[Closed] If not Chris King then....

Longevity I don't know if they have any peers- my one was already well worn and the bearings felt past it but yet it still all worked perfectly.

So that aside- pretty much everything. Cane Creek S8, Hope, FSA Quality Orbit... All much of a muchness really. Bearing life isn't as good but they're all easy to source and replace (Cane Creek and Hope use the same bearings and essentially the same design, Hope is twice as expensive though)

You really don't need to spend much on a headset to get excellent results- they're pretty simple parts.

The current King is fine on longer forks (unlike the o-ring version), however a Cane Creek 40 is as good a headset as anyone needs. Replacement bearings are £15 a pair.

Cane Creek 110 here, been excellent for the last couple of years for me

Hope headsets are good quality and give good long lasting service IME. Not exactly a budget option but way less money than Chris King.

Had an Acros for the last 3 years and been faultless.

Cheapy is the Orbit MX , Hope for middle of the road and King for the best IMO.

With the new griplock thingy I can see no reason not to buy King if you want fit and forget.

Cane Creek 110 and S8 here - I've used only CC for the last ten years.

singlespeedstu - Member

With the new griplock thingy I can see no reason not to buy King if you want fit and forget.

Well- they're massively expensive, and they sold a product they knew perfectly well was defective for years, claiming that it was just how they would make it even if they could use the better method. Then the [i]second[/i] the better method became free to use, they switched to that. And then they offered to [i]sell[/i] the fixed part to existing customers to whom they'd knowingly sold the part which could destroy their forks. So, there's that.

Frankly I'd rather eat my own balls than buy another King headset.

Fit Hope, when frame is sold/parked/broken etc, move to new frame. Mine must be 6 years old, and still same bearings.

Northwind that's a bit of a negative view.

I just think about how reliable their bearings are, how well made their alloy bits are, how smooth their finishing looks and how maintenance free their headsets are now they've got rid of their only shortcoming.

You feel free to keep bearing a grude though. 🙂

It's not that negative when my worldcups have a big score in the steerer, tbh, I'd call it balanced 😉

So, I stuck a cane creek in it, which cost about 1/4 as much and which will have excellent but slightly less good bearing life, and I can replace the bearings approximately 10 times before it'll work out more expensive than a King, which will take many moons. And at no point will it break my forks then try to charge me for a fixed part to stop it happening again.

Frankly, I would rather fit nothing than a Cane Creek ( sp? should be creak) hateful headset lasted 3 rides on my Trek Ex from new. The noise and rusty bearings. Swapped for a Hope and all sorted.

So, I stuck a cane creek in it, which cost about 1/4 as much and which will have excellent but slightly less good bearing life

But is it as slick looking? 😆

TBF I have a couple of CC headsets that are as slick and well made as a CK but guess what.
They cost just as much. 🙂

You pays your money and takes you choise. 8)

Did it come with the frame Thrusty? CC like FSA make lots of different headsets at different prices, you can't judge the decent ones by the cheaper ones.

(I've got Hope in one bike, CC in a couple, they're functionally identical- even the bearings and crown races are interchangable. Hope have nicer finishing though, and importantly more options than the midrange CCs though, which is ace)

I got a Chris King with my my new frame. It seems well made, but has made no difference to the ride. The black anodizing has rubbed off in places already which I didn't have with FSA or Cane Creak. I'll use the Chris King until it breaks, but won't bother spending that much again. I've never had a problem with FSA so I'll probably buy another one of those.

I'll use the Chris King until it breaks

You might have a long wait. 🙂

You might have a long wait.

This. I've never had to replace a king product through it failing (Only cos I've sold the bike, or its been relieved from my possession 🙁 )

Northwind that's a bit of a negative view.

It is. Denying yourself one of, if not the best pieces of equipment for the job just because you don't like the manufacturers business sense is...well...cutting your nose off etc.

I understand your viewpoint but leave that shit behind when I ride and realise I haven't serviced my headset in, like, ever...

🙂

Edit : ..., dude

Did it come with the frame Thrusty? CC like FSA make lots of different headsets at different prices, you can't judge the decent ones by the cheaper ones.

It's not the manufacturer's "business sense", it's their willingness to sell defective parts and rip off customers (twice in fact!)

There's lots of products that are really good, that I won't buy because the company have shown themselves untrustworthy. Much more to it than the part in your hand. Particularily when there is competition that does the job, oh, 95% as well, for 25% of the cost...

@thrusty- OEM spec then, you've got a legitimate complaint but it's with Trek's costcutting.

competition that does the job, oh, 95% as well, for 25% of the cost...

...and the winner is...?

Normal inset - Hope
Deep inset - Acros
Cheap - fsa xl2

ck = evolution = attitude problem!!

Mildred, can't beleive you didn't list a FET set

FSA Pig?

Ha ha, yes... This calls for a revision:

Normal inset - Hope
Deep inset - Acros
Cheap - fsa xl2
Ability to withstand earthquake, flood, fire, nuclear holocaust, & being hit by a distant planet - Nicolai Fett set

no love for the old design Chris King headset from me (

used to be 'pressured' to sell lots of them by one of my old employers, despite my concerns about my customer's genuine concerns about creaking / clicking noises and scoring of their fork steerers

yes, I appreciated the 'quality' and high tolerances / precision of C.King's aluminium-alloy cups and handbuilt bearings

however, their product was fundamentally flawed due to their refusal to license the Dia-Compe "Ahead-set" design which critically included the 'compression wedge' with sat under the top cap and prevented the headset loosing grip on the fork steerer once set to torque

this was not a UK specific issue, on vacation in Whistler, Canada; my riding buddy and I both had this issue with King headsets and the Marzocchi tech in the service truck at the bottom of the bike park expressed no surprise in finding 1.5mm deep grooves scored into our fork steerers by the constantly loosening King headset, he had seen it all before...

personally? I really tried to love both of the C.King threadless headsets I had bought at full retail price, but had nothing but trouble with them, creaking/clicking and always working loose

in comparison, the cheaper FSA, Dia Compe and Cane Creek headsets lasted me a good season or several seasons (depending on price point i.e. sealing and bearing quality) but gave NO problems with creaking/clicking or loosening, and no damage to the fork steerer, the only thing that would ruin those headsets would be eventual ingress of contaminants to the bearings

the new King headset, now that Dia Compe's patent on the original 'Aheadset' expired? No idea??

....but hopefully it works properly now, as King's bearings and manufacturing precision work was easily the best on the market

Frankly I'd rather eat my own balls than buy another King headset.

it works properly now, as King's bearings and manufacturing precision work was easily the best on the market

This.

They've only ever had one fault which is now a none issue.