What Headset for 1984 Trek 560?
 

So I've been scratching my head trying to figure out what headset to get for this Trek frame I have. I've taken measurements twice and they don't seem to line up exactly with any of the standards, I think. I've looked at the Sheldon Brown chart o and read an article on Velo Orange's site. I was hoping you all could tell me what sort of new headset I should be looking for. My guess is things are not perfectly round so depending on the direction I measured it varied a bit, so I captured those as a range, Here are the measurements I took (all in mm):

Crown race: 26.45 - 26.5
Head tube top ID: 29.7 - 30.0
Head tube bottom ID: 30.0
Steerer OD: 25.2
Steerer ID: 22.2

For more clues, the catalog says it came with a "Stronglight B10 Black Delrin", and the fork has "Tange made in Japan 3J" engraced on it.
My guess is an ISO headset could work, even though it is not spot on. But before I go buying/installing the wrong thing, I thought I'd consult your knowledgable brains. Thanks for your help!

The frame in question:


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...359da3358.jpeg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c2356b160.jpeg

Any 1" threaded headset will work. Here's a bunch of them.

https://www.amazon.com/1-inch-thread...readed+headset

There are plenty of other choices too. Given the vintage of your Trek, you'll probably want to go silver. Here's a nice one from Velo Orange.

1" Sealed Bearing Threaded Headset

Thanks for the reply!
I'm not sure just any 1" headset will work though. As I understand, there are a few different specs for how they are built, with varying measurements, and they aren’t all interchangeable. I'm trying to figure out which of these my frame and fork were built for.

26.4 crown/30.0 cups.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/37480617217...Bk9SR4DXnrzdYg

My 560 Pro Series is a few years newer model, so dimensions and stack height might be different. But it came with Hatta Vesta like this one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/391321970881


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...34faa6526.jpeg

Sorry I wasn't more specific. Any 1" ISO Standard headset will work. Usually when you are looking at these, that's what they are unless otherwise specified.

This is the most common headset size on my bikes - four of them. Cane Creek used to make a nice one that was also affordable, but I don't see it listed any more. If I had to buy one now, the Grand Cru from Velo Orange looks pretty sweet. But again, there are a lot of choices and you'll get other recommendations.

Wasn't there like a combination JIS/ISO sort of thing where one measurement was JIS and the other ISO like JIS for the cups and ISO for the race? Was a nice pdf on bf somewhere I forgot which thread it was in.

Ive had good luck with the....
 

...velo orange headset. Just the regular ball bearing one.

If it indeed came with a B10 headset, then the stack height is 43mm; According to Velo Base. https://www.velobase.com/ViewCompone...b49b6&Enum=111

The Velo Orange 1" threaded headsets have a stack height of 41mm. If the steerer was cut for 43mm you might have to add a headset washer, or two, between the cup and the nut. I'm sure these headsets are made for Velo Orange, so you can source them elsewhere if you identify the mfg.

Under no circumstances should you cut the steerer tube. As years go by you most likely will want as much bar height as possible before you go to a Nitto Tecnomic stem.

John

oh yeah, definitely no intention of cutting it! I haven’t graduated to the super tall technomic yet, but I do have the mid height Tallux and a Soma Sutro both of which are set fairly high up.

starting to suspect this. I measured 30mm for the head tube ID, top and bottom, so I’d be hesitant to put 30.2mm cups in. What should I do if I have a combo situation?

I’m not an expert on tolerances, but I think .2mm “should” be okay.

Unfortunately Summer is over or I’d tell you to put the frame out in the sun and the cups in the freezer.

Worked great for installing wheel bearing races years ago.

John

True, a lot of 80's Treks came with a Stronight needle bearings headsets.
If it came with the ones with the Delrin top and bottom cups it would be best to replace it with an all aluminum version of the A9 headset as there's quite a bit of flex on the Delrin cups that make them harder to put the proper preload on them so the steering will he smooth and secure. The flex on the cups makes it hard to dial out all of looseness completely without causing a bit of binding on the headst. Some people insist that they could make them work, but all the ones I encountered so far.had the described problem.
I've also definitely seen cases where the Delrin cups had cracked from UV deterioration.

The OEM headset for this was a Stronglight B-10, which has 30.2mm pressed head tube fittings, so any ISO-spec headset of similar or lower stack should work. This is an interference fit, so it is expected that the head tube ID is slightly undersized.

On the Treks of this era the oem hatta headset's and BB were a serious cost cutting measure they used them on nearly all model's good but not great stuff. I would say go with a tange falcon headset vintage correct and still in production for $20 or so just might take awhile to ship from Japan right now.

I have worked on a few Trek bikes from the 80’s and they had Stronglight needle bearing type headsets. They were 600 series bikes , I think. Nice headsets and easily serviced . There should be good used ones out there. Maybe check with local bike shops that have been around a while or work on vintage bikes.

I have found that the Chris King and Shimano Ultegra and Dura Ace threaded headsets are bulletproof and very long-lasting.

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You don't. You're making this more complicated than it needs to be. Any 1" ISO Standard headset will fit. The only caveat is as 70sSanO mentioned, and that is to pay attention to stack height. You may need spacers.

Who is installing this? Are you going to press the cups in yourself, or take it to a shop? Talk to them. If you buy the headset through a shop they may press the cups in for free.

Agree, support your local shop for parts and expertise. If you dont have a press, may want to have the shop install it.

From what I recall from that pdf I had read, it was a Campy/JIS situation. But it's not that complicated as Tange still makes headsets available with both crown race sizes. So just pick the one with 26.4. Tange passage, cds, levin can be had with 26.4 and 27.0 races.

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Just following up here—
I ended up buying an Tange Levin CDS with 26.4 crown race. I wanted to try installing the headset myself to gain the experience, so I borrowed a press from a friend and did just that. It definitely felt like a tight fit, though I have nothing to compare it to. It appeared to seat fine, and I assembled everything. I've taken it on a couple rides, and everything seems to be working smoothly, so I'm going to call it a success. Thanks for the troubleshooting.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3425304a6.jpeg
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