’s ride feel? Replacing this fundamental component is sometimes a necessary task.

You will need to determine what size headset you need, and whether you need threaded or threadless designs. This refers to threads inside your bike’s frame as well as the nuts inside the headset. Just to complicate things!

The world of cycling began with 1″ threaded headsets so these were the most common you would find on a bike. They were soon increased in size to 1 1/8″ for mountain bikes for increased strength and stiffness. And to account for the larger sized headtubes & forks you would find on a mountain bike. The sizing continued to increase up to 1 1/4″ for downhill bikes, but then this could be found on road bikes too. Because there are very few standards in bike’s unfortunately!

These days you will find modern bikes use a tapered headset and you won’t need to know these things. But if you are restoring an older bike and need help finding the right headset, get in touch!

We at Abbotsford Cycles head with headset replacement’s and adjustments everyday in the workshop. And we can help you figure out which headset you need from our options online.

Headset Size Guide / Conversion reference

• 1 1/8″ headset = 28.6mm (you may also see this as 25.4mm but this refers to the internal of the headset)
• 1″ headset = 25.4mm (you may also see it as 22.2mm, as this refers to the internal of the headset, such as where a Quill stem would fit in to)

Bearing Type Guide

Bearing style determines quality, most of the time. There are Sealed Bearings, sometimes known as Cartridge bearings, and there are Loose ball bearings, and caged bearings.

Sealed Bearings = these are encapsulated bearings, they are chrome steel or sometimes ceramic and have a long life.

Cartridge Bearings = a term for sealed bearings, they refer to the above.

Loose Bearing or Loose Ball = these are loose balls inside a race, they are serviceable and replaceable if one pulverises (which does happen). These bearings can be packed with grease for better performance and to keep contaminants out of the race. These are generally considered lower quality than a sealed bearing. Though you will often be able to replace a loose bearing headset with a sealed bearing.

Caged Bearing – This refers to loose ball bearings that are within a ball retainer. The ball retainer is the ‘cage’ for the ball bearings. While you can replace individual bearings within the cage if they need it, you would generally just replace the entire ball retainer. Or you can replace the ball retainer with more bearings. Making it a smoother race.

Integrated & Semi-Integrated type headsets

Headsets in the good old days had bearings external to the frame. However most modern bikes will have integrated or semi-integrated headsets. The integration that’s being referred to here is integration into the bikes frame.

This is to have a lower stack height on your bike, so commonly found on road & track bikes. But also on mountain bikes.

Integrated – this is where the bearings sit inside the frame.

Semi-Integrated – has cups that inside the frame.