Wolf Tooth Releases New GeoShift 2º Performance Angle Headset
Press release: Wolf Tooth Components
The New GeoShift 2º Performance Angle Headset from Wolf Tooth allows riders to alter the geometry of their bike by changing the head tube angle by +/- 2º. These are sold as upper/lower pairs, with EC44/EC44, EC44/EC49, and EC44/ZS56 pairings and options for 90-115mm or 115-140mm head tubes. The EC44 uppers are compatible with frames that require ZS44 uppers. This new headset was designed, engineered, and machined in Wolf Tooth’s Minnesota machine shop.
Two positions are marked on the GeoShift Performance Angle Headset: +2º and -2º. Position the angle headset with -2º facing forward and slack will be added to the geometry, which creates more stable steering for fast descents. Conversely, reversing the orientation of the headset will add +2º to the head tube angle and make for a steeper geometry and more responsive steering. Both angle options are indicated on the headset along with dashes that need to be aligned with the centerline of the bike. Full installation instructions can be found on the product webpage.
This new angle headset has a design that sets the bearings at an angle which matches the angle of the steerer tube. This design reduces the friction found in angle headsets that have the bearings that sit flat. This angled bearing positioning also limits the creaking found in angle headsets that have a spherical design.
The GeoShift 2º Performance Angle Headset builds on the existing GeoShift 1º Performance Angle Headset. The 1º option is also sold as upper/lower pairs, with ZS44/ZS56, ZS44/EC49, and EC44/EC44 pairings designed for the same short and long head tube lengths. The EC44 upper will also work with frames that require a ZS44 upper. It is labeled EC44 instead of ZS44 because the relatively narrow 44mm head tube requires the bearing to live outside of the frame.
To accompany the new GeoShift 2º Angle Headset is a new Crown Race Adapter for 1 ⅛” steerer tubes to 1 ½” headset cups. All Wolf Tooth GeoShift Angle Headsets, and many Wolf Tooth non-angle headsets, use 1 ½” headset cups. This new Crown Race Adapter will allow forks with 1 ⅛” steerer tubes to use GeoShift Angle Headsets. Wolf Tooth also has a Crown Race Adapter for 1 ¼” steerer tubes to 1 ½” headset cups.
Crown Race Adapter 1 1/8" steerer tube to 1 1/2" headset cup (black) and Crown Race Installation Adapter (red)
Installation of the Wolf Tooth GeoShift 2º Angle Headset is relatively simple, though the machined angle of the headset cups requires special care when being pressed into the frame. To help with this, two 3D-printed drifts that serve as installation guides are included in every purchase. A video detailing installation using these drifts is also available on the product page on the Wolf Tooth website, as well as a detailed compatibility guide to be sure that your bike can use a Wolf Tooth angle headset.
3D-printed drifts to help with installation are included with purchase
This is part of Wolf Tooth’s Performance Headset product line that was first launched in 2018. These are lightweight, strong, durable headsets made with aircraft-grade 6061 aluminum and have a triple-sealed system to protect the bearings from the elements. Performance Headsets use black oxide bearings made by Enduro. These bearings are engineered to use the largest possible ball size and are filled with high-pressure waterproof lubricant. A pair of dual-lip seals ride in micro-grooves to further protect the bearings from water and debris.
Find GeoShift 2º Performance Angle Headsets available now on WolfToothComponents.com for $104.95 USD and wherever Wolf Tooth is sold.
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- the Liberal (CAN) and Democrat (US) for left turns
- The Conservative (CAN) and Republican (US) for right turns
There will be a custom Canadian model that offsets you 3 degrees to the left and 3 degrees negative offset called the "Trudeau". This one will be free to all consumers.
m.pinkbike.com/buysell/3165841 1800 bucks plus angle set to have a bike that rides as good as a transition scout.
Ps not my listing.
Also reach gets longer with an Anglesey, not shorter.
The steerer is moved back about 5-7mm where it exits the top cup, so yes it will reduce reach if slackening headset.
Loads of experience running works components anglesets
Rake lowering the head tube height - yes you are correct but its minimal and usually offset by the increased stack in the lower cup. Even the A ZS lower cup is about 4mm extra stack height.
When you do it - your seat tube angle slackens too - you will have to tilt your saddle back down and slide forward to get the same position over the crank - this is mild but you loose distance to the bar but not reach because of this.
No creaking thanks to my friends at 9 point 8. The solid non angle set headsets I have used DO NOT CREAK. If you have an angle set - use earplugs
There’s a few bike geo calculators and comparison tools out there that will tell you exact numbers.
Depending on the stack height, reach would typically get shorter if you raise the top of the head tube relative to the ground. When you slacken the angle at which the fork sits with the angle set, the stack height will drop as the entire bike pivots sleightly forwards on the rear wheel. This will lower the bottom bracket and increase the reach if the axle to crown ratio isn't also lenghtened, but also simultaneously shorten the effective top tube.
Have a look at this animation made by Wolftooth that visualizes the changes: cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0230/9291/files/GeoShift_installed_2.gif?v=1631906557
Slight variations in reach depending on the angleset. Some anglets move the lower bearing and some the upper. If you move the upper bearing the increase in reach from slackening (and therefor lowering) the frontend would probably just about cancel out the decrease in reach from the bearing moving.
https://geo.syn.bike
But when you use the wolftooth at 2 degrees with a smaller lower headset stack change say 8 mm- then reach goes up slightly as does seat angle. Likely too small to really notice.
I humbly eat crow........
Works centers the crown race in the lower cup and uses the top cup to move the steerer tube towards the rider — shortening reach. Wolf Tooth keeps the steerer tube centered in the top cup, but kicks the crown forward — lengthening reach slightly. It isn't a lot, but you can tell if set them up back to back.
Clear to see in the pics above that the top cup is offset
On a 100mm head tube 1* is 0.076" or 1.93mm. If both cups are offset that's only 0.965mm on each
On a 100mm head tube 2* is 0.152" or 3.86mm if both cups are offset that's only 1.84mm on each.
It's likely the reach situation is pretty self canceling I don't have any numbers for rotating the frame down but I can also see why people might precieve the bike as shorter as the steering stems slacker angle and the possibly increased stack height Will move the bars back some.
It's likely that 4h3
My point was merely that it’s not simply a change in effective top tube (that could be seen as well) but that one could actually experience a shortening (or growing) reach, given the right set up parameters.
Curious about the 3D printed drifts, what really bothers me about my -1° Wolf Tooth cups is that the machined guide groove/notch and the laser printed guide are not aligned, so I tried to install it in-between both and hope for the best.
The machined one would be the right one to use, they just didn’t align it in the laser correctly.
There’s also saddle-to-bar reach, a metric that’s been around far longer than we’ve been talking about frame stack and frame reach. Saddle to bar reach is a critical fit measurement, and is absolutely affected by bar rise, fork height, spacers, use of an angleset, and so on.
People are clearly talking about the latter, but you’re either being dense or intentionally obtuse. Stop it.
You say “Reach is the vertical distance from the point perfectly vertical above your bottom bracket to the middle of the upper opening of the head tube.”
You are correct in the above statement. What you are missing is that the “middle of the upper opening of the head tube” is shifted by 4-5mm by the offset top cup. It is eccentric.
You realise you can get REACH adjustable headsets too? Where there is no change in angle but the steerer is moved forwards or backwards 5-6mm?
It comes down to simple trigonometry. Imagine the distance between the rear axle and center of the bottom bracket and the distance between the rear axle and the center of the head tube as radii of two circles. As you pivot the frame forward/downward on the rear axle by slackening the HTA, the bottom bracket gets tilted downwards and slightly rearwards because it is past the horizontal zenith of it's angular path of motion. The center of the head tube on the other hand gets shifted downwards and slightly forwards as it hasn't yet reached the horizontal zenith of its angular path of motion. This will increase the horizontal distance between the bottom bracket and the head tube.
1. When you add this angleset, it pushes the stop of the steerer reward (your handlbars are attached to your steerer via your stem, so your handlebars are pushed rearward.
2. When adding an agleset, it does drop your headtube slightly, so if all that changed was ONLY the angle of your steerer, yes your reach would lengthen by approx 1 to 2mm.
3. However, this angleset also adds 15mm of stack to your bike. Not many people understand the relationship stack has with reach. People buy bikes with a 480 reach and then add 20mm of spacers and don't realize they're now riding a bike with a 470 reach. So if you take into account, the added angle of the steerer, minimally dropped head tube and substantially added stack height... your exact numbers with vary depending on the rest of the geo of your bike, but with this -1 degree angleset, you can expect to see your reach shortened by approx 5 to 6mm (480 to 475). With the 2 degree version, it will shorten 4 to 5mm.
4. I literally just did this to my wife's bike last week. Added a Works Components -2 degrees EC44-ZS56 angleset to her bike. I used a geo calculator before as well as measured the distance between the centre of her stem and seat (which if that shortens, your handlebars moved closer to you bottom bracket so your reach also shortened) and the measurements don't lie.
So either your trig numbers are off or you're not understanding how this works. I think what you're missing is that the effect of dropping the head tube is very very small, while the effect of pushing the top of the steerer rearward, changing the angle of the steerer and adding 15mm of stack is far more pronounced... than the drop of the headtube.
Here's one of the geo calculators I use - madscientistmtb.com/bike-geometry-calculator
—BenTheSwabian
Besides, if you would have taken a minute to stop bitching and read the comment, you'd know that I didn't even say that. I said reach lengthens.
All I'm saying is that you might be slightly off on what you think the term "reach" exactly describes.
I think the actual reach, as in the horizontal distance from the center of your upper headset bearing and the center of the BB, doesn’t really change much.
As englertracing pointed out (and I confirmed it with trig myself) the actual rearward movement of the bearing is only 3.88mm. That includes the affect from the additional stack from the upper headset cup, which is 11mm extra stack for the WC ec44 upper cup. To calculate the downward/forward shift from the reduced head angle (moving the crown of the fork closer to the ground, as Ben has pointed out) is hard to calculate because it depends on wheelbase, initial head angle, geometrical stack height, etc. however, from back of the envelop calculations, it seems to me that they about cancel out.
Actual reach (as defined at the top of my comment) could go slightly longer or shorter, or stay the same, but it will depend on your bike. For setup purposes, if you use a lot of stem spacers, your “bar reach” will change more per spacer than before the angle adjusting headset. But this is the case with any slacker head angle.
So for everyone else... yes, using an angleset will reduce your reach. Cheers everyone.. . I hope you stopped reading several comments ago!
Also, many people care about that measurement, that is why it is the standard reported on geometry charts…
FWIW, I jumped in to this conversation initially on your side, and have tried to be objective and fair in my analysis and comments.
(as in: hit it with a rock, like Jack did to straighten his rim)
I used anglesets for a few years, they work fine, just use copper grease to prevent binding and the fumbles were creak free.
Wasn’t it yesterday when we had that pill asking folks I what they felt about current geo trends … and the majority thought we were already there or close to ideal.
Good in Wolf Tooth to push the boundaries!
So people: buy a 2016 bike (one size taller than usually), install an angleset and there you are... Modern geometry at a low price (except stand over height, I must confess)
Again... picked up a 2017 Norco Sight that had been ridden 4 times. Got it for $1800. Thing is basically brand new. Fits her almost perfect... and I adjusted a couple of parts spec (better range cassette, nicer stem, handlebar and dropper lever because I have them on hand).
The only issue with the bike is that the stock HA was 66.7. And I learned from experience that by adding a -1.5 angleset to her previous bike and doing the same with my son's bike that both of their confidence level immediately rose substantially with zero downsides. Adding a -2 degree angle set brings it to a much more modern 65 degrees, while at the same time it shortened her reach by 4mm (which was better for her), steepened the STA (which was better) and dropped the bottom bracket a little (which was better).
She's on the right bike.
Btw, great to have a 2 degree option for 44mm steerer tubes.
Maybe this will enable me to build up old 26" frames for my kids with decent geometry.
A high upper cup for sure alters the reach - the "effective reach" to be picky. That is because you can not mount your stem lower than the upper cup of the headset allows.
A little frustrating, but maybe understandable with all the global supply issues. Still, I agree: they really should have some kind of mailing list to tell you when they're available. It sounds like there is a pretty large demand of an IS42 headset with a lot of people waiting for it.
I'm on a 2018 Spesh Camber 27.5 that I really love, but slacking it out a bit would make it a lot more stable (which is my only complaint about the bike, and I'd keep it a while longer if I can make this upgrade).
So if you end up machining some shims, definitely run a set for me too ..
Ah cool - thanks for that!!!
Where did you get £78 from? www.workscomponents.co.uk/20-degree-ec44-zs56-angle-headset---to-suit-tapered-steerer-tube-945-p.asp
The bigger steps also implies that the alignment of the bearings will be further off at the extremities of the steps putting more stress and wear on the headset and headtube
why is Pinkbike not covering this story?
Dude gets a vaccine, two weeks later his body had issues that tons of other people suffer from regardless of vaccination. That doesn't mean the vaccine did it.
Those risks were enough for Sweden and Denmark to just recently halt vaccinations for under 30’s.
I want people to make their own choices based on their personal situations and health. Not make their decision based on fear of losing their jobs.
I was considering it till I talked to my functional med doctor and he recommended against it. Based on what he’d seen in his patients reactions, D-dimer tests and concern over lower T cell levels. Then my mom got neuropathy all over the left side of her body a few days after hers, and doctors won’t talk to her about it. So that sealed it for me.
If I was fat and older, I’d be a lot more likely to get it. The point is individual choice.
Covid is here and way more people are going to die from it due to anti vaxxers. The vaccine is way safer than the illness and much less costly but people are resistant because of "personal liberties." Well your fear of a vaccine is stopping hundreds of millions of Americans from going back to pre covid times. So due to your freedoms millions others are without their freedoms.
Our country is limping around with hundreds of people are dying a day from something that is largely preventable at this point. Schools still have to deal with this shit as kids and teachers get sick, when that should not be happening at this point.
Most importantly people not getting vaxxed and then going to the hospital for their illness is taking up space, resources, and attention that should be applied to people who hurt themselves in other ways or have other illnesses. Vaccinated people are dying from non-Covid illnesses that are otherwise treatable because people don't want to get vaxxed and would rather get sick and f*ck everything up.
Australian government is pretty straightforward about such things - we don't have too much influence from big donators as we aren't big enough to matter.
www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-vaccines/advice-for-providers/myocarditis-pericarditis
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