Redbullet

Questions below might look stupid, but I can’t find mechanics in my area to deal with such topics related to a carbon road bike.

1. How do you call the cups that are pressed inside a head tube and hold headset bearings? The bearings look like the ones in the picture.
2. How can I assess whether those cups are worn out?
3. Are those pressed cups standard for those particular type of bearings and can they be replaced?

Thanks.

Rolla

They are called headset cups. Sometimes they are "integrated" -- a permanent part of the head tube, and sometimes they are separate pieces, pressed in with a headset press.

If they accept the bearings like those in your picture, they are unlikely to wear out. You can visually check for damage.

You have to know the details of the head tube and the bearings to make sure everything is compatible. If they are the press-in type of cup, they are replaceable.

The following webpage has a very thorough explanation of headsets. Scroll down until you see a picture of one that looks like yours:

https://www.bikeradar.com/features/t...e-to-headsets/

This video might help, as well:

Redbullet

Thanks for the detailed explanation.
All the best

Iride01 

I've never replaced a headset because it wore out. They really don't have a lot of wear and tear put on them. The bearings in you picture are indeed cartridge bearings and for the most part as long as you don't bury your bike in sand for some sort of ritual, then they'll last longer than you'll want the bike.

I pretty much feel the same about bottom brackets. Though I have replaced quite a few on my bikes, but not for wear. I replaced them because the new crank I was putting in required a different type BB.

As for assessing whether they are worn out, if you can't adjust the headset so that most or all the play and slack is removed without the bearings binding or making a crunching noise or feel as you turn the wheel side to side, then they probably are worn out or at least need to have the seal pulled out, if the seal can be pulled out, and then be cleaned and greased.

Andrew R Stewart 

The imaged bearings sit on their tapered surfaces, The mating cups will have matching tapered surfaces. As long as these mating surfaces are not deformed they will accept new bearings and all should align axially. But if the headset was ridden enough with a too loose preeload these surfaces could be damaged. This would be hard to see but might show during the install of new bearings and attempts to adjust. we generally assume, at the time of service write up, that only the bearings need replacing dur to wear and exposure. Andy

Redbullet

I have just learned the pattern:
While riding loose headset, bearing cases “hammer” the headset tapered faces and slowly destroy them. Furthermore, the compression ring performs very small moves around the steerer and digs, in time, a circular mark in it. After a while, steerer diameter progressively decreases in that area and makes the ring to compress less and less over the bearing. Now the headset becomes somehow permanently loose, but this can be felt only if you check with stronger force. From this point, the whole degradation accelerates.

Now: every time you find the headset loose at home, you already rode a distance with a loose headset. So, it looks that if you ride the same bike long enough, it will follow the process above.

I discovered the above after 38000 km and I have just reconstructed tapered faces of the internal headset and the circular dig in the carbon steerer. I used normal epoxy mixed with small cuts of thin carbon wires. I am now curios to see how long it will last…

Andrew R Stewart 

Integrated headsets are one more example of an improvement/feature actually being a problem at a later time. This damage to the bearing seats in the headtube wouldn't have been an issue if the headset used press fitted cups, like what was done for many decades prior. Andy

Redbullet

Totally agree. They probably saved 10-20 EUR in production costs and 10-20 g in bike weight. But in time, the cost for the user is way, way bigger...