Ok, first post here so go easy on me…

I’m just about to take possession of a Genesis 853 frame which uses a straight 44mm head tube. I intend to run 1.1/8 forks and as such need to to find a suitable (non-tapered) headset.

I was going to order a Nukeproof Warhead 44IESS headset from CRC but they have now run out of stock until may… 🙁

I think i have to run an external lower cup as the frame was designed to use tapered forks, can anyone recommend a suitable alternative?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

🙂

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=51070

Will work. 44mm headsets only use external lower cups for tapered steerers in order to accomodate the larger bearings. You don’t need an external cup for a 1 1/8″ steerer, unless you want one to slacken the headangle, which could also be achieved with a 10mm longer fork.

Will work. 44mm headsets only use external lower cups for tapered steerers in order to accomodate the larger bearings. You don’t need an external cup for a 1 1/8″ steerer, unless you want one to slacken the headangle, which could also be achieved with a 10mm longer fork.

Thanks, but i think that the frame was designed to use an external lower cup (there was something on the Genesis blog about it). If i were to use an internal cup i would be loosing 10mm of stack height and there may be clearance issues with the fork crown and frame.

I’ll probably have to get a Hope pick’n’mix (2H combo) with a Hs136 crown reducer, but i didn’t really want spend that kind of money and was hoping for a sub-£50 solution… 🙁

Cane creek do separate upper and lower cups too. Not quite £50, but closer:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cane-creek/40-series-ec44-bottom-headset-ec026967?query=cane%20creek%20ec44
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cane-creek/10-series-zs44-short-top-headset-ec026974?query=zs44

Look at the Hope ‘mix and match’ headsets – you just buy the upper and lower cups/bearings that you need.

You’ll need to sort an SFN and top cap separatly though.

I have a Cane Creek 44mm 1 1/8″ headset on my Ragley and the bottom cup bearing seal is pretty rubbish so I would look elsewhere. Based on previous experience with FSA I’ll probably go with one of theirs, but I was also considering Nukeproof.

@Mlucas666 – I too bought a Genesis Altitude 853 as a frame and put my old 1. 1/8 forks on it. I bought from BikeActive.com – but it came with a FREE Hope Headset. Fit and forget unit. Can take picture if you want?

Have bought Hope Headset from the Bike Outlet (York) before – was the best price I could find – just over £50 budget?

Hope this helps 🙂

I believe Madison are stocking a specific FSA headset for exactly this issue. I’ve had a Latitude for over a year now and used the Nukeproof one as Madison (who own Genesis) could not provide an option at the time.

@ironside7000 – Pics would be hugely appreciated, my email is: mlucas.ftw (at) gmail (dot) com. I hope the frame is worth the hassle!

@PaulGillespie – Thanks for the info – it’s a shame that there isn’t more info on the Genesis site to help with this issue. By all accounts trying to actually contact Genesis is a waste of time.

Thanks for everyone elses input. 🙂