-
A straight 44mm head tube would allow you the option of either using a straight 44mm fork or a tapered fork with a shim at the top, wouldn't it? Or is that a terrible idea.
@edscoble your answer isn't an answer.
Edit 'cos I'm chatting shit. So is 44mm the OD of a 1 1/8" headtube?
If so, would it be possible have a headtube for 1.5" steerer and run tapered forks with a shim at the top (and maybe a shim at the bottom for regular 1 1/8" steerer?).
TurtleRecall-
Sorry, tapered is future proof as it is, don't think manufacturer gonna switch away from 1 1/8 anytime soon.
-
So is 44mm the OD of a 1 1/8" headtube?
No. 44mm ID head tube allows for either a zero stack 1⅛" headset or a conventional external cup 1½" headset. On a road bike, the more common arrangement is an EC44 lower and a ZS upper, to take a 1½" to 1⅛" tapered steerer. In theory it's also possible to accommodate any intermediate size too, e.g. 1⅜/1⅛ taper as seen on some Cervelos, 1½/1¼ taper as used by Giant, 1¼/1⅛ taper which is an option from some fork makers including 3T. It's as future proof as you can get while the market still hasn't settled on a universal steerer shape. Not all of the options will look pretty, and as @amey points out, using a ZS lower to accommodate a straight 1⅛" fork will change your frame geometry compared with the EC lower, and using an EC upper to accommodate steerers with top ends bigger than 1⅛" will add to your stack height, although that's easily overcome with different stems.
edscoble
gbj_tester
on a custom frame, would a tapered or a 44mm headtube be more 'future proof'?