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I've a great steel hardtail frame that I want to keep riding, but the lack of decent straight steerer suspension forks is becoming an issue. Are there viable options for having a framebuilder replace the headtube with one of those 44mm ones? Presume they have to mitre the downtube and toptube to match the new headtube profile? Would there be any loss of strength to the frame - headtube shearing off is top of my list of things I don't want to experience. What sort of price would I be looking at (not including repaint)?
Anyone had this done?
Thanks.
Would it not make more sense to buy a headtube with a frame already attached and sell your existing headtube with the existing frame attached?
Current frame suits me pretty well and I can't find a similar off the peg frame with the same geo / setup.
I'll live wit the 1 1/8" headtube rather than change it for something less suitable.
Argos Cycles in Bristol charge £150 for a headtube replacement, this is for a like-for-like brazed-on one whereas the extra mitering will no doubt incur extra effort / cost
Adding a 1 1.8" CSU to a modern fork might be cheaper if the parts are available - Fox do them for some models.
as do rock shox
Got me looking.
these guys do loads (scuse the long url it builds the filter)
Thanks for that link. I like the look of the Revelations but 140mm travel would be too much, wonder if I can change the air shaft to a 120mm version?
Food for thought, thanks.
Manitou have the Markhor too in just about every permutation going including 1 1/8" (and retro 26" wheels!) - they're apparently positioning them as a "keep your old bike going" fork.
Pretty sure you can drop the travel down on revelations by 20mm just by swapping some internal spacers.
You can still get 120 mm Rebas with a straight steerer and QR dropouts.
I was wondering (idly) if I could get someone to make me a complete front triangle for my old bike. I could have it made slightly longer and with a steeper SA. In full awareness of the daftness of the concept, I think it might be quite fun to do 🙂
A hobby frame builder would be the right person to ask.
There are suppliers for 44mm steel headtubes. Means it's possible to cut the old one away and put the new one in.
The frame building companies machine the "seat" of the headset after welding (and aluminium: "after heat treatment"). Depending on the design they have also a jig where they "bend" the whole frame into shape...
Hobby frame builder: might have come up with some easy ways of doing this. The seat of the headset has to be a tight (round!) fit with close tolerances so - otherwise you get trouble with the headset later.
Sounds like a neat project! Old stuff is fun!
I was wondering (idly) if I could get someone to make me a complete front triangle for my old bike. I could have it made slightly longer and with a steeper SA. In full awareness of the daftness of the concept, I think it might be quite fun to do
That's pretty much exactly what I got BTR to do for me a few years ago, new front end for my old Lawwill backend off a Schwinn Straight 6.
Go for it, these kinds of projects are great fun!