We have placed an initial order with an American tool manufacturer for EC37 reamers. They will be made from M42 HSS, and are appropriate for both steel and titanium.
We are accepting pre-orders for the reamer NOW at a discounted price of $140/each (Retail $180). The reamer is compatible with PARK TOOL HTR-HS headtube reaming and facing handle set. According to the tool manufacturer, lead time is 8 to 10 weeks.
Pre-order Details:
Full payment is required
No refunds after down payment has been made
Shipping charges are not included and are due prior to shipment
We finished the first titanium EC37 head tube gravel bicycle and the front looks really nice. Used Cyclus tool for the frame and a Woodmann headset. The fork comes with 55mm tyre clearance. Also fits quite nice. XXL Bike as on the picture is 8.1kg.
I like external rings because they add a nice, small, functional detail that contributes to differentiating my bike from other steel bikes from the big manufacturers.
Internal rings require a bigger headtube diameter. That seems to be the heavier approach to a steel headtube. Iām not saying weight is the biggest deal but heavy also means it looks heavy/chunky and I think a bike should look light and svelte. I love @Meriwether is calling his new bike āWhippetā. Perfectly captures this spirit (IMO).
Iām not sure what youāre trying to solve for with the internal rings in EC37.
On the other hand, most of us arenāt locked in to what optimizes a production run so, if you just want to do something to do it, then thatās cool too (as long as itās safe).
Iām trying to solve for low cost, low weight, infinite height and minimal aesthetic. I feel this achieves all those goals nicely.
I totally respect your take on external rings being a branding/differentiating aspect. I personally prefer the more minimal look of no ring. While this headtube would technically be bigger, itās only by 1.6mm OD over the Paragon so not a perceivable difference visually and weight will be the same or lighter.
If you look to @Daniel_Yās original post in this thread, one of the main downsides of EC37 is that it requires either a more expensive machined headtube or a super thick heavy 1.6mm drawn tube for cheap.
This solution basically splits the difference to offer the main benefits of a 1mm wall drawn tube: (low cost, low weight, ease of stocking, custom height) That is only made possible with these Internal rings.
If Iām being totally honest, I wish I had White Ind make EC38 headsets. It really was the better solution and wouldāve saved so much time and $$. Columbus already makes the headtubes for Pegoretti and Chris King already stocks the reamers for their headsets. Live and learn.
Gotcha. It just seems (without having done the math) that after you add rings and silver them in and so on, youāre almost at the cost of Paragonās. I guess if the Paragonās arenāt the look you want anyway then itās sort of irrelevant.
Curious to know what became of these headsets. Iām in the market for an ec37 headset that allows for a 1.125ā straight steerer tube for an upcoming project.
I have had a frame mocked up for about a year but keep getting distracted with side quests. The part Iām not happy about is availability of headsets, otherwise, I love the more proportional size HT. Paragon has them on their site.
When I got started on this one, only Cane Creek (or was it White Industries?) made one that I could find. I ordered it and itās been sitting in the box with the tubes, headtube, dropouts and a few other bits waiting for me to finish up a bunch of repair projects, shop improvement projects and a few side quests. Thx!
BUT if youāre just planing to use a 1 1/8ā straight steerer, you can use the Problem Solvers Headtube Reducers and use any EC34 Headset youād like. Below is is an example of how it looks on the bike. Very discreet and works great!
I would personally go with Paragonās 1 1/8ā Steerer and use a crown race reducer or the problem solvers headset shims.
Iām under the opinion steel tapered steerers just add weight and cost. They are technically stronger but overkill for all but tandems, 250lbs+ riders or 500+ axle to crown forks ATMO.
