1.5" straight steerer into 44mm head tube ?

hellmansam

hellmansam

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Is possible ? my searching turns up Hope and Cane Creek bottom EC 44/40 headset assembly but I can't seem to find anything for the top cup. As far as I can tell it would be almost the same except for swapping the 40mm crown race for a 38.1 compression ring and dust cover. It's long time since I worked in a bike shop and threadless headsets were a new thing so I'm pretty out of date..
I want to replace the OEM 1 1/8 straight steerer forks in my Merida 29er, and it has 44m ID Head tube top and bottom. The s/h Magura fork I'm interested in has a 1.5" straight steerer. Should I give up and find a tapered steerer fork instead ?
 
Z

Zaf

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ZS44/28.6 head cup, EC44/40 bottom.
Same thing I run on my Honzo Ti for a tapered steerer fork.
 
pink poodle

pink poodle

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...I'm going to go with no. I too have a 1.5 inch straight steerer fork that I yearn to have a frame for. You might get away with (I have done this before with somebmucking around) running a bottom cup at the top. Just give a good flip flop and suddenly the back feels like the front yeah? You will then need to salvage some parts from another headset, like your previous 1.5 head set. The funky wedge ring thing and whatever else is needed to secure and seal up the bearings neat and tidy. You may start to run out of steerer real fast though.
 
moorey

moorey

call me Mia
Depends on bike possibly. Some 44mm cupped frames apparently narrowed in the middle of headtube, causing taper to foul on attempts to use tapered forks ,so would be same with 1.5 straight. NFI in Merida, Older giants are fine AFAIK.
 
Boom King

Boom King

downloaded a pic of moorey's bruised arse
I ran a straight 1.5 Totem in a 2006 Giant Reign with a straight 44mm HT. The headset I bought was a Nukeproof and I had to get the insertion sleeve machined down as there wasn't enough depth in the HT before it narrowed internally.

The Giant logo on the HT was embossed as well, so I had to file material off internally to stop fouling.

Short answer is yes, it can be done. There may be hurdles to overcome though.
 
hellmansam

hellmansam

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OK thanks all for your replies. The ID of the head tube isn't tapered, the press fit sections are slightly smaller than the bit between, the 1 1/8" steerer is like a sausage down the hallway in there and no worries about the insertion depth of the bearing cups. Could be a bit expensive all up if I have to buy new stem and front hub. I'm happy to buy those used but will go for new headset parts. I can rebuild my front wheel with a new hub. It's as much about me wanting to have a tinker with some modern bits as it is sticking better forks on the bike.

Cheers for those links Zaf, I had a look around on that site but didn't find thoseo_O

edit: Steerer length is good, has 30mm more which will cover the extra stack height of EC bits.
 
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The Duckmeister

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
As a general rule, 44mm bore head tubes will fit a 1 1/2" steerer with EC (external cup) bearings. 44mm ID in normal use allows for pressed-in cups, then bearings, then steerer tube, even though there's often a slight step in behind the cups, typically around 1mm, thus reducing the head tube bore to around 42mm as long as it doesn't constrict any further.... A 1 1/2" steerer in metric terms is 38.1mm. As long as no part of the head tube constricts to less than 39mm to allow a bit of clearance, the fork should fit through fine, you just need the appropriate EC44 top bearing & other headset hardware.
 
hellmansam

hellmansam

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I'm giving up on this, the top cup for the headset is too hard to find. However a tapered steerer will be a piece of cake to fit. Somehow I ended up looking at some dual suspension bikes and am thinking about getting a Marin Rift Zone...when I'm ready for a fork upgrade on that I could shuffle the OEM fork to my hardtail
 
hellmansam

hellmansam

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OK I hadn't found that part on that site yet. I had an email reply from bike-components.de that they were looking into availability (was showing as 20 days +) but with the cost of the bits adding up to more than the s/h fork, a tapered steerer hand me down from my next new bike is making more sense. I haven't had a new bike in so long that I've lost interest in doing any decent amount of riding...
 
PJO

PJO

in me vL comy
Yeah $130 including delivery from bike24 for that part alone and its only the top cup....
You can get top and bottom Cane creek 40 series tapered steerer ZS44/28.6 and EC44/40 for $113 from MTB direct. Cheaper from OS websites.
 
pink poodle

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
I know this is going to sound crazy, but have you considered going to the lbs and seeing what they can order in? Given that you know the sizes you want, the opportunity for them to fuck it up is somewhat reduced...
 
hellmansam

hellmansam

Likes Bikes and Dirt
pink poodle said:
I know this is going to sound crazy,
Click to expand...
Didn't give that much consideration at all, I prefer to deal as directly as possible - once upon a time I was behind the counter at a very decent LBS. My knowledge of parts and compatibility is a shitload out of date but I've learnt a fair bit just with this little exercise. Being in WA I've found relying on a shop to source things for you can be frustrating and fruitless. Wait Awhile to find out they can't/won't/forgot to order the thingamijig of your desires. Living in remote NT for a decade helped me develop online shopping skills and a love of parcels arriving in the mail. There are probably some NOS headset bits I need sitting gathering dust somewhere in a shop in Oz but it's needle in a haystack stuff I think.

Going with a tapered steerer means the top bearing can stay as is, and simply buying an EC44/40, remove a spacer or have an extra 12mm of steerer will get it done. Oh and convert the front wheel to a through axle... The HT will become the second bike when I take the leap into dual suspension - yeah I've never even ridden one. Will try out via hiring. What MTB's have evolved into over the last twenty years is pretty awesome.
 
pink poodle

pink poodle

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Everybody loves receiving packages in the mail! It's like getting a present that is exactly what you want...

Cane Creek to the rescue. They are still with dirt works? One of the dirt works crew comes on here every now and then. I cnt remember their user name though. Email/phone dirt works up and see how it goes?
 
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