[reply] Bad: if you pit the "cups," you pit the frame, thereby ruining it. I would rather spring for a new headset than a new frame. And this is alot easier to do than people think, especially with aluminum frames.
Look at chris kings website for a good article on why they're not great.
tommy[/reply]
Well, integrated headsets are obviously a threat to Chris King's business, so their article is hardly a surprise. Yes, they made their own version to appear independent, but it was a system nobody wanted.
As for your arguments of pitting "a lot easier to do than people think", strangely enough there have been no such reports that I have ever seen, of course I would have most knowledge of the warranty issues with Cervelos and we have had ZERO returns with the integrated headsets.
I've said it again, and I'll say it before, it is all about choosing the proper manufacturer. I cannot believe that people won't trust a manufacturer to put a correct ream in the headtube (really a very easy procedure, the tool determines everything) yet have no such fears when it comes to these manufacturers welding a frame (a much more difficult proces).
And if you were to have a problem with pitting in the frame (again, I've never seen it), it would be a warranty issue so you'd get a new frame for free. So again that appears to be an advantage of the integrated headset, a new frame for free vs. buying a new headset (unless if it is a CK, which would also replace something like that for free). BTW, anybody ever pitted a Chris King headset cup? I didn't think so, so how will a sealed bearing in an integrated headset pit a headtube?
That said, I am not a cheerleader for integrated headsets. I think most of them are poorly done, most of them are not done in a way that render any benefits, but if properly done there can be some benefits to them (lower stack for certain frame sizes, better torsional stiffness of the frame). No earth shattering benefits, but especially in the case of torsional stiffness it becomes harder and harder to squeeze the maximum possible stiffness out of a frame, they get lighter and lighter and somehow the stiffness requirements stay the same.
Gerard Vroomen
3T.bike OPEN cycle