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  • 2 degree headset on a rigid singlespeed?
  • bacondoublechee
    Free Member

    My Salsa El Mariachi needs new headset bearings (yet again) and Works Components have 20% off making an EC44-EC44 1/1.5/2 degree headset £55. Given that new bearings for the current headset will be £15+, the upgrade cost is only £40.

    Factory head-angle is 71 degrees, will I ruin it or make it better? Anyone done it?

    Posted 6 years ago
    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    Can’t see a downside myself

    Posted 6 years ago
    Rorschach
    Free Member

    I was going to do it on my El Mariachi.But I quite enjoy the ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod once I’ve stop crying.

    Posted 6 years ago
    bacondoublechee
    Free Member

    Can’t see a downside myself

    Slightly shorter reach is a given, I think I can live with that. Potential for detrimental effect on handling is the gamble?

    Posted 6 years ago
    Bez
    Full Member

    I may be living in the 90s still, but personally I’d go for the 73 degree head angle 🙂

    Posted 6 years ago
    bacondoublechee
    Free Member

    Stooge is 69 degrees, so I guess that is a good start!

    Posted 6 years ago
    Rorschach
    Free Member

    Been there,done that.
    Original scandal was 72.Add a 440 AC fork and bingo…..73 degree HA’d death machine.

    Posted 6 years ago
    Bez
    Full Member

    For a long while I had a (stiff as fk) 395mm fork on an Inbred, which must have made the head angle at least 72 degrees if not 73. It was awesome, like riding a Tron bike through singletrack. Even took it to Morzine and les Gets one year and it was a complete blast 🙂

    Posted 6 years ago
    Rorschach
    Free Member


    (or any early Niner)

    Posted 6 years ago
    Bez
    Full Member

    Blimey.

    I think a steep head angle worked for me because my bike was “too small”, ie I had a short reach and stack so I was basically always on the front. That thing looks… quite different 🙂

    Posted 6 years ago
    bacondoublechee
    Free Member

    Hang on, I am going to slacken it out by 2 degrees… not make it steeper!

    Posted 6 years ago
    Bez
    Full Member

    I know, we just borrowed your thread for a while 😉

    Posted 6 years ago
    Andy-R
    Full Member

    I’d do it, -2 degrees if you can. It’d be even better if you can get some forks with about 55mm offset.

    Posted 6 years ago
    bacondoublechee
    Free Member

    Ordered a -2 and a dropper post 😈

    Posted 6 years ago
    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    Slightly shorter reach is a given, I think I can live with that. Potential for detrimental effect on handling is the gamble?

    The reach won’t get any shorter – the slacker front will drop the headtube forwards and down, cancelling out the rearward offset on the upper cup.

    Posted 6 years ago
    bacondoublechee
    Free Member

    First ride since fitting the -2 headset and I was impressed! Didn’t expect to notice much difference, but the front end feels quite a bit calmer/more stable with no noticeable downsides.

    Posted 6 years ago
    fartymarty
    Free Member

    It’s definitely worth doing. I put one in my Krampus and it dropped the HA from 69.5 to 67.5 with rigid fork and less with suspension fork (around 66.5). It is way more stable and also steepens the STA for better climbing. Only downside is a lower BB which I haven’t found to be a bad thing.

    Posted 5 years ago
    Bez
    Full Member

    also steepens the STA for better climbing. Only downside is a lower BB

    Roughly a quarter of a degree and about 2.5mm respectively, says the back of my envelope. I assume you’re somewhat more sensitive than I am 😉

    Posted 5 years ago
    cokie
    Full Member

    Can’t wait to get my Stooge Mk4.. I had the old one and wanted to put in a 2′ slackset, and everyone seemed pretty outraged. That would have dropped it from 69′ to 67′. The Mk4 is now going to be 66′ & massive offset forks! It’s going to be a riot.

    Posted 5 years ago
    epicyclo
    Full Member

    I can see the advantage of slackening the HA for a telescopic fork – their optimum operating angle used to be around 64º to prevent slider binding, and also the longer the fork, the slacker the HA so that when it was fully compressed you had a workable HA.

    I really don’t get it for an existing rigid bike though. Unless you also change the fork, you are going to introduce a lot more flop, which is a PITA when climbing steep techy stuff.

    Posted 5 years ago
    Stevet1
    Free Member

    Dammit fartymarty for bumping this thread! I read the first post and thought Works components had 20% off now – been waiting for a sale!

    Posted 5 years ago
    trumpton
    Free Member

    I think it will ruin the geometry on a rigid forked bike. Alot of weight will go through the front end when climbing on a singlespeed and the front will become less focused in handling.

    Posted 5 years ago
    ayjaydoubleyou
    Full Member

    https://nsmb.com/articles/ride-rigid-fork/

    The North Shore guys seem to like slack(ish) rigids. I’m about to try something similar (although geared) on an original solaris with -2

    Posted 5 years ago
    mick_r
    Full Member

    Wonder if anyone has ever fitted one sideways?….. It might rail berms (in one direction)

    Posted 5 years ago
    bacondoublechee
    Free Member

    Quite the thread bump! I’m still using the slack set on the singlespeed and still happy with the change!

    Posted 5 years ago
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