ryan hildebrand wrote:
> While overhauling a headset this afternoon I discovered three small
> cracks in the fork crown race. One of the cracks is fairly easy to
> spot and runs from the top of the race to the outer ridge; it does not
> extend into the lower area of the race. The other two are just
> beginning to form at the top of the race and are rather hard to spot
> (I couldn't find one of them a moment ago). The cracks are about 1 cm.
> apart.
Is the race plated? If so, are the cracks just in the plating or all the
way through to the base material? I wouldn't worry too much about cracks
in the plating. Try to remove any loose material and see what's underneath.
> My question: how dangerous/stupid would it be to simply repack and
> ride? BTW, this is a early 60s Magistroni headset with (I think) 26
> loose balls per side.
In the event of complete race failure I can imagine that steering would become much rougher. I doubt that the pieces would fall out, as they would be held in place by the outer cup. Even if they did fall out, the upper race would prevent the fork from separating from the frame. So, not pretty, but not likely as catastrophic as a fork failure.
--
John Thompson (john@os2.dhs.org)
Appleton WI USA