[Closed] Anglesets in general, and on an Orange Five

I ran one in my 2017 Five, with 150mm Yaris. Also ran a cane creek inline shock with offset bushings. The whole thing made the so planted and quick on the descents, and still climbed well. 175mm cranks were just too long, I was getting pedal strikes all over the place as the bike was so low.

I ran a works components one for quite a while, it used to go through top bearings surprising quickly, and I think that WC came out and said it was an inherent fact of the way it was designed, but it would be difficult/impractical/too expensive to design out.

That being said, it wasn't horrendous, and they did replacement bearings pretty cheap direct from them, and are easy to change, so didn't bother me too much.
Also, they took the same size as hope headsets, so if you were away and had a problem, in the UK most bike shops would be able to sort you out there an then.

I was happy with the result, albeit not on a orange 5

I've had a works one for almost a year (but not on an orange), had no problems with it at all. I'll check the bearings soon but not noticed anything funny. I prefer the modified geometry and I'm glad I bought it.

Ran a Works one on my old Five (one of the last 26ers with the tapered head tube) and currently run one on my 44mm headtube Alpine 160. Never had an issue with them. Just fitted some offset bushings too for a bit of extra gnar. Had the same setup on my old Five (160mm Devilles and RP23) and it was a right little ripper. Noticed the change more on the Five than I have on the Alpine despite it giving the same slackness I think...

Works one ran fine for the 2 years I had it, not need to change bearings.
I've heard on here that using a hope top cap provides better sealing if you did end up going through bearings quickly.

I'm another who has run Works anglesets, both -1.5deg, and I've not had any bother with them. The geometry changes were all positive too.

The works ones definitely go through top bearings faster than any other headset I've ever had, but it's still not terrible. I think their flat top design just collects water tbh. Like Kamakazie says, you can fit other top caps, think I have a Hope on the Remedy and it seems a bit better.

But tbh it's never bothered me at all, they use a standard sized inexpensive bearing and it's a 2 minute job to swap.

As for how good they are- never done it on a Five but I've had them in, uh, 5 bikes I think and they've always made a useful and worthwhile difference. It won't make a bike you hate good, but it can take a bike you like and make it that little bit better. It can amplify negatives a wee bit too- my Hemlock was not a good climber before and it was a worse climber after- but it didn't add problems and it was so totally worth it.

Cheers for input, everyone, I'll give one a go. The Five is mint as it is but I fancy slackening, lengthening and lowering it slightly. Cheaper than buying the 2020 Five, which is basically a slightly slacker, longer and lower version of mine.

Just buy a new bike you tightwad.
😘

Had a few Works ones over the years and the addition of a Hope topcap definitely gets much better life out of the top bearing as you can adjust how tight the seal runs with shims.

Would do Stu, but I blew all my dosh on some crappy old bike-packing kit! Seriously tho, ta for that tip re top caps. It's a cheap experiment really - the bike rocks as it is, but I'm curious. As far as I can tell it'll make mine even more similar to the 2020 version which came after it - so close it's probably not worth me buying the newer bike.
Anyway, hope all's well. Stay in touch and we'll pop up for riding next year maybe.

I had a -1 works headset on my 2017 five, with a 160mm fork.

Made it feel more stable and capable, and kept the geometry the same.

rickon

kept the geometry the same

Sounds like they sold you a normal headset

I have a -2deg Superstar headset in my Stage 4, and I bumped the fork up to 130mm (from 120mm) at the same time.

It's great and a big improvement over the stock geo, slacked HA, steeper SA - BB still a good height - no downsides for me really.

If you're keeping the stock fork travel on your five, you might want to stick to -1deg or -1.5deg, you could always tune it further with offset bushings.

Just checked my bearings after 12 months of having the Works and the top bearing feels like new still. The bottom bearing still feels good too, so I'm very happy with that. (with the Works top cap).

rickon

kept the geometry the same

Sounds like they sold you a normal headset

-1 angleset, 160mm fork instead of the 150mm. Stack and BB drop remained the same.

Daft question for those with the works - have you had any creaking/clunking at all? I put one in a month or two ago and it was fine but the bike has started making a horrible noise like the bearings are slipping or something. I'm wondering if one of the cups has rotated slightly so the bearings aren't square to one another.
Planning to strip it at the weekend and see if I can find the culprit but would be good to know what to look for if others had the same.

Certainly I don't dislike the impact of the -2deg but I'll be perfectly honest and say I'm not that sure I can tell either. I'd need to ride a modded/unmodded bike back to back to spot the difference I think. Certainly I've had more startling changes from tyre choice.

Angle headsets will wear bearings slightly as unless you are bang on the ideal headtube length you will be twisting the bearings slightly as the cup seats won’t be perfectly aligned. Only like a fraction of a degree and bearings are cheap so not really a problem. Probably a once a year job

Currently on a big run of 1500 angle cups to keep up with bonkers demand at the moment. Lots of other stuff on the 5axis so it will plod through them over 4-5 weeks

Contemplating doing offset bushes, just need to justify a £3500 tool unit for the Swiss lathe to make them for a price to embarrass the rest of the market....

Neil SuperstarComponents

Neil - cheers, good info. Those who've had the 2017 Five - just out of curiosity what are you riding now? Everyone, thanks again.

I've just paid £30 for a set of offset bushings which I thought was a bit OTT but theres nothing else really out there. Surprised nobody else has come along before and just drilled a wonky hole through a bar 😀

I’ve got a Works one in my hardtail and a Superstar one on the fully. The Superstar one has much better sealing against the elements!

I've not had any creaking with my works one but I did get a shop to fit it.

I’ve just paid £30 for a set of offset bushings which I thought was a bit OTT but theres nothing else really out there.

Have a look at Bounce, £20/pair IIRC and nice quality.

I have one in my old Inbred. Never have changed the bearings and it doesn't creak.
It's been on such a long time and I can't remember how it rode before. The HA is still quite steep compared to my slackish FS.
I have been using it a lot during the restrictions it's a bit of a change going between the two bikes.

FWIW I've had a couple of Works ones in the past and bearing life has been very good. And as observed, bearings are cheap.

DaveyBoyWonder
Member

I’ve just paid £30 for a set of offset bushings which I thought was a bit OTT but theres nothing else really out there. Surprised nobody else has come along before and just drilled a wonky hole through a bar 😀

There used to be quite a few options, including a bunch who didn't know what they were doing and made stuff that didn't last so I guess they may have gone away?

So, further to an above clunky headset, all checked over today alignment of the two cups was put ever so slightly but not I think far enough to worry (2 laser lines were about 2mm off at a little over 1m projection).

Dropped the fork, top bearing spins well and sits nice and snug in the seat, so far so good.
The lower bearing however actually pinged apart, not fell, but popped when rotated by hand to check it. Inner race in one direction, seals and balls in another, the outer race took about 25 minutes to work free from the cup. Joy.
I remember it being a mare to fit and thinking at the time i wasn't looking forward to removing it when time came to change it. It needed to be properly pressed into the cup and sits in as snug as the cup in the frame.

My best guess is either the cup or the bearing is slightly out of spec and and the bearing is being compressed a bit once seated.

To check I tried the 51.8 I took out of the previous headset in the cup and its a good snug fit in the cup doesn't rattle, can be pushed in by hand and lifted out with fingers vs the 52 that's supposed to be in there.

I've ordered a new 52mm bearing but think I'll find the same thing so going to drop works a mail and see what they think.

Those with works ones an I alone in this or is this a normal level of tolerance with angle sets? I'm used to headset bearings going in and out by hand, not needing tools

I just installed a Superstar -2 degrees in my 2016 Kona Honzo... I haven’t noticed much of a change to be honest. I was initially thinking of also installing one on my 2016 Smuggler but not sure if I’ll do it.

Ridden anything steep on it yet?

Nope!

Any options for Giant OD2?
Trying to slack my 2012 Anthem.
The bike is far better than I & I don’t really ride enough to justify spending too much.
That and I like meddling.

My bottom bearing ZS -1 degree started squeaking before a year old. All the grease had been washed out and it was pretty notchy/pitted so the sealing isn't all that IME!