50-60's Era Huffy Headset Bearings replacement

[ibr]

So the bearing cage has half rusted out of the bottom headset bearing assembly. It won't hold bearings. I'm wondering if the sizes on these are standard so that I could buy just that part from a bike shop or ebay or craigslist, or if it just wouldn't fit.

Thanks in advance!

 

[LarzBahrs]

All 1in cruiser stuff is pretty much interchangeable. So yes it's standard, just take it with you for a comparison.

 

[snydur]

its probably 1 1/8, most old cruisers are. look for Chimichanga on here, he has brand new headsets for cheap

 

[ibr]

its probably 1 1/8, most old cruisers are. look for Chimichanga on here, he has brand new headsets for cheap

Is there a way to measure so I know exactly what to look for?

 

[Illiterite Wino]

not to throw a wrench into the mix, but I had to have the LBS press in my headset on my 53 Huffy
the shop told me there are actually two sizes considered 1 1/8, and mine was the odd one..


good luck

 

[ibr]

not to throw a wrench into the mix, but I had to have the LBS press in my headset on my 53 Huffy
the shop told me there are actually two sizes considered 1 1/8, and mine was the odd one..

Hey thanks for the reply. Not sure what you you mean by LBS Press....the 1 1/8 headset bearings I've found are fairly inexpensive, so I think I can afford the risk on at least one set. If it happens to be the odd one, maybe you can explain to me what I need to do to acquire that part?

 

[Illiterite Wino]

never mind.. i just realized you meant the bearing and not the headset cups.. lol

so you should be fine

and LBS is Local Bike Shop

 

[ibr]

never mind.. i just realized you meant the bearing and not the headset cups.. lol

so you should be fine

and LBS is Local Bike Shop

Believe it or not your story has played out for even the bearing cages+bearings. Everything they try is just a little too small!

 

[Illiterite Wino]

sorry to hear that.. mine was the other way.. everything they tried was just a little too large.
They even had to press in the smaller headset onto my frame

 

[Bendix]

All 1in cruiser stuff is pretty much interchangeable. So yes it's standard, just take it with you for a comparison.

Good one!

If you search RRB for headset threads you'll quickly find many threads on LBS purchases gone awry, folks with old frames thinking they need a 1 1/8" headset, looking for unneeded adapters, etc, etc...


Here's another very quick rundown on the most common 1" headsets for RRBers...

30.2 cup diameter- what most people bring home from the LBS or order online. This size fits some cruisers, especially if they're from Asia. Mostly it fits MTBs and road bikes.

32.7 cup diameter- Fits old school BMX and Chicago Schwinns, pre and postwar, and some other higher quality older American cruiser frames.

The Wald 4080 headset- Since it has 3 nubs that squish into the headtube nobody actually knows what diameter it really is....

***THE WALD 4080 IS THE HEADSET YOU NEED IF THE SCHWINN/BMX SIZE IS TOO SMALL AND YOU THINK YOU NEED A 1 1/8" HEADSET!***

For some strange reason many shops seem totally unaware of it's existence, probably because most of the bikes that use it (old dime store 10 speeds, cheapo early MTB copies) are pretty much disposable. Yes it's cheaply made, but typically so was the headset on the bikes it gets fitted to. On the plus side it's dirt cheap, not costing much more than 2 bearing retainers alone. :wink:

FWIW, one RRB member actually has (or had) "You probably need a Wald 4080" as his sig! :mrgreen:

 

[Bendix]

not to throw a wrench into the mix, but I had to have the LBS press in my headset on my 53 Huffy
the shop told me there are actually two sizes considered 1 1/8, and mine was the odd one..


good luck

There is one, and only one, threaded 1 1/8" headset size.

Just to clarify, 1" and 1 1/8" refer to fork steerer tube diameters, not headset cup size. The crown race, retainers, cone, and lock nut would be 1/8" too large were it a 1 1/8" headset. It is merely coincidence that the newer, thicker walled 1 1/8" headtubes are the same i.d. as older department store 1" headset equipped frames. Regardless of what they may have said, they did not sell you a " 1 1/8" headset", you purchased a "1" headset" with the largest cup diameter. :wink:

 

[Illiterite Wino]

honestly I checked in the original thread I made for my build and saw it said 1" there and not 1 1/8"
but after reading everyone saying 1 1/8" I assumed they were incorrect at the LBS...

may of even changed it to that size in the other thread lol

still new to most of this stuff.. so I always appreciate tips/pointers

 

[Bendix]

honestly I checked in the original thread I made for my build and saw it said 1" there and not 1 1/8"
but after reading everyone saying 1 1/8" I assumed they were incorrect at the LBS...

may of even changed it to that size in the other thread lol

still new to most of this stuff.. so I always appreciate tips/pointers

Headset "standards" are a strange and wondrous thing... :mrgreen:

 

[ibr]

Headset "standards" are a strange and wondrous thing... :mrgreen:

Wow, I'll say. Had to read your post twice. That being said I'm super excited I finally cracked this mystery. none of my LBS have this, I've called around this morning. I did find it online so I guess this is a 10 buck gamble...oh well.