Wow, a testimonial with the following points being made:
* Tightening was tricky.
* Doesn't have the "feel" of other headsets.
* Difficult to install upper and lower races.
* Much greater difficulty.
* Chrome stripped off.
Wow, please don't offer a testimonial to this post of mine.
Dave, who reiterates that in general final price is not your real cost
nor your real value in many things not just headsets and adds that many
people here have really really nice bikes so scrimping doesn't make
sense unless money is very tight
On 5/26/15 12:33 PM, George Schick wrote:
This might be a good time for a testimonial for the IRD needle bearing
headset Riv sells. The Shimano headset on my Rambouillet indexed
about 4 years ago so I started looking for replacements. I like the
Chris King products, but thought I'd give the IRD a shot, since Grant
"sold" the idea of needle bearings for the lower race. So far it's
worked flawlessly and I do not detect any of the sluggishness that
Grant described on the Riv web page. So I'd say give it a try if you
want to go in that direction. Tightening the headset was tricky; I
had to re-tighten it once or twice after riding for a while because it
doesn't seem to have the "feel" of the bearing movement that ordinary
ball-types do. But once I got it dialed-in it was OK.
Installation was a different matter, however. First of all, it comes
packed in a light corrosion inhibitor of some sort. Opening
everything up and looking at the lower race components made me think
of a miniature version of an automobile front axle tapered bearing
set. So I had to decide what kind of grease to use on everything. I
wound up just using the regular Phil grease and it's worked fine.
Pressing the upper and lower races into the head tube was one of the
most difficult operations. I had everything well greased both inside
the head tube as well as around the races, but it went in with much
greater difficulty than any headset I can recall installing. Not sure
why this was. In fact, some of the chrome stripped off of the lower
race during the process. But I finally got it in there OK. I would
definitely not recommend installing this (or any headset, for that
matter) without a decent installation tool, either like the one Park
makes or an improvised equivalent. Then, getting the old crown "race"
off of the fork was a major challenge. Whoever installed it needs to
think hard and long about how to do things - it was very un-Riv-like.
Instead of sanding off the paint and primer and then greasing the
steering tube, they just hammered on there over paint and everything,
sans grease. Never do that. It took lots of hammering with a drift
punch. I'm not sure that even a bone fide crown race puller would've
budged it. But that's all a different matter, unrelated to the IRD
itself.
On Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at 10:44:27 AM UTC-5, Darin G. wrote:
I've managed to notch the Shimano 105 headset on my Rom. My shop
says he can't find the cartridge bearings for this headset, so we
switched the bottom cartridge to the top for now, but I'm
researching a new one. This is the second headset I've had that
was worn out by the 3500 mile mark, the other being the original
Tange on my Hillborne, and I'm searching for a replacement that
will last. I've considered the CK headsets in the past but they
seem mighty expensive and while most reviews are positive there
are some reviews suggesting they are not worth the money. Also
considering the IRD needle roller bearing headset on the Riv site.
Other ideas would be appreciated! .
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