Re: [CR]The Myth of the Tange Levin Headset

(Example: Events:Cirque du Cyclisme)

Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2006 08:42:05 -0500
From: "Tim Fricker" <tymncycle@gmail.com>
To: "David Patrick" <patrick-ajdb@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: [CR]The Myth of the Tange Levin Headset
In-Reply-To: <20060225133304.57962.qmail@web80725.mail.yahoo.com>
References: <200602250956.BAA22323@cascade.cs.ubc.ca>
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

I'd agree with David on this. I've had a number of Levins on various bikes over the years, and all have been smooth, nice-looking, and long-lasting.

Tim

On 2/25/06, David Patrick <patrick-ajdb@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> Don,
>
> You're missing the point. The Tange Levin does look very nice & very s imilar to a Campy hs, but that does NOT mean that the parts are interchanga ble between the Tange & Campy. The Tange Levin headsets are very well made and for the money it's hard to beat them. No myth there at all - it's a fa ct.
>
>
> Dave Patrick
> Chelsea, Michigan
>
> Donald Gillies <gillies@cs.ubc.ca> wrote:
> I remember hearing a lot of hype about what a great headset the Tange
> Levin was in the 1970's, and how it looked just like campagnolo, with
> a channel cut and the name "Tange Levin Japan" printed into the upper
> and lower channels, and on the top locknut.
>
> Well, I was working on a campy headset and found the bottom race was
> pitted. So, i took down a NOS tange levin i have for a japanese bike
> restoration and tried fitting the crown race into the campy cup, to
> see if a modern tange crown would work. oh, it fit all right, with
> about 2-3mm of gap between the race and the cup! same gap for the
> upper race!
>
> "This cannot be" i thought, so i tried putting my campagnolo crown
> race into the tange levin AND IT FIT LIKE A GLOVE.
>
> I think a better term would be "Tange Open-Air Headset", at least for
> these vintage models. I would think that water penetration would be
> quite likely with these headsets.
>
> Does anyone know if the modern models (Levin or Passage) are any
> better, or are modern Tange headsets using this "Open-Air" design? Is
> there another modern or recently extinct headset that can be used to
> replace the crown race on a campagnolo nuovo record with a better fit?
> I am aware that BC sells triomphe crown races but I was wondering
> about recent production?
>
> Even my OFMEGA headset puts the tange levin to shame.
>
> - Don Gillies
> San Diego, CA
>
> _______________________________________________
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--
Tim Fricker
bikes@vienna, llc
Recumbents, folders, tandems, commuters, etc.