Threaded headsets still show up on plenty of steel touring frames, vintage restorations, and purpose-built city bikes where the simplicity of a threaded steerer and quill stem makes more sense than the added complexity of threadless systems. The Ritchey Fit Headset Ext Cup EC30|25.4 provides a modern sealed cartridge bearing solution for these 1" threaded applications, replacing loose ball bearings with the same bearing quality found in contemporary headsets while maintaining compatibility with existing frames and stems.

The external cup design presses into a standard 30mm head tube bore, which covers the vast majority of 1" threaded frames produced over the past several decades. Sealed cartridge bearings handle the steering loads without requiring periodic repacking or adjustment—you install it, set the preload with the locknut, and forget about it until the bearings eventually wear out years down the road. The 25.4mm bore accommodates standard 1" threaded steerers, and the cups press in with the same tools you'd use for any external cup headset.

Ritchey machines these from aluminum with a black anodized finish that matches most frame colors without drawing attention to itself. The external cup format also makes replacement straightforward compared to integrated or semi-integrated systems, since you're working with standardized dimensions rather than proprietary press-fit interfaces that vary by manufacturer.... Read More