Thomas Dusky wrote:
> My Campy Record headset on my '72 P13 Chrome Paramount
> has a slight index when wheel is pointed straight.
and Peter Brueggeman replied:
> Try using loose ball bearings instead of ball bearings in a
> retainer
and Phil Brown replied:
> If the balls are caged replace them with loose and visa versa.
Well you can try that, it's easy enough to try, but I have found that to be _not_ helpful with Campy headsets. The reason it works with lesser headsets is because their retainers hold fewer balls than a "full complement" (which basically means "as many as will fit"). So if you replace more balls with fewer, or vice versa, you get different spacing between the balls, and they aren't all falling into the holes at the same time. Different spacing is the key
But Campy retainers do have a full complement of balls, thus the spacing is the same whether loose or caged.
Thomas Dusky went on to say:
> I have heard to turn one or some of the races 90 degrees to
> fix the problem.
This is harder to try, but much more likely to result in happiness. The theory is the dents are deeper in the fore-aft direction, so putting some of the deeper dents on the sides can mean the balls aren't falling into quite the deepest dents. I sort doubt it's worth the effort though, the difference will be slight.
Maximize your improvement by moving one race about 90°, plus or minus a half-ball space. Tricky to achieve exactly, but it doesn't have to be exact. Just try to ensure that the dents in the upper race no longer match up with the lower dents. Then you'll get twice as many clicks as you steer, but each one half as noticeable. Try not to have a click that's just off-center when riding, that can be disastrous -- a bike that wants to go anywhere but straight.
The normal fix of course is to replace the headset, though often just the lower two races need to be replaced. Get the most wear out of the new one by keeping the bearing clean and well-lubricated. I believe Jobst Brandt has correctly analyzed the problem as a breakdown of lubrication - the holes look a lot like dents or brinells, but they are not, the race has been eroded away in the spots where the balls always sit, in straight-ahead travel.
Mark Bulgier
Seattle WA USA