Since the replacement bearings for a Cane Creek S2 are £15 I thought I may as well switch to a better sealed unit.

Can anyone recommend any headsets costing less than £40 with better sealing or is one of those neoprene protectors the only option?

fsa pig pro or Chris King? I always scoffed at them but if my Chris King lasts only 2 years then I’ve got my money back.

ok thanks will go and have a look at the FSA is it the DH one?

FSA Orbit XL2 – cheap as chips.

Sealing on the XLII is not that great. Cane Creek S3s are surprisingly good and have rubber contact seals as well as the internal ones.

Got my latest Pig Pro DH for £19 new from ebay a couple of week ago.

There were more available.

Had them on two previous bikes, never any problems.

Hope,made in England for English conditions. Mine is on its’ second bike,bought in 02 and still going strong.

Dave – are Hope headsets under £40 though?

replacement bearings for XLll are about the same price as the crane creek one, and not massively better sealed.

yeah the lower race on the xl2 is where you get dirt creeping in. they can be had for £20 off ebay though and the bearings on mine lasted more than a year before i overtightened it and had to replace them. only then was it i noticed the lower set were rusty. pretty good for £20!

they can be had for £20 off ebay

£22 off Merlin too but as said above, the sealing is crap

no, the sealing isn’t CRAP, in fact it’s pretty good – just the lower race needs keeping an eye on.

If crap is getting in [like it did on mine] the sealing is at fault

i.e. the tolerances on some or one of the faces are too large allowing dirt in, I can’t really see how dirt can get in otherwise

Chris King. I’ve just replaced the bearings on my headset and used loads of grease in the hope it lasts more than two months…………

Acros AH-03 at £39.99; German made, excellent sealing, split race. Very impressed with mine.

All-Terrain are doing Cane Creek S-8 for around £29, just put one on my bike.