Crown race fitting advice.

[Rampage]

My forks have only got a small lip where the crown race fits (underneath the crown race).
Using a split crown race it seems to not fit very well as there is not much area for it to sit on.
Do you think it will be ok?
Or should I fit a non-split crown race? Wich leads to to another question, my headset uses Cane Creek cartridge bearings will any crown race designed for cartridge bearings work ok with this? I have found a few, but can't tell if the angle is correct!

 

[the0r1st]

from my understanding the crown race is headset specific. you may find one close but if you don't get one specific for your headset it my be sloppy or overlap completely. i'm not sure about the split-crown race but the non-split-crown race should be very snug fit.

 

[Rampage]

What I mean is, I'm not bothered about it sealing against the lower cup correctly to keep out dirt, I just want to make sure nothing will get damaged.

 

[nathanman]

The bearings in a cartridge headset dont sit against the crown race, the bearing ring however does. If you dont get a race that fits against the ring then you will have some pretty high stresses against a small surface area which is likely to cause premature failure of what ever is the softest contact area, especially if it is taking rough/big hits during offroad rides. By having a bearing race that fits properly against the cartridge bearing ring it spreads the stress over as large an area as possible having a much larger contact point meaning it will last much longer.

I should also add that the bearing ring should be static against the crown race so a poor fitting race can cause the ring to move as you turn your handle bars which will also cause undue wear and damage.

Apologies if that is a bit hard to follow, i couldn't think of another way to write it.

 

[walleater]

While not seeing the fork and race in person, I can't see there being a problem using the split race. There looks like a reasonable sized surface for the race to sit unless it's worn and no longer round? Assuming everything is round, the installation of the whole headset / stem will hold everything in place. It's a bit tricky to diagnose this on the internet though.