I was getting a creaking from my BB today so I took my winter bike into the LBS to see if it needed tightening up or a service.

They diagnosed a service and new bearings and also said my headset needs replacing.

Now this bike gets used from October-March, once week c45-60 miles on the club run and it’s had 2 seasons use only – not exactly massive use IMO.
Being a winter bike it does get ridden in the wet but not a huge amount – if it’s pouring I generally don’t go!

The BB is a Centaur and the headset is Condor’s own which comes with the bike so no idea what it is but frame and forks together are £700 so it’s not low-end kit.

I can understand the BB needing a service but the LBS were recommending a replace of both that and the headset.

None of this is low-end kit so I’m surprised it’s only lasted 2 seasons of relatively light and dry use.

Anyone else think this isn’t too impressive or shall I just get used to built-in obsolescence?

Is the centaur BB power torque.? If so I am surprised its lasted this long without making a noise. If the headset has sealed bearings then a service is pretty much out of the question. You might get away with taking the forks out, cleaning everything up and reassembling but if the bearings are sealed there is only so much a strip and clean will do.

My roadie headset is still original and nearly four years old, now. No signs of needing any replacement parts as yet.

My BB was changed when I bought some Ultegra cranks, which was last year. My previous one lasted about three years but didn’t really need replacing, it’s just that the new BB came with the new cranks.

Until it needs replacing.

I’d not be impressed to be honest. I expect roadie stuff to last, ohhh, decades (at least) . But then it is Campag and a low cost headset I guess.

it does get ridden in the wet but not a huge amount

I think that’s sometimes the problem – wet bearings left in the shed for a while between rides

I’d replace and then pack the new ones with marine grease, including outside the seals

The headset on my ‘best bike’ lasted four years & even then it was ok, just not perfect. That includes around 10,000 miles, four trips to french mountains & nasty weather on the odd occasion.
My winter bike isn’t quite a year old yet, but the headset it tired & BB clicks, probably only 2000 miles & I’m happy it’s lasted that long.
UK winters are very harsh on road bikes

Campy stuff does not last so long in UK conditions. In general Shimano will last longer and cost less. There again, at least you can just replace the bearings BUT you do need a fangled special tool…. or some inspired thinking.

The headset is probably integrated with poor sealing, and it’d be best to take it apart every three or four months, and clean it and re grease it.

Having said that…I don’t.

Guards or no guards?

Guards or no guards?

Full SKS Chromoplastics.

Just checked the Condor site and their headsets are only £35 so probably not the world’s best and the Centaur BB is under £20 on Wiggle – I tend to have Chris King and Hope on my MTBs so I’m used to stuff lasting – but a £35 headset is never going to compare with that kind of quality…

It’s not pricey to replace this stuff every couple of years…

Campy stuff does not last so long in UK conditions

Rubbish. I’m still using 2005 Record on my cx bike which was on my best road bike until 2012. It still shifts accurately and reliably every time. It’s just had new jockey wheels as part of a general service and spruce up and is still as good as it ever was. The guy that did the service for me commented to me that that era Campag 10spd is the most reliable stuff – much better than the newer 11speed or Sram 🙄
I’ve got a 1998 Chorus headset on my mudguard bike which has been in that frame since…. 1998, and my best road bike has a 2005 Record headset which has been in that forms since… 2005. Both bikes have done a lot of miles, and not just in the dry either.

Campy power torque stuff does not last so long in UK conditions

I’ve had it before and it lasted 60 miles before ticking. A mate of mine has it on his commuter and has resorted to dripping lube down the seat tube to stop it creaking. Never had an issue with ultra torque.

Yes, PowerTorque cranks don’t seem great, all mine are UltraTorque which seems to be very reliable – my oldest pair of cranks is from 2006, now with 11 speed rings, and the 2nd set of £18 bearings….

Sounds pretty crappy to me. I don’t think I’ve every replaced headset bearings. Even the ones in my 7 year old commuter bike have lasted fine (used almost daily). They are also sealed bearings, but I strip them, flush with wd40 and then repack with Comma bearing grease once a year.

I’ve also been using the same ultegra BB on that bike for at least 3 years, and a King bb on my race bike for about 6 years. Shimano state they’re non-servicable, but it’s pretty simple to strip and re-grease.

I’ve seen a large number of road bikes with integrated bearing headsets only last 2-3 months in wet weather before the lower bearing starts running rough, clicking or creaking under load. If buying the bike in the Summer and it stays dry, this problem does not occur until it starts getting wet.

The lower bearing will take a real hammering from being sprayed off the front wheel as you ride in the wet.

Manufacturers will often save money by fitting cheap ‘sealed’ bearings, and often the stock replacements are no better, unless you can find an aftermarket bearing manufacturer that makes the same size / style but of better quality.

With my own road bikes, I will pop the shields on the headset bearings before building up the frame, and pack thick PM600 marine grease in there, before refitting shields and putting bearings back into the frame.

I’d also do this if I bought a complete bike.

BB life on BB30 and PF30 bikes can be pretty poor too, as often these are cheap bearings fitted hidden away where you can’t see

Are they actually knackered? I’ve never replaced a headset. One I’ve been using for about 12 years (in several bikes)! Done a good few thousand miles too, including some pretty horrendous weather. The lower bearings naturally get a little gritty after a while, but nothing to cause any concern. In fact it’s generally barely noticeable until you remove them. Certainly nothing you’d notice while riding.

I only buy this cheap tat that doesn’t last though so I’m only on my first external BB. Can’t speak from experience on those. Only ever had problems with internal ones when I’ve taken them through rivers. You’ll find that even some of the sealed stuff is serviceable though, if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty. Bought a second hand BB30 which was a bit gritty, prised the seals, cleaned and regreased….runs nicely now.

Are they actually knackered?

Well… that’s why I’ve asked the question. The LBS in question is a ‘premium’ one which has pitched itself very firmly (and very successfully to be fair) at the born-again yuppie MAMILs of South East London so they may (or may not) have got into the habit of claiming things need replacing to people with fat wallets but without the history of riding and experience of kit to know when they’re being told nonsense…

The mechanic didn’t seem to like it when I resisted him putting a whole new headset and asked him to just put in new bearings instead.

I also asked him if he could replace my gear cable inners as they’re getting a bit less slippy and he told me that on top of the BB and headset that would effectively be a full service as it would mean adjusting the indexing too. Having done this myself many times (I was just feeling lazy), I know that replacing inners is not a difficult job at all, so I told him I’d do it myself. Not sure he was too happy with that either.

Will probably go to Brixton Cycles or Condor next time tbh…

Never ever replaced a headset because of wear in 25 years of cycling.
Having grease in any places where water might get helps, as does correct torque/load in the headset helps.
For comparison my car has sealed rear hubs that spin for 150,000 miles at 20-70(ish) MPH. Do you really think that a bike can subject a set of headset bearings to abuse more than this?
So make sure your bikes bearings have grease in them, and make sure they are in the Goldilocks tensions zone…not too tight, not too loose, just right!
[Of course cynics might say that the reason I don’t wear out headsets is due to mileage!…lies I tell thee!].

4 years is about the minimum ime. Either cheap external or internal.