I think your memory's playing tricks with your mr_a – I went to his house somewhere in Horfield on the way back from a ride to pick them up… still haven't quite got round to using them, mind…

BTW clubber, I have a XLII for sale if you're interested, I've been assured that it's in perfect working order 😉

Shall we say £10 + post?

And to the bloke above who says his XLII headsets last for 5 years – not looking inside them, or never riding your bike in the rain, isn't the same as not having any problems.

and assuming it was me – northern Peak District winters don't come much more wet and gritty! They get taken apart three times a year, before and after winter, and another mid-winter, cleaned and greased. that 5yr old one is on a bike which i had as an only bike for a few years, so it got hammered (read as used most days – at least 1-2 days a week off road as an average).

You're not worth my time you scurvy knave. Although I may send my footman along to give you a thrashing.

Sounds like a bargain but sadly I'll have to turn you down. All three bikes that have Xl2s on seem to be stubbornly refusing to need new headsets so have no need for one 😉

FWIW, I have a knackered CK one (knackered bearings) sitting around spare though. You'd probably be interested in that?

I went to his house somewhere in Horfield

Somehow that sounds even more sordid. 🙂

An idea is germinating.

Can all the Chris King owners on the forum meet up with all the XLII owners in a park somewhere? Then have a massive fight with lots of slapping and hair-pulling? 🙂

This is one of the eternal mysteries of MTB forums. Someone asks for an opinion on part X, you say you had one and it wasn't very good, then proud owner of part X pops up acting like we're 18th century aristocrats and you've just slapped him in the face with a glove.

One of the other eternal mysteries of mountain bike forums is why when someone disagrees with their opinion, people have to make out that it's because they aren't hard enough/as good as you at maintenance. 😉

But the CK owners would be disadvantaged by not being able to use long travel bombers to pwn anyone with – they'd be stuck with weedy 80mm forks though they'd undoubtedly be nice and colourful 😉

But imagine when they got their salt and pepper shakers out. That would sting.

"I went to his house somewhere in Horfield "
Not Horfield in Wolves!!!!!!

Horfield, Brizzle

Grumm, where do I say I'm conscientious at maintaining headsets? I freely admit I can't be arsed with it. That's why I'm baffled by all these XLII owners saying that they do it three times a year. It's not even like they can afford to pay a shop or a butler to do it for them. And they must have precious little free time outside of the workhouse.

As with so many things, I'm quite prepared to believe that the very, very expensive thing is considerably better. But I'm not going to buy it, because the cheap thing is OK. And "OK" is about the level of my riding. 🙂

Horfield, Brizzle
i don't know whether thats better or worse.