Alternative to 1" threaded low profile headset?

Question

I have a old (guessing ~2005) Jamis Aurora road bike. Recently, I found that the threads on the headset (probably original, nuts are made of aluminum) were stripped. The bike has a steel fork, and is designed for a 1" threaded headset. Apparently these are not very common any more.

A local bike shop had an old one in stock, which looks pretty close to this: http://www.amazon.com/Threaded-Fixie-Track-Road-Headset/dp/B00811SI5E/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1431293092&sr=8-9&keywords=bike+headset

Unfortunately, it turns out that due to the length of my fork (or my frame?), I need a "low profile" headset, rather than a standard one. So far, it looks like it will cost around $50 for one of these.

I think the other option would be to replace the fork, which is more expensive, but would save me the trouble of dealing with this problem next time the headset goes.

Are there any other options?

Answer 1

Can you take replacements for the stripped parts from a standard headset? If you have a local bike co-op or a good relationship with your LBS you should be able to try some second hand ones to see if they work, and if so either buy them or buy a new headset and use the parts you need from it (in that case leaving the extra parts with the shop is a nice gesture, and they're more likely to be useful to another customer than to you)