Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - chris king question

A friend of mine told me because of the way you have to prep the frame to install a king headset, once you put it in youre kinda stuck with em, and can't switch in something else. Is this true? I have a hard time beliving it, but I just wanna double check before I do some work to my bike.

He is wrong. You face the the headtube and stick it in there just like any other headset. There are a set of spacers, made by King, that fit the press to the cartridge, other than that no issues.

great to hear, thanks! what he said was just plausable enough for me to believe it, and I needed confirmation before I did something stupid. And now im gonna blow some money and do something else stupid. woo!

nope

in short -no

but i must warn you if you have more than one bike you will need a similar amount of king headsets.. they are that good.
and their customer service is off the chart..

don´t say i didn´t warn you..

I'm not getting rid of my king headset, I just wanna replace it with a hatta swan on my current bike and move it to the bike im building thats more geared for toughness (all weather commuter)

You guys are crazy.
Once you install a Chris King headset, not only can't you ever remove it but you will automatically be labeled a hipster and your significant other will break up with you for your best friend.
Listen, 128, you seem nice so I'll do you a favor and take it off your hands.
Just send it to me and forget you ever considered using it.

Aaaarrrrghhghghghgh, They Are Just Headsets!!!!!

i said im not getting rid of it, just moving it to a different bike. and im single, so I have nothing to worry about. and my best friend is totally effin gay.

+1

Aaaarrrrghhghghghgh, They Are Just Headsets!!!!!


what about the pixie dust though?

Aaaarrrrghhghghghgh, They Are Just Headsets!!!!!

Aaaarrrrghhghghghgh, They Are Just Bikes!!!!! :rolleyes:

I never had the hots for a headset until I got my new frame, that came with this neo-cubic-futuristic cnc-machined Stronglight from hell.. It actually looks sort of overbuilt to the point of sillydom, but I love it. It's all sharp angles and brushed alu.

Aaaarrrrghhghghghgh, They Are Just Headsets!!!!!


false. name ONE other headset that you can leave in for 10+ years with ZERO maintence, and that has manufacturing tolerances to .001mm. can you do it? i dont think so..

false. name ONE other headset that you can leave in for 10+ years with ZERO maintence, and that has manufacturing tolerances to .001mm. can you do it? i dont think so..

Raceface, Cane Creek, and even good ol' sealed DA last just as long without any more maint. than a King. And even if they didn't, who really rides the same frame for 10 years, or rides it for 10 years without tearing into parts just because the literature says so?


Look, I like King stuff. I've probably ridden or worked on most of the products they offer. I used to know a machinist who worked in the factory when they shared a facility with a surgical tools company. Yea they make good stuff, and yes there is always a premium to be paid for nice handmade products.
That said, what annoys me is that a King headset for whatever reason has become some kind of status symbol despite being the least important rotating assembly on a bike. Why aren't people going ga-ga over the killer hubs or the big talk about the super BBs they've been developing? Headset performance can only go so far. It's still just some cups and a pair of bearings, but people have some werid perception about them and how they should be installed, hence threads like this one.

best head I have ever had

i started this thread just to quell a rumor that my friend told me, so i didn't make any grave mistakes/waste my time when I worked on my bike, as it was the only part i didn't install myself. that having been said, shut up, shut up, shut up. they're good, they're not the end all, whatever. noone cares. let this thread sink to the bottom of the page where it belongs.

best head I have ever had

can't you index it if you misuse it like that?

bwahahaha! Better than the **********?

The **********? Oh man, that's really bad...

Headset performance can only go so far. It's still just some cups and a pair of bearings, but people have some werid perception about them and how they should be installed, hence threads like this one.

Spittin' truth.

That said, what annoys me is that a King headset for whatever reason has become some kind of status symbol despite being the least important rotating assembly on a bike. Why aren't people going ga-ga over the killer hubs or the big talk about the super BBs they've been developing? Headset performance can only go so far. It's still just some cups and a pair of bearings, but people have some werid perception about them and how they should be installed, hence threads like this one.

i go ga-ga over their hubs. i've wanted a pair for years, and now that i've finally scored a set, i want a set for my road bike, i want a set for my BMX bike, i want a set for my 'cross bike, i want a set for my yet-to be built-SS MTB......you probably won't see too many people on this forum go wild over geared hubs though...maybe their SS hubs, but seems like there's more "fixie" folks here.

their BB may never happen, as it seems standard 3-piece cranksets are going the way of the dodo, with the influx of so many MEGAGIGAEXOHOLLOWXDRIVETECH II cranksets out there now. i could be wrong...they might be working on an external BB, but it's not likely. hmm...isn't it funny how headsets used to be external and now they're internal (for no good reason whatsoever), and BB's used to be internal, and now they're external (for some pretty good reasons)? they've gone and flip-floped our bearing thingies!

Why aren't people going ga-ga over the killer hubs or the big talk about the super BBs they've been developing?

perhaps because CK doesn't make a track hub, and the BB's currently don't exist and when they do they'll have ISIS interface. not a fan.

perhaps because CK doesn't make a track hub, and the BB's currently don't exist and when they do they'll have ISIS interface. not a fan.

the true technical problem with the ISIS BB isn't the interface, it's much better than square or octalink, it's with bearing longevity. i think most people would agree that if anyone out there can make the bearings in an ISIS BB last into infinity and beyond, it's CK (or phil)

what about cranks for ISIS?

what about cranks for ISIS?

what about cranks for ISIS?

there's a bunch out there. the vast majority of which just don't happen to be manufactured for your particular niche.

(you do know there is more to cycling than just fixed gear/track riding, right?) *winky face*

i understand this, but we are discussing why chris king BBs aren't praised more in the FIXED GEAR and single speed forum, so "the vast majority" really isn't all that pertinent.

well, probably because they (the BBs) don't exist yet...and probably because when they do, there won't be very many ISIS splined cranks for track-specific use. also, probably because for high-end cartridge BBs, most people look to phil, because most track-cranks, and especially the NJS-approved suginos which seem to be the new hotness right now come in square taper. but i honestly bet it has more to do with the CK BBs not existing in reality (yet).

but really, any ISIS MTB crank can be used for single speed use, and actually, any ISIS road crank can be used for fixed gear use. but there's only one track-specific ISIS crank that i know of (FSA vigorelli carbon).

Are ISIS and fixed/track mutually exclusive technologies? From a practical standpoint more people around here should make the switch.
Lots of people in this forum praise sugino 75 cranksets for being so stiff, but the setup doesn't compare in stiffness to , say, a hollowtech crank and octalink BB. ISIS BBs are also inherently stiffer than square taper BB interfaces as well. Outboarded bearings are going to be smooth and rigid as hell, just not NJS (buy you can press in Phil bearings though).

I think this is part of the reason I am weirded out with the obsession with King headsets. Many of the same people that tout the performance and functionality value of a King HS would not be caught dead with ISIS cranks or outboareded BB technology on their rides, despite the performance/functionality benefits.

Are ISIS and fixed/track mutually exclusive technologies? From a practical standpoint more people around here should make the switch.
Lots of people in this forum praise sugino 75 cranksets for being so stiff, but the setup doesn't compare in stiffness to , say, a hollowtech crank and octalink BB. ISIS BBs are also inherently stiffer than square taper BB interfaces as well. Outboarded bearings are going to be smooth and rigid as hell, just not NJS (buy you can press in Phil bearings though).

yeah, that's what i was getting at with the second part of my last post. any crank can be used for fixed/SS, but a lot of folks (myself included) are really into purpose-specific things.


I think this is part of the reason I am weirded out with the obsession with King headsets. Many of the same people that tout the performance and functionality value of a King HS would not be caught dead with ISIS cranks or outboareded BB technology on their rides, despite the performance/functionality benefits.


the biggest problem with ISIS BBs specifically, is longevity (of the bearings). i've seem them crap the bed in under a month on a MTB. they seem to last longer on road bikes, though. outboard bearings are percieved to increase the Q factor, which is undesirable for track/fixie use (doesn't seem to hurt most pro roadies though). plenty of people already use them for SS MTBing.

Afterthisnap- i hear what you are saying about the HS's being a glamour product, and i do agree. but when you work in a shop, why shouldnt you buy the best there is? if i didnt get parts so cheaply, i wouldnt have anything from king!

and onto the ISIS thing-- yuck. ive seen way too many failed ISIS BBs, and even ****ed up crank arms that start loosening up. IMO octalink is a better interface, and seems to have a lower failure rate from what ive seen. everything is going to 2 peice, but there will still be lots of people like me searching for that NOS titanium square taper BB, regardless of the added flex.

oh ya i thought of a couple more reasons why people who buy king products at retail can justify it to themselves. made in USA, environmentally conscious, they even contract US companies to make their accessories, like t-shirts, and they discontinued their beer glasses because they were made over seas, and wont resume production until they can find a US based company to make 'em. i think the extra buck can be worth it to buy from a company who cares.

the reasons listed by legalize it are some of the main reasons i'm buying a CK headset as well as Phil BB and Hubs

Afterthisnap- i hear what you are saying about the HS's being a glamour product, and i do agree. but when you work in a shop, why shouldnt you buy the best there is? if i didnt get parts so cheaply, i wouldnt have anything from king!

and onto the ISIS thing-- yuck. ive seen way too many failed ISIS BBs, and even ****ed up crank arms that start loosening up. IMO octalink is a better interface, and seems to have a lower failure rate from what ive seen. everything is going to 2 peice, but there will still be lots of people like me searching for that NOS titanium square taper BB, regardless of the added flex.


Even when I worked in shops I didn't buy a whole lot of CK new because of the price. I do miss wholesale pricing. I kinda wish I could flip through QBP catalogs still.

Oh, and I heart octalink.

....but when you work in a shop, why shouldnt you buy the best there is? if i didnt get parts so cheaply, i wouldnt have anything from king!

No **** man! I recently bought a pair of Phil hubs through my bike shop, could've gotten cheaper online, but wanted to support them. Well they gave me a line like they weren't gonna make much of any profit off them, so they couldn't do me a deal below Phil's website prices. Well, I was OK with that, they've never done me wrong and even now, I'm glad I bought from them to have an easy way to get them sent back if anything messes up with them... well they accidently included the "confidential dealer prices" catalog with the hubs when I picked them up and I almost had a heart attack when I read what they paid for them.. Talk about profit!
:eek: :eek: :eek:
Nothing against them, based on these prices, everyone who sells Phill products makes a killing. I guess it's good though that Phill Wood has made the effort to help out the dealers by suggesting such a mark-up, but criminy! Still , I'm fully satisfied and would do it again. :)

And like stated above, It's worth the cost to buy with good conscience once in a while.

Well they gave me a line like they weren't gonna make much of any profit off them, so they couldn't do me a deal below Phil's website prices.
although the markup might seem like its a lot, it really isnt. the bike biz get the shaft. the gap will mark up their clothes 500-1000%! now thats a markup!

well they accidently included the "confidential dealer prices" catalog with the hubs when I picked them up and I almost had a heart attack when I read what they paid for them.. Talk about profit!
Unfortunately for your bike shop, they probably don't sell sets of Phils every day.

Unfortunately for your bike shop, they probably don't sell sets of Phils every day.

You are correct. They are basicaly a TREK/hybrid/cruiser shop with some really good employees. One of the mechanics though had never even heard of Phil Wood when I came in, but he was new. The regulars there who I've come to trust know his stuff and quality of it. They didn't have any catalogs on hand though, they had to call him to place the order. Still it feels good to support the only local shop in my area (maybe the only one in Norfolk I think - and they did make a pretty penny off of the sale)