Thanks 808 I wanted to get the conversation going....
Do the bearings in your post work on a 'typical' OPC setup? As for the headset, I'll have to measure the cups, OR just buy a new headset....
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The bearings i mentioned work with a 24tpi crank (basically, everything but Schwinn), but they work with specific cups and hardware. (Technically, you'd need the specific Tange-built cups and the innermost hardware that includes the "sleeves" that match the cartridges' ID, and you could run conventional keyed washers, locknuts, etc.... but they sell (sold? may be out of production) the whole BB set as a complete unit. If/when i kill the bearings, I can replace them with a standard size...)
If your headset came with loose balls or a caged/retainer set-up, then you won't be able to run cartridges by simply dropping them in. (The same is true for your BB set.) Theoretically, if you were an awesome home machinist, you could machine the existing cups and cones to match a particular cartridge, but no one ever does that. The typical move is to buy a sealed headset, which will come with cartridge bearings. If/when they die, you can usually source replacement cartridges-- and it'll be cheaper if you don't go through typical LBS/bike biz avenues for them. But, a well-made sealed headset's bearings will often last a decade or more.
Basically, for cup to work with sealed cartridge bearings, they need to be machined very precisely to match the bearings, and any hardware that interacts with the cartridges inner section will need to be precisely matched, as well. The loose bearing stuff can be made to much more relaxed standards, and that's usually why an unsealed unit costs so much less than a sealed one. The cartridges themselves are fairly cheap, but the work involved in making the rest of the unit adds to the costs considerably.