[Closed] Recommend me a new headset

well i had a hope which didn`t last too long 6 months and it was gritty. I finally bought a king which after 2 years in scotland is still as smooth as the day i fitted it.I think they are worth it although i know somebody running a crank brothers cobalt and it is standing up pretty good too.

i like the look of the crank bros one for the same price as a hope and 30g lighter!

Would avoid FSA like the plauge, bearings are shocking.

King is very nice, only had mine a year but good so far. If can't justify the cost get a used one.

CK every time.

£68 ish from Aspire make it a no brainer.

yeah i checked aspire, but more like £79 at the moment

Nothing wrong with FSA, great range and despite what andrewh says I don't think there's anything wrong with the bearings- mine is in its third frame now after a year's constant use in all conditions and it's as good as the day I got it. Mine are Orbit XL2 and Orbit MX but as far as I know the X has the same bearings in it. I'd happily buy another, I'm really not convinced that CK or Hope bring much more to the table despite costing over twice as much.

Can't speak for King, but my Red Hope has been on 3 frames over 4 years and is still smooth 🙂

I wouldn#t recommend hope unless you can get a bargain, I had to replace the bearings after 6 months and the bike would have had sub 15 rides in that time.

Guy on Fleabay from USA selling CK ones. Takes about two weeks to deliver though! Username is tweivecat iirc. Bought mine off him when the exchange rate was favourable. No regrets.

id be questioning the fitting of your hope if it failed after 6 months

also presurewashed perhaps ?

2 hope headsets here in 2 different bikes one old style fitted in 06 and one new style fitted last year

both subject to loads of mud - one is subject to less maintainance than it should be .... both are super smooth.

FSA every time for me, never had one fail.

Save your money for somewhere you'll notice it more.

All you need to know is fsa orbit xl2. 22 quid from merlin. I've got a couple on bikes at the moment, and couple of others over the years. They have all been massively reliable. Current one on the on one is 4 years old.

if i'm going to buy an FSA one it'll be the Orbit MX.

really like the look of this crank bros one

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=24984

Hope headset was fitted by a reputable LBS, no pressure washing, there was a week in morzine with one day of biblical style rain which finished it off.
Still the bog standard headset that came with the frame lasted 2 years so I was pretty disappointed that the bearings in the hope went after 6 months. I even went back to the shop to try and get it warrented but they said bearings weren't covered. On the plus side the spares are pretty easy to come by and only cost £10. (Although that makes it £65 + £20 getting close to CK price bracket and I believe they have a lifetime on bearings)

If money is burning a hole in your pocket

[url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=28509 ]Cane Creek 110?[/url]

The bearings in my cheap FSA on my Giant have lasted well. They're stating to feel rough after about 2 years. I've been trying to get a replacement set for ages. I suspect it's beacause it was an OEM headset. It's probably been the best cheap original headset I've had.

I have 2 Hopes, they've been running smoothly for so many years I'm not sure how old they are, 4-5 yrs probably.