But, a Works -2 brought a new lease of life to my old Prophet. Same good reach, seat angle, suspension, but now with a 66 deg head angle in the steep setting. Lovely, £65 is a lot for a headset but it's a lot less than a whole new frame...
I prefer the idea of an adjustable headtube more than an adjustable headset. All the the headset types have faults such as creaking noises where as an adjustable offset sleave running though a frames headtube is proven to be very relieable.
ive had no problems with my works components set, even after some serious usage still quiet and smooth i do know some cane creek units that have started getting noisy though
depends entirely on which bike youre running, ive got a 2008 glory fr which comes with a 67 degree head angle as stock, needless to say sticking an angleset in it makes it feel way better but wouldnt like to try sticking one in a 2013 gambler (or at least not to slacken it off) most of the current bikes are fine when it comes to geometry but it can work wonders when it comes to breathing a new lease of life into a dh rig that is a few years old.
i know ive focused on the downhill end of things here but at the end of the day isnt that what these cups are all about , slackening your steed off for more fun downhill???
I don't think it's a good concept at all... Bike companies put all this time and effort into research and engineering, they find the perfect setup for a bike geometry, and then somebody that knows absolutely nothing on bike physics messes the whole thing up.. Really it's good, only if you know what you're doing, I guess..
But same companies do provide different rear dropouts that change geometry, so is that any different? Even with suspension, you can mess it up if you don't know what you're doing so what you're effectively saying is that we would be better off if our bikes come with no adjustability at all because someone out there might mess it up? It would be nice to see high end bikes come with adjustable angle headsets, but those bikes are already so expensive that paying extra 150€ for a headset if you really want/need one isn't a stretch.
luckily angles can't be messed up as bad as suspension can, i'm sick and tired of shitty bike reviews written by people running malfunctioning and/or badly adjusted shocks and forks.
the lesson to be learned is if you know what youre doing and what effect changing the geometry will have on the ride of the bike it can be benifitial, but if youre not sure youre probably better leaving alone!!
