1-1/4” Stems, Headsets, Suspension forks and steerers...

[Jimmy oldskool]

Struggling to find 1 1/4” front end components for my Alpinestars...

Ideally want to put a set of period forks on her (Pace or Manitou) along with a nice stem and if possible, a Chris King to hold it all together...

Does anyone have any pointers? Is 1 1/4” really that hard to find??

J

 

[Gruff]

Re:

Easiest way is to fit headtube reducer shims ti 1 1/8th.

 

[Jimmy oldskool]

Re: Re:

Easiest way is to fit headtube reducer shims ti 1 1/8th.

Cheers Gruff...I’ve been away for a long time and seem to have lost any amount of MTB knowledge I ever had! :facepalm:

That would probably my preferred route as that would give me much more choice...Would a 1 1/4” to 1 1/8” Chris King devolution or something similar do the trick?

 

[SouthCoastRetro]

Re:

Shouldn’t be too hard to get hold of, I’ve got a stem if you need one, pretty sure it’s an Orange Stalk but can easily be repainted and re-stickered.

 

[Retro Spud]

Re: Re:

Easiest way is to fit headtube reducer shims ti 1 1/8th.

Cheers Gruff...I’ve been away for a long time and seem to have lost any amount of MTB knowledge I ever had! :facepalm:

That would probably my preferred route as that would give me much more choice...Would a 1 1/4” to 1 1/8” Chris King devolution or something similar do the trick?

Keep it simple if your going to reduce and fit this (see below) that way you can use normal parts

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-1-4-to-1-1 ... SwUYNaSSh2

 

[regan_ev]

Avoid problem solver shims! Alpinestars headtubes aren't known for their strength and stuffing two sets of inserts in there is begging for trouble. Plus they look poop. WHat year is your bike?

Decent spec 1 1/4" forks, headsets and stems are getting harder to find now mainly due to Yeti hoarders

If you're going for a threadless steerer setup then I can highly recommend a CHris King Devolution NoThreadSet. Good luck on the hunt.

 

[Retro Spud]

Avoid problem solver shims! Alpinestars headtubes aren't known for their strength and stuffing two sets of inserts in there is begging for trouble. Plus they look poop. WHat year is your bike?

Decent spec 1 1/4" forks, headsets and stems are getting harder to find now mainly due to Yeti hoarders

If you're going for a threadless steerer setup then I can highly recommend a CHris King Devolution NoThreadSet. Good luck on the hunt.

Stick with ^^^ and ignore me as Reggie knows his Alpinestars better than anyone

Bloody Yeti owners :roll:

 

[Jimmy oldskool]

Avoid problem solver shims! Alpinestars headtubes aren't known for their strength and stuffing two sets of inserts in there is begging for trouble. Plus they look poop. WHat year is your bike?

Decent spec 1 1/4" forks, headsets and stems are getting harder to find now mainly due to Yeti hoarders

If you're going for a threadless steerer setup then I can highly recommend a CHris King Devolution NoThreadSet. Good luck on the hunt.

Cheers Reggie...Mine is a ‘92. I was worried about the toffee headtube to be honest...I’ve been looking at the Chris King website today...Is that the best place to obtain one?

 

[regan_ev]

Avoid problem solver shims! Alpinestars headtubes aren't known for their strength and stuffing two sets of inserts in there is begging for trouble. Plus they look poop. WHat year is your bike?

Decent spec 1 1/4" forks, headsets and stems are getting harder to find now mainly due to Yeti hoarders

If you're going for a threadless steerer setup then I can highly recommend a CHris King Devolution NoThreadSet. Good luck on the hunt.

Cheers Reggie...Mine is a ‘92. I was worried about the toffee headtube to be honest...I’ve been looking at the Chris King website today...Is that the best place to obtain one?

Jimmy you're welcome. Good news is that the 1992 are less prone to the issues that plagued nearly all the 1991 models, and the 1992 used Easton tubing with the addition of the extra gusset on the head tube.

I've owned all three of the 92 Al Mega models: the DX uses a standard fork, the XT & XTR used a traded fork (so a standard (1 1/4") headset) but with an added nub on there to take a clap-on A-Head style stem. Those are a pain in the ass becasue the steerer nub is 30.0mm diameter, so nothin will fit if you havent got the original stem, and if swapping the fork for a suspension unit, the stem has to swap, too! :facepalm:

For CK headsets, I was lucky in getting one from a UK dealer but they were really bad to deal with. Their webist eshowed it in stock, but it wasn't and despite taking my order, they still waited for their monthly drop order from CK directly, so it was something crazy like about eight weeks' lead time!

Since then I've bought several CK parts from AVT in the US. They stock almost every possible consumable/spare part for King headsets (and hubs, BBs and Phil Wood / Paul as well) and even have stock of some older units. I think last time I checked their website a Devo NTS was available. But prepare for import duties unless you can convince them to mark the package as "warranty parts" and declare a lesser value (I can't remember if they did or didn't when I asked).

Visit www.avt.bike

 

[Jimmy oldskool]

Avoid problem solver shims! Alpinestars headtubes aren't known for their strength and stuffing two sets of inserts in there is begging for trouble. Plus they look poop. WHat year is your bike?

Decent spec 1 1/4" forks, headsets and stems are getting harder to find now mainly due to Yeti hoarders

If you're going for a threadless steerer setup then I can highly recommend a CHris King Devolution NoThreadSet. Good luck on the hunt.

Cheers Reggie...Mine is a ‘92. I was worried about the toffee headtube to be honest...I’ve been looking at the Chris King website today...Is that the best place to obtain one?

Jimmy you're welcome. Good news is that the 1992 are less prone to the issues that plagued nearly all the 1991 models, and the 1992 used Easton tubing with the addition of the extra gusset on the head tube.

I've owned all three of the 92 Al Mega models: the DX uses a standard fork, the XT & XTR used a traded fork (so a standard (1 1/4") headset) but with an added nub on there to take a clap-on A-Head style stem. Those are a pain in the ass becasue the steerer nub is 30.0mm diameter, so nothin will fit if you havent got the original stem, and if swapping the fork for a suspension unit, the stem has to swap, too! :facepalm:

For CK headsets, I was lucky in getting one from a UK dealer but they were really bad to deal with. Their webist eshowed it in stock, but it wasn't and despite taking my order, they still waited for their monthly drop order from CK directly, so it was something crazy like about eight weeks' lead time!

Since then I've bought several CK parts from AVT in the US. They stock almost every possible consumable/spare part for King headsets (and hubs, BBs and Phil Wood / Paul as well) and even have stock of some older units. I think last time I checked their website a Devo NTS was available. But prepare for import duties unless you can convince them to mark the package as "warranty parts" and declare a lesser value (I can't remember if they did or didn't when I asked).

Visit http://www.avt.bike

Thanks again Reggie...I didn’t really relish spending £200 bucks on a headset but I suppose needs must! :facepalm:

At least it’ll be a fit and forget part...