Alternating two forks on a single bicycle — do I need two headsets? I have a full rigid (fat) bicycle and I am playing with an idea to use a suspension fork sometimes. I want to keep the possibility to swap the old fork back when I do not need suspension but want to drop weight instead. The swapping process does not have to be super-swift but it should be doable without special tools (i.e., only with a set of Allen keys). Almost like a wheel change, only with more steps.

Now, a fork also carries certain hardware, besides the wheel. For example, I would either need two front disk brake calipers or move a single caliper between forks. Ditto for stem and top cap, mudguard, possibly fork's remote lockout or maybe something else. All of them can be moved with hexkeys.

The headset's lower race is what I am worried about. It sits on top of a fork's crown and can be (re)mounted only using special tools, sometimes impact tools. I assume moving the race between two forks would not be easy and most likely reduce its lifespan. What are the best practices in this situation?

Possible solutions that come to my mind.


Buy a second identical headset and use only its lower race on the new fork. The headset in my case is Cane Creek 10 series. However, one top race is wasted as unused.
Transition to some sort of an integrated headset which does not have a lower race. This means removing the old one (both the top and the bottom pieces) and installing the new one. However, after that changing to another fork should be as trivial as popping the old one from the steering and pushing the new one in. However, I am not sure if there are frame/headset compatibility requirements. In my case the frame is a cromoly one.
Its a lot of faffing about to swap forks.  They're not really intended for frequent changing.

Best practice in this case would be to obey Rule 12  and to own a second bike set up the way you want it.

Your other option is to buy a light-weight suspension fork, and to make sure it has a lockout.  That gains you the ability to have a rigid, but doesn't give you the weight saving.