Dima,
What you call unusual, was actually the norm for bikes from all over
the place from, I don't know, the turn of the century, right though the
post WWII era. The head tube "races" matched the fork crown race and a
top crown race that screwed down on the steerer tube. they sometimes
had loose balls and sometimes had an inserted ring that fit into the
race. Look at any of the old track bikes on woolJersey and you will see
them....Just looking around the room I see them on two Drysdales (U.S.),
an Umberto Dei (Italy) , and a Pop Brennan, etc, etc, etc.
Edward Albert
Chappaqua, NY, USA
>>> dima <dima@rogers.com> 09/07/07 12:04 PM >>>
Hi,
On a whim I purchased a Bates frameset (with Cantiflex tubes and Diadrant forks). It arrived today, and I must say I am stumped by the head tube - specifically, by what appears to be headset races which at the same time seem to be parts of head tube lugs. Here are a few pictures:
http://dima.softmaster.co.uk/
The frame was recently painted, and to me it looks like the paint in some places is as thick as the yellow on Van Gogh paintings. So at first I thought that whoever painted it left the head set races and painted them too, but on further inspection I saw that it wasn't so - that those "races" seem to be one with the lugs... and the insides of those "races" do not actually look much like ones, but of course they *were* pained over, and so it's hard to say for sure.
So please, could somebody enlighten me as to what the heck is this, and what kind of headset would fit this?
Thank you very much.
(And yes, the paint chip seen on the first photo is apparently the result of shipping; there's a flat spot about 7mm long... hopefully that is fixable...)
--
Cheers,
Dmitry Yaitskov,
Toronto, Canada.