Other Works Angleset owners here? Ever had to replace a bearing cartridge?

[SchralphMacchio]

I know a lot of people here own works anglesets ... figured I'd ask here.

I have a seized upper bearing cartridge in my +/- 1* ZS44 headset upper.

No idea if any bearings are pitted, rusted, cracked race, or what - it happened over the winter, after leaving my wet bike in a cold room for a week before transferring to a heated room. All I know is I can't spin the inner race with my fingers ... and I haven't tried pressing it out of the upper cup, figure just replace it.

Works is out of stock on replacement bearings, and I'm in process of reaching out to them to find sizing ... but wondering if anyone else has ever had to replace a bearing cartridge. Even if they were in stock, I'd rather try to find a US-based source.

I can't find a spec on their website on the bearing cartridges ... I know they have that chamfered edge so I'm not sure if it's a custom cartridge only available from them - anyone else know?

[radam]

I am pretty certain the works bearings are 45x45' angular contact bearings. FSA and a couple other brands make them, you can find them on ebay or a shop could probably order them through QBP. They're about $10.

You could also email works to confirm, they were always good about getting back to me about questions fairly quickly.

[Eluder]

41mm OD - 45 x 45 ACB It looks like they have the 1 1/8" set in in stock which would work for top. Botom should be 52mm OD. The 41 makes them a bit odd and harder to source.

[grinch]

I’ve had a couple. Longest was a couple years but no issue. I bet you could just pop off the seal of the bearing with an exact knife, spray it out with wd and regrease it and it’d be fine

[LC]

If it helps, I had a Works EC44/EC49 in my Bronson and required an upper bearing swap. Works told me:

"The correct bearing size for your headsets upper bearing is - MH-P03 30.15 x 41 x 6.5 45°/45°"

I replaced with a stainless steel MH-P03 from an online bearing supplier.

Remove your fork, tap the bearing out with a flathead screwdriver then clean up the outer surface - the bearing spec will be printed there.

[SchralphMacchio]

That’s super helpful guys. Was anyone able to find a domestic source here in the US? So far all I can find on google is from UK.

Hate to pay $20 in shipping from UK for a $15 bearing cartridge.

[Mr. Toad]

Is this what you need?

http://www.enduroforkseals.com/id553.html

[SchralphMacchio]

Is this what you need?

http://www.enduroforkseals.com/id553.html

Good find, thanks, but —

That one has a thickness of 7.0 mm, while the MH-P03 spec is 6.5mm thickness. It might be enough to prevent the cap washer from properly sealing the headset from water intrusion. Due to the offset angle of the headset, the cap washer doesn’t sit flush in the upper cup, so the front part of it almost exposes the rubber seal where it is highest ... if that makes sense.

I think I should stick to spec.

[LC]

...come to think of it, I might have a spare MH-P03 in my parts box that I was going to swap into my old headset but that bike is sold now. Check if that's definitely what you need and you can have it for the shipping cost from France. I'll look for it tomorrow.

Shoulder injury recovered enough to ride for the first time in a month so you caught me in a good mood .

[SchralphMacchio]

I haven't heard back from Works yet, but I'm 99% positive that all of thier headset uppers use the same bearing cartridge regardless of cup size.

LC, let me know if you can find it. I have no idea how much shipping will cost from France to Oregon, US.
At this point my options are taking yours off your hand or buying from UK!

[LC]

LC, let me know if you can find it. I have no idea how much shipping will cost from France to Oregon, US.
At this point my options are taking yours off your hand or buying from UK!

Found the bearing. It's a MH-P03 ceramic. I think I was looking for a stainless one at the time but could only find standard steel or ceramic so went with the ceramic - looked up the sale and it cost me £10 GBP at the time. How about $10 shipped? It'll go as a standard letter no problem.

[SchralphMacchio]

Dude, that would be awesome. I'll PM you offline.

Many thanks!