whats the best I can get then?

chris king or are there any other items in the sales etc?

You might be able to hunt down a King headset for just under £100…otherwise Hope ought to do it.

Cane Creek 110, the number is the years of warranty.

CK. The end. Go to the Aspire Velotech webiste and order from the States. Dirt cheap.

**** off dirt cheap

Cane Creek 110

whys the creek so good?

there also seems to be a few different 110’s?http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/SearchResults.aspx?Search=Cane+Creek+110&PartnerID=2324&gclid=COT4ie3I6KkCFYUY4Qod2252Wg

King

CK has always been well under £100 here http://www.winstanleysbmx.com/product/27350/Chris_King_Sotto_Voce_Ahead_Headset

85 here too
http://shop.18bikes.co.uk/products.php?plid=m10b10s394p87&tbv=CHRIS_KING_NoThreadset_%28Various%29_

If by ‘best’ you mean most reliable, then go for King.
£100 won’t get the top end Tune or Crank Bros ones though so you won’t get the lightest for that much.

I’ve got a king one, and a hope one. I wish I had 2 hope and the £30 difference now

I’d go for King. I’ve got 2 on my P20 and the 575 which are over 10yrs old now, both have never been touched. There’s another 3 kings in the garage, I wouldn’t go for anything else unless it’s cost (I’ve used £20 headsets until I could afford a king for a build) or specific design such as cannondales headshok

Used King’s for years, great but…

Can buy an FSA Orbit Extreme Pro for £30-35 now (rrp was £89!) and it’s got the same 10 year warranty… Personally I find the £70 is better off in my pocket these days, or spent on something that actually makes a difference!

£100 for a headset ? seriously ? 😯

Having removed the mangled remains of a King headset the other week, I’d say Hope headset and keep the spare cash. But pretty much the whole world seems to disagree so YMMV.

Orbit xl2 pocket the cash.

FSA Orbit and spend the rest on hookers

I have a king headset and cant see what the fuss is about.
No better than a Hope, FSA etc

FSA again here.

But then my view is tainted of King on the grounds that they used to use an O ring as the interface with the steerer. Beautifully finished, market leading bearings and the interface with the fork was a bit of rubber, to avoid a licence fee. Remarkable.

Course, they claimed the o-ring was the best way to do it, until the exact second the licence lapsed, whereupon they changed to the correct way to do it- and kindly offered to sell the parts as an upgrade to existing customers. That’s just awesome.

they reckon that one reason the King bearings last so long it because of a side effect of the rubber ring – offering the bearing a bit of protection. Be interested to see if that changes now they’ve got rid of it (after the patent on the split ring ran out)

Ive got a brand new still in box unused cane creek 110 in black 1 1/8″ here if you want £60 posted
My email is in profile

+1 northwind

my cheap orbit just feels rough to turn now – is the beginning of the end for it?

Had Kings, but got fed up with them marking steerer tubes, now got Hope and a pocket full of change 😀

Kings have lasted me the longest but marked my steerer tubes. 5+ years.
Hope – poor seals so full of mud and crap after a year but stainless bearings so give it a clean and repack ready to do the same next year.
FSA Orbit Extreme – 5years guarantee – went rough after five years… go figure. Allegedly two versions of this – OIM and Aftermarket… OIM not so good?
FSA – MX – two years and they are rough
FSA – XLII – One year and it’s rough
Acros – Rusty in a year. Replaced under warranty. They use stainless bearings now and guarantee five years… time will tell.
Cane Creek – ten years ago the top of the range one rusted on me in two months. Probably better now but I’m bitter.
RaceFace – never stay tight
Crank Brothers – rust in a few months.

FSA – XLII – One year and it’s rough

£19.99 3 years ago. Still smooth. Winter bike.

I should have added that this is my personal experience and hence YEMV

Got a nuke proof one on the tandem I am impressed with – sealed cartridge angular contact bearings which is nice

FSA – XLII – One year and it’s rough

+1

Just replaced it with a CK £100 fitted by a LBS, will get back to you in ten years with feedback…

Normal, integrated or internal?

If you buy a King make sure it is the ‘griplock’ version, i.e. the one with the split ring not the O ring.

Got my CK headset with a ti crown race and ti top cap bolt and a bunch of carbon spacers for £51.

ebay all the way..

And with the new griplock thing they don’t score steerers.

I still would buy a King again because of the hypocrisy of them shipping an inferior headset because they didn’t want to pay license fees, and then changing their minds as soon as the patent is up.

What other areas are they doing substandard stuff?

Get the Cane 110…

do the creeks come with matching spacers?
would I need the 1/8″ for a turner flux/sid race forks

couldn’t tell you – I have a 1 1/8 King on my 2009 Flux with Sid teams, just ordered the Grip-lock upgrade for > half the price of a Hope – Doh!

don’t think the 2011 flux is a bigger/tapered headset.

Orbit xl2 pocket the cash.

+1

3 years old, used year round in -5 to +25 in the peak and lake district. Still runs smooth. I’m not sure how a CK could do any better.

orbit xl2 here too. I clean the bearings with a cloth every 8 or so months and smear a bit of grease on it.
2 years so far. Cost £20.

It must be made in China by some overworked little girl for that price!