A9

Brand: Stronglight

The Stronglight A9 was one of cycling's first needle-roller-bearing threaded headsets and became Stronglight's signature high-end direction unit through the 1980s. Instead of loose ball bearings it ran caged needle rollers, spreading the steering and shock loads a bike's front end sees across line contacts rather than points, which gave it a reputation for lasting almost indefinitely. Widely regarded at launch as about the most modern headset money could buy, original needle-bearing examples are now prized (later reissues reverted to conventional cartridge ball bearings).