Need help with headset selection for 79 Raleigh Competition GS
 

I asked Retrogression if this was the one and they stated I might need ISO version whatever that is, but I thought Raleigh was a 1" x 26 tpi and is specific only to Raleigh..

This is the one I was looking at.

https://www.retro-gression.com/produ...readed-headset

Or should I look elsewhere?

Most better quality Raleigh bikes from the 70s did not use the 26 tpi threading on the steerer. Best way to check is with a thread gauge and they are pretty cheap and available from places like Amazon. Or, you can compare the threads on your steerer to something with known threads. Also, if the headset that used to be on the bike was not one of those proprietary Raleigh headsets, then it is very unlikely that the steerer is 26 tpi.

Once you figure out the threading, the only other question you are likely to need to answer is the id of the fork crown race you need. Take off the old crown race and measure. It will probably be 26.4 mm, or very close. Some Raleigh forks had 27.0 mm crown races but I think that almost all of those correspond to the 26 tpi Raleigh proprietary headsets.

According to the Sheldon Brown site, NJS headtube diameter is 30.0 mm and so is "proprietary" Raleigh. ISO and any other, just about, British, French, or Italian bike will be 30.2. In my limited experience with 70s Raleighs, included Super Course bikes that came with the 26 tpi steerer, is that ISO (30.2 mm) headsets work just fine (with a proper 24tpi steerer, of course). People with more experience have told me the same. I've never encountered anybody who said that a Raleigh fitted with the proprietary headset had to have the headtubee milled to accept 30.2 mm cups.

The NJS headset that you refer to looks like a nice product and it has the style of the old Campagnolo. Measure the ID of your headtube and if it's 30.0 mm, the cups might not be too loose. But, I'll bet an "ISO" headset with 30.2 mm cups will press right in. Tange Levin ISO headsets with either 26.4 mm or 27.0 mm crown races are about $20 to $25, widely available, sturdy and attractive, though not quite as stylish as the NJS versions. Be aware that the Tange Levin CDS ISO headsets have a quite short stack (33.3 mm) which means you will probably need to add some spacers at the top, unless you want to cut your fork. Advice: don't cut your steerer to match a headset with a real short stack as you might want to use a different headset later.

Here's a photo from Brown's site showing the Raleigh headset. This headset was used on every 26 tpi steerer that I've ever seen on a Raleigh.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9614a4f737.jpg

26 tpi**********? isn't 24 tpi the standard for 1" forks?

I actually have my original fork out of my 78 or 79 (never knew which it is) Competition G.S. I'm sawing off the threaded part and going to braze in a non thread piece from a used fork the bike shop gave me so I can make it threadless.

My thread gages tell me that my original and the junk fork that looks like it came from an early mountain bike are both 24 tpi.

Not always.
https://velo-orange.com/pages/threaded-headset-basics
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/raleigh26.html

Still it's the standard. Of course there are exceptions. Most of the time when Sheldon was talking about Raleigh's, he was talking about several years older to very old Raleigh's. By the late 70's, Raleigh was moving rapidly to adapting the same standards everyone else. Though for any given year back then, you'd see some models with old Raleigh standards and other models with standards accepted by those in the new expanding world of international trade.

All we need to know about "standards" in relation to bicycles is to look at bottom brackets.

That's what's so neat about standards - There are so many of them.

I have a 79 Raleigh Competition GS. The original headset would be a Campagnolo 1040/A, Gran Sport. It has the same lower stack height as the track headsets, about 34mm.

Forgot to mention it's the ISO Standard 1" size. 26.4 mm Crown Race.

I found an old post that led to an a Tange unit on Amazon that fit.

Thanks

Raleigh 3-speeds and a couple of the low-end 10-speed models used 1" x 26tpi steer tubes, but the Competition was standard 1" x 24tpi thread.

That said, if you have a bike with a 26tpi steer tube and a worn out headset, you can often simply replace the lower cup and crown race with new parts and retain the original upper threaded cup and locknut. The lower race does all the work on a headset; the upper race is just to maintain alignment and seldom wears out.

Not all the Competitions. I have one in lilac with that raleigh proprietary threading.