[Closed] What's so good about Chris King Headsets?

They just last for a VERY VERY long time, which makes them good value, especially secondhand! 🙂

They have the words "CHRIS" and "KING" printed on them.

I can't help thinking that if 'Chris King's first and last names had had more than about 15 characters in we'd never have heard of him.

And they cost £100 so they MUST be good

The brand strength and customer loyalty is second to none. After that they are some cartridge bearings in nicely finished cups. My theory on many expensive components is that if you spend a load of cash on a part you will tend to look after it better than you would a throw away part and parts that are looked after tend to last well.

If it helps, mine is now installed in its 5th frame and has been going since 1999, with no problems at all, and has only been re-greased once in that time. And yes, it has been used a lot, (and also jetwashed 😳 )

Not a great deal on a mountain bike. The wedge type work much better.

They look flash though, especially if you like logos all over your bike...

wwaswas - Member

I can't help thinking that if 'Chris King's first and last names had had more than about 15 characters in we'd never have heard of him.

Nah - your theory has one major flaw....

S
U
P
E
R
S
T
A
R

C
O
M
P
O
N
E
N
T
S

That's more than 15 characters.

Are they worth 90-100 quid though.

convince me. I'm not paying 100 quid for a name.

So far I've heard that they last a long time.

Is there anything comparable?

cheers Davy. Thats the kind of response I was looking for.

I guess thats why they offer a 10 year guarantee

Don't use them with a long travel fork, they score the steerer.

Get a Cane Creek s3 or if you're feeling flush an s8. Much better design and much cheaper, the downside is no one will notice it.

I cant see much difference between a Hope and Chris King, (unless anybody can enlighten me) apart from the KK is £40 more.

Are they worth 90-100 quid though.

convince me. I'm not paying 100 quid for a name.

So far I've heard that they last a long time.

Is there anything comparable?

Yes they probably are, but you can pick up used ones for under £50 which will be just as good.

The only way I can think of to convince you is to point out -
How many other headsets do you see for sale secondhand? How many last long enough to be sold on? There's a few, but not many, and not as many as you see of CKs.

Well - my Cane Creek S3 (I think it's S3) headset cost me £30 fitted & has been on the bike about 2yrs (I think the actual headset was no more than £22.50). I've had the forks in and out of my frame now about 5 times, the last time being on Tuesday evening & the headset is all still lovely & smooth, the grease was present & correct & pretty much the same colour as when it went in.
I suspect it would last at least another 2 yrs if not more.

Not sure I could ever stump up £100 on a CK one, unless it was tons lighter (not literally tons of course).

All the other people at the trail centre cafe will respect you with a CK.

mines lasted 9 years and the bearings are still great - got it second hand for about £40 and its in its 3rd frame (hardtail xc) with me. probably spent twice that on cheap headsets on my old dh bike alone in the same time and my hope needs new bearings after 4 years. wouldnt pay £100 for it tho...

I cant see much difference between a Hope and Chris King, (unless anybody can enlighten me) apart from the KK is £40 more

There is no difference at all in use.
But 10 years down the line, when everyone else has been through a £25 headset every year, or a £60 headset ever 2-3 years, and you haven't even touched your CK, then you'll see why.

And it's not BS. They do last that long, easily. 🙂

anyone had any problems with their headset creaking?

CK headsets are lik Triggers broom from Only Fools & Horses.

Lasted for 20 years, still the same headset.......only had 8 crown races, 15 lockrings, 2 top caps etc. 😆

They look pretty mind.

I agree with all of the above, in a way. Ianpv's comment about not using them with a long travel fork is totally right - I use Revelation 130's and the forward/back motion has scored the steered tube where the o-ring from the bearing cap makes contact. So much so that it needed a new top cap from the states to stop the creaking noise.

King headsets are very well made in in shorter travel setups should last for years. However, I've had three (one new, two second hand) and I've had issues with two of them. The Hope headset on my Roadrat I've run for four years of daily all winter commuting and it's never been regreased, good as new.

For my money, I would buy a Hope if from new.

Note - I've bought 4 myself, 2 new, 2 used.
Not paid any more than £75 for one, one of the used ones was quite probably over 10 years old when I sold it, and still smooth, the other used one is about 3-4 years old and untouched.
2 we still have, 2 were sold with bikes (Sorta regretting that now, TBH)

They are worth the money, but I wouldn't pay full price for one (Too tight/skint!!) if you see what I mean
🙂

There is a difference. All other headsets use a wedge not an o ring as a result they are more suitable for a mountain bike than a king. Kings can score the steerer, as a result they can creak, not tighten up properly and possibly, though I've not seen it myself, cause the steerer to fail. Seriously, buy a wedge type.

anyone had any problems with their headset creaking?

Yes, one of the £25 Cane Creek S3s mentioned above. It did it from new on a Stumpy FSR. Swapped it for a CK and funnily enough it's still running buttery smooth, 3 years down the line. You get what you pay for, got mine from Aspire Velotech in the States half UK RRP but I imagine the deal isn't so good since the pound has devalued

How the hell do you get through a headset a year, or wear one out [i]at all[/i]? I have only ever once bought a headset, and that was only because I lost all the seals and bits somewhere in my shed.

If you do a quick headset check before every ride and never ride on a badly adjusted one (oh, and do not jetwash or hose wash) they last for yonks, in my experience.

I got the creaking noise with my Ck headset, see post above, scoring of steerer. New o-ring and top cap sorted it.

soooooooooooooooooo easy to keep clean / serviced and soooooooooooooo reliable despite the numpties who fail to protect the o ring seal on the top bearing cap......

money very well spent imo.

How the hell do you get through a headset a year, or wear one out at all?

Mud and use generally. The one on my Pitch lasted 4-5 months. No cheap headset has ever lasted me more than 18 months.

Mud and use generally. The one on my Pitch lasted 4-5 months. No cheap headset has ever lasted me more than 18 months.

You must ride like sooooooo CORE!!!!11!!!

i've worn out cheap ones. Bearings rust due to a complete lack of sealing.

Anything over 25 quid or so seems to last ages though. I bought a 50 quid FSA one 5 years ago as it had a low stack height and its still working fine.

Mines a Patriot from 2001 (red sliver blue one bought out after the 9/11 bomb), it's on it's 4th bike, I've never done anything to it, ever, and it's still smooth. It's on 140mm Thor, and hasn't marked the steerer at all. O ring works fine, more to do with steerer dimensions than CK's design I reckon.

But then an S3 is also easy to maintain, costs £30 and has a better design so no need to replace o rings.... 🙂

BlingBling - Member
You must ride like sooooooo CORE!!!!11!!!

perhaps he just rides a lot...........?

i have CK in use with 140 + 160 forks without scoring FWIW. steerer is however properly faced and 'trimmed' protecting the o ring.

Got one on each of my bikes, one I bought second hand 10 years ago from a guy who used it on a DH bike and its still absolutely fine, I have never touched the bearings and it must be on its 6th frame. They are worth every penny.

PP... so they are not worth the money then? ;o)

I've got a CK on my Turner(came with it), FSA XL IIs on my two other mountain bikes. I've not really noticed any difference between them in use, but I have had to replace the bottom bearing in one of the XL IIs, but it was over 4 years old and that bike rarely if ever gets cleaned. But as that headset only cost me £20 in the first place, and a new bearing was only about £10 (from Wiggle, even cheaper from a bearing supplier), I reckon that it'd cost about the same as a CK in about 30 years!

Saying that, I'd probably buy another CK if I had the cash and it was for a bling bike... or maybe a fancy CC... but it would be for the bling factor, and not due to better function.

You must ride like sooooooo CORE!!!!11!!!

No not really 🙂 (And the Pitch one was a crap loose bearing type to be fair....)
I do ride all year round, and I am generally heavy on components. Recently I thought I'd done well getting 4 years out of a Hope rear hub, and that was [u]absolutely buggered[/u] in the end!

When I find something that lasts, I stick with it. 🙂

ide never get one, for the same reason ide never buy an apple.

dont care if its nice, its expensive and full of "smug"

I'm all for quality stuff that lasts - its just that the price-point where that is true of headsets is way lower than CK prices.

But it's not like they are the only ones who are that expensive, look at the top of the range CC, FSA or Crank Bros headsets and they are around that price too...

I used to get through headsets, at least 1 every 8 months shimano, stronglight etc (although i'm talking 14 years ago!) The i paid for a CK for a Merlin Ti. It's still on the same bike & still smooth. What more can i say? Well worth it IMHO

Used mine on a Bullit that's had 4 fork changes (incl triple clamps) all with 150mm+ travel. 7.5yrs hard years use, 90kg rider.

Cleaned and re greased the headset only three times in that period, with no parts replaced and no steerer damage to any of the forks.

The design is hardly innovative so I have to presume the bearing materials and manufacturing tolerances are far higher than on other H/S's.

Agree that steerer issues may be more likely down to tolerance in the steerer

Lecht, enlighten me... how would facing and trimming a steerer protect it from being scored by the o-ring? I can't see how this would stop scoring due to the o-ring being the only point of contact...

the only thing i've ever seen that 'wears out' headsets (even cheapy caged ball badly sealed ones) is jet washing.

oh, and one that got a little bit notchy after someone hit a tree head on.

Don't think I'd ever spend more than 20 quid or so on one...

Get a medium priced one, regrease it now and again and it will last. Unless you like bling logos.