Which Headset for my Retro Mtb come Adventure Cycle Tourer??

Hi all!

I intend to cycle tens of thousands of miles across Central Asia and Western Africa, starting in a few weeks!

I am looking to buy a new headset for the Raleigh Yukon, which is my steed of choice (or steed at least)! ...so I was thinking of a Chris King 2Nut Threaded Headset 1 1/8 inch. I have quite a few questions though!

1. What is the stack height of a Chris King 2Nut Threaded Headset 1 1/8 inch? (It may be obvious but I can't seem to find it!)
2. I have measured from the fork crown race to where the lower pressed race would enter the head tube, and then from where upper pressed race would enter the head tube to the top of the steering column when the top race is not attached. I then added these together and I understand that this gives me the minimum stack height, and this was measured at 33mm. I have heard that this low stack height was common on 90s mountain bikes (which I think the Raleigh Yukon is). - Will the 2Nut be compatible with my forks?
3. Are there any credible and durable alternatives to Chris King? I need them to be really durable but Chris Kings are reeeeeeally expensive and I haven't worked out if the stack height will be compatible.
4. Does anyone have a second hand one they wanna sell me?!

Any advice would be appreciated!!!

Cheers - Jack

1. Stack height of the 1.1/8" Chris King two nut is 38.5mm. You can also consider a Gripnut which has a stack height of 33.9mm to 38.9mm.
2. Just measure the length of the fork crown, from the bottom to the top. Deduct from that the length of your frame's headtube. That figure is your required stack height.
3. Good alternatives are XC Pro (34 mm stack height), Tioga Avenger CR (ultra low stack height of 31.5mm), or of course a nice XTR M901 for which I do not know it's stack height.
4. Let me check

[edit] Buy a new one with such rough mileage in mind. CK is the obvious choice here..

I can't understand why you would want to fit a part that has its makers name emblazoned all over it roughly costs as much if not more than the annual wage of people in some of countries you intend on travelling through. Do you not want to complete your journey ?.

I am not implying that any of the countries either continent are any worse than the ones we live in.

Chris kings are great and last ages, I've a few I've swapped from bike to bike and never had one fail. That said, if you do end up doing it some harm, you can't open it up and degrease or change bearings. I'd be tempted to go for something you can service, regrease or even change the bearings in with spares you take, or stuff you can buy. Maybe something with grease ports? Just thinking out loud, though you are unlikely to break a Chris king.

I just built a winter monster shopper based on Thornish lines. For the headset I used a sealed fsa orbit xl2 top cup and bearings, for the bottom cup an FSA skypilot needle bearing BMX ting. I had the orbitxl 2 in the shed and bought the bottom cup for £10, all in on the evilbay you could do this for £20

Headset for adventure tourer

Okay, so that's actually great news...what you seem to be saying is don't spend a phenomenal amount of money on a Chris King (which funnily enough I didn't exactly want to do but had been convinced by cycle bloggers etc that this was pretty essential).

So which threaded headsets should I be looking at? Do I want cartridge bearings or loose? I have only just heard of needle bearings, they seem more hardy, but are they suitable, are they harder to find spares for etc?

Re:

If you buy one with cartridge bearings, you should be able to buy spares. Hope are good, cane creek too, though there are others. Superstar do what look to be nice ones as well. I've personally never worn a headset out, but you don't want to be stuck somewhere without spares if it goes.

troje":tn2al3u0 said:

1. Stack height of the 1.1/8" Chris King two nut is 38.5mm. You can also consider a Gripnut which has a stack height of 33.9mm to 38.9mm.
2. Just measure the length of the fork crown, from the bottom to the top. Deduct from that the length of your frame's headtube. That figure is your required stack height.
3. Good alternatives are XC Pro (34 mm stack height), Tioga Avenger CR (ultra low stack height of 31.5mm), or of course a nice XTR M901 for which I do not know it's stack height.
4. Let me check

[edit] Buy a new one with such rough mileage in mind. CK is the obvious choice here..

Click to expand...

Oh I didn't see this post before, thanks! That's really useful! So with my 33mm stackheight requirement, I cannot use a 2Nut then I guess? What I don't get is how the GripNut can have a range of 33.9 to 38.9mm if it has no ability to insert spacers? How do you change its stackheight? Or do you just keep it at the same, it just works with a range of lengths of steering column? If it's 33.9mm does that mean that I cannot use my fork with 33mm of steering column space?

Also if a headset's stated stack height is 34mm like the XC Pro you mentioned, as it is 1mm over, is that a good fit for my 33mm of fork?

People here have suggested a serviceable ball bearing headset is preferable, is there a lot of difference between Chris King and ball bearing? I do not want a brinelled headset! (like in the photo!)

Re: Re:

ishaw":2boq4phv said:

If you buy one with cartridge bearings, you should be able to buy spares. Hope are good, cane creek too, though there are others. Superstar do what look to be nice ones as well. I've personally never worn a headset out, but you don't want to be stuck somewhere without spares if it goes.

Click to expand...

Do Cane Creek, Hope, or Superstar do threaded headsets? I can't seem to see any!

Good question, I forgot about the need for threaded.