// Need a Headset? Check out Velo Orange
Posted on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
I’m not sure if I’ve shared the tragedy that was visited upon two of my bikes when I first moved to California, but now seems like as good a time as any to explain.
You see, I got a job here in the Bay Area at the same time as my very good college friend, Karleen, got a job in LA. We decided we’d make the epic road trip from Wisconsin together, in her car. She’d drop me off in Emeryville, and then make the drive south to the city of angels. The plan was for the Trusty Boyfriend to join me out here later (which he did a couple months later). As you can imagine, I wasn’t about to leave all my bikes in Wisconsin with him–I was going to need at least one or two to get around out here in California.
So we strapped our bike rack onto Karleen’s car, and I selected my road bike and a recently built single speed commuter that is technically the Trusty Boyfriend’s. Karleen strapped on her steel behemoth of a commuter, and we set off into the sunset.
The drive went well. There were no major incidents (unlike my second trip out to help move the Trusty Boyfriend and the rest of our stuff–that’s a story for another day). Karleen and I spent our nights at some shady hotels, ate some over-priced pizza in Reno, and generally had a good time singing at the top of our lungs. Things were great.
Until we got here.
Once we arrived, we parked in some angled street parking, and the Trusty Boyfriend’s brother came out to meet us. He suggested we move the car to a better unloading spot, and asked if we wanted to take the bikes off the back first. We declined, figuring we’d do it once we got to the unloading spot. So he and I walked over to the better spot while Karleen climbed in the car to move it. She threw it in reverse and hit the gas a little too aggressively–backing all the way across the street and into the back of another car.
Panic.
The bikes were mostly ok. The carbon fork on the single speed was toast, and the front wheel needed a new spoke and a good truing. My road bike needed a rear wheel truing, a straightening of the derailleur hanger. Otherwise, things seemed ok–the guys at the shop I went to thought I should replace the headset because it stuck al ittle. It seemed fine to me, so I passed on the fairly expensive part + installatino cost. But then I started riding more. I noticed that the headset on my road bike was sticking–I could either go straight, or if I chose to turn the bike, I would have to push so hard on the handlebar that I ended up turning a full 90 degrees, usually into traffic. While it is not immediately clear that the headset injury is a result of the “incident” as we’re now calling it, it is immediately clear that to enjoy my cycling experience safely, I need to replace the headset.
I had a couple options. The guys at the shop said I should get the oh-so-pricey Chris King headset. Apparently since my roadbike is a semi-classic Colnago, it “deserves” the quality of that headset. The Trusty Boyfriend recommended something cheaper, maybe from Ritchey with a discount from one of the clubs we belong to. I was torn. It wasn’t cheap either way ($200ish for the King, $100ish for the Ritchey), and I’m kind of an indecisive person sometimes anyway.
I put the decision off until I almost died about five times riding up Wildcat Canyon from work in Orinda, and down through Berkeley to get home to Emeryville. I mean, it’s bad to be struggling up a hill with a sticky headset, and worse to be flying down the other side of that hill at 45 mph with one. I entrusted the decision to the Trusty Boyfriend, who is somewhat (read: infinitely) more knowledgeable about parts than I am. He totally surprised me with a new option!
The option was to order a headset from Velo Orange. I’d never heard of them, but they seemed like a good option. Because I need a 1″ threaded headset, my options were limited, but Velo Orange had created what sounded like a pretty good headset. I ordered it, but it hasn’t arrived yet. After we install it, I’ll let you know what I think. I have high hopes though, based on the company’s description:
For many years some of the wonderful parts and accessories once produced by small firms in Europe for the cyclo-tourist and randonneur have been unavailable, or outrageously expensive. So I started Velo Orange to find and sell these remaining items, and to produce those that were no longer available.Please understand that Velo Orange is an unusual business as I started it not for mercenary reasons, but to fill a special need. So I’ll always welcome, and even ask for, any suggestions for new products and ideas for improving our existing offerings. As we evolve, we’ll continue to add new products each week; please keep checking back.In the meantime, why not put your camera, jacket, and wallet in the handlebar bag and go out for a whole day or weekend in the country? Stop at a nice inn and have lunch, chat with the local farmers, drop by an art studio, winery, or bakery. Or ride out to our showroom in historic Annapolis, Maryland.Happy riding,Chris
Sounds cooll, right? I love that he created a 1″ threaded headset, because they really aren’t that common anymore. And the website has tons of other cool stuff too.