French Headset/Fork

Tonyandthewhale · Nov 18, 2012

I've got a motobecane frame and I've got some questions about headset/fork compatibility.

As far as I know, the headset is a french headset so the diameter and threading is difference (I think). Does this mean I can't replace with a standard 1inch threaded (or indeed 1inch threadless) headset and furthermore, am I restricted to only using forks with french threading on the steering column?

Dead Rats · Nov 19, 2012

AFAIK, if you replace the both forks and headset you can fit either standard 1" or French items in the frame.

If interested I have a French fork and headset available.

pigman · Nov 19, 2012

the pitch of the threading is the same, but the french fork is a slightly smaller diameter steerer. I don't know how you feel about this, but BITD when i ran a motobecane, I fitted a standard english steel tange headset to the frame by wrapping the fork column in electricians insulation tape and then threading on the headset after. The extra "padding" on the thread did the trick and I ran it problem free for years. A bit of a bodge, but it worked for me.

one-eyed_jim · Nov 20, 2012

pigman":1oqkitg2 said:
the pitch of the threading is the same, but the french fork is a slightly smaller diameter steerer.

Strictly speaking, the pitch is close but also different. French standard parts always use metric threads. A BSC steerer at 24tpi is about 6% larger in pitch than the French 1mm standard. In practice, combined with the smaller diameter of the French steerer, the difference is small enough to allow the bodge you described to work.

As always, Sheldon Brown is a great reference:

http://sheldonbrown.com/velos.html

one-eyed_jim · Nov 20, 2012

Tonyandthewhale":1ewm9td5 said:
As far as I know, the headset is a french headset so the diameter and threading is difference (I think). Does this mean I can't replace with a standard 1inch threaded (or indeed 1inch threadless) headset and furthermore, am I restricted to only using forks with french threading on the steering column?

As Dead Rats rightly says, both headset and steerer must match - either one standard or the other - but either standard will work in a French frame. So if your fork is French, you need a French (metric) headset (unless you use the bodge pigman described). If you plan to fit a BSC fork, you need a BSC headset.

Do check before deciding how to proceed though. Later French frames and forks often have BSC threads. By the late eighties, French threads were dying out.

French Headset/Fork

Tonyandthewhale

Retro Newbie

Dead Rats

pigman

Old School Grand Master

one-eyed_jim

Old School Grand Master

one-eyed_jim

Old School Grand Master

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