gitaneusa.com :: View topic - Gitane Team Replica headset size question

Henki

Hi All,

2 weeks into my restoration project. Bike shop removed all parts and informed me that the headset was "English 26.4"

Does this size designation make any sense? They also informed me the bottom bracket was beyond hope - so, what type of headset would I be looking for and what size?

Any help advice, as always, is greatly appreciated!

Henki

sandranian · Site Admin

The threading is english, and the tube diameter is 26.4. It is a pain in the ass to find perfectly fitting headset cups. Perhaps Chas can weigh in on this, because he seems most knowledgeable on the tech stuff!

lofter

i have the lighter than campy, stronglight a-9 needle bearing headset english threaded.its what was supposed to went with that bike . and come to think of it , that brazeon for the front derailleur , ive never seen a campy in that style . ive seen a simplex , huret and a mavic but never a campy. unless there is a special made one that was a limited production that i dont know about.kinda like the campy aero cranks i bought but never knew they were made.

lofter

Henki

Hi - sorry, headset was the problem.

Does anyone know of a good replacement HEADSET?

Let me know -

Henki

lofter

sorry yeah a STRONGLIGHT a A-9 headset.

lofter

heres what there talking about , the 26.4 is the inside diameter of the stearing race that goes on the bottom or the steering tube . heres a couple pics to show what im talking about.

the second pic is where the bottom race goes . a race is the surface of which the bearings of the headset roll on . the diameter of the stearing tube is 26. theres a little bit more of a ridge that the race sits on and its diameter is 26.4 , the same as the inside of the stearing race itself.the english threading is the threading thats on the top of the stearing tube.

lofter

hope this helps give you a idea of what hey mean . on my 84 the race is a little smaller the the 83 . i found this out cause i was going to use the 83 fork on the 84 cause it had the gitane decals on the forks. so i thought i would just put the campy headset on it and swap the fork since the 84 was the bike i was working on first. nope the ridge where the race set was smaller than the 83 so no dice .even tho the english threads were the same the race size wasnt. the 83s that you have, was supposd to have all french stuff, as in componets on it to showcase the all frenchness of the renault team and bikes. the team was mostly all french riders cept for a couple riders ..lemond and a belgian i believe. hence the all french team , and bikes and equipment , cept for one thing , the stem and bars and brakes were cinelli and modolo.

verktyg

Lofter et al,

On nominal 1" (25mm) headsets there were 2 different "standards" Rolling Eyes

for the internal diameter of the crown race that fits on the fork crown: 26.4mm and 27.0mm. BTW, good pictures.

Campy and most better quality headsets used 26.4mm but some French, Italian and British headsets used 26.5mm. Some old Stronglight headsets like the S5 Super Competition used the 27.0mm and so did some of the Japanese headsets.

It's no biggie as 26.4mm is the most common size. The biggest problem is getting a replacement headset with the same "stack height" - that's the height of all of the parts up to the top of the upper adjustable race or cup (or in some cases the total height of the headset components with the bearings.

Most pro headsets have a stack height of 38mm to 43mm.

What was the original headset in the frame. It's easy to work backwards. As I've oft mentioned many bike shop mechanics don't have a clue about stuff that was built before they were a gleam! Throw in the word French and all of the old wives tales they've heard - the eyes glaze over as they roll back in the head! Rolling Eyes

Most better quality headsets have the thread size marked in one or both of the threaded components. When that not the case you need to measure the steering tube and threads. Metric threads are 25mm and an English threaded (25.4mm) part can be stripped on but not vice versa (in most cases). Rolling Eyes

So Henki needs to get all of the information so we are not guessing.

Chas.