coyotecrust

i'm trying to pick between a campy record headset or a shimano dura-ace. any thoughts?

its for street, not track and will be getting the sh1t beat out of it and it will get rained on.

on the ball vs. cartridge im inclined to go with cartridge (dura-ace) but on campy vs shimano i would go campy. so im stuck.

AfterThisNap

fashion vs. function, you just have to decide between the two, being that the main difference is going to be resistance to water contam. That said, I ride DA...everything.


just be sure you don't buy king.

eyefloater

FSA Duron X

- great quality, cartridge bearing, silver (w/ minimal logo), cheap.

shants

*cough* hatta ****ing swan *cough*

TristanZ

a friend of mine told me these get worn out kinda quick on the street. im currently using one and its really nice though.

xthugmurderx

get a 105. when the bearing go, get dura ace bearings. BANG! dura ace quality minus dura ace price!

-jason

shants

i've never felt a headset smoother than the hatta swan. they seem easily as durable as any other loose-bearing design. haha, especially the $600 titanium version.

eyefloater

This isn't a leading question, but have you tried any cartridge headsets to compare against?

Sin-A-Matic

Why is that?

shants

yeah, i've had a DA on one bike and have worked with some newer ultegra as well as chris king (which i think are highly overrated).

Judah

Hatta swans are awesome, easily my favorite headset among those I own.

As for the shimano campy debate, I'd go for shimano for dirty road duty.

neverwrite

Given good adjustment, periodic fresh grease, and a well faced head tube, there is no reason why even a $25 tange loose ball headset should wear out quickly. Any of the loose ball headsets mentioned so far (Record, chorus, hatta) ought to be fine with proper installation and maintenence.

If you don't plan on taking care of it, buy a cartridge bearing headset. 105 headsets are $30.
Or buy a $25 tange and with the $110 you saved off of the hatta you can buy wrenches, grease, and a proper face/install job at a bike shop.

pitboss

sanity defined - well put, neverwrite. I have the $25 Tange on the bike I ride in the street and have had ZERO maint issues. It is nice to see the rest of the "equation" when it comes to recommending parts on a bike - the subtle things like prep and maint.

moki

Anyone know where to get DA cartridges?

Oh, and if you want a DA headset, go

here

bostontrevor

Like neverwrite wrote (irony, no?), just about anything in the class you're naming will perform just fine.

I've got a Record on my daily rider--including bad weather--and have had no problems. I put a little tube donut weather seal type thing on it but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary. $30 well spent.

Ceya

Campy pre 1987 , awesome . Steel Nuevo records!

Now it will be Dura Ace is up there.

I will keep my Campy steel headsets they last 25 plus years, now and til they die.

I have Suntour/Hawatta/Dura Ace/Campy on my bikes. pick which is best for you.

S/F,
CEYA!

popluhv

What happened in 87?

Ceya

Campy stopped making Super Record. The steel headsets from Campy went out by 1989-90.


C - Record was and is the only track grouppo since 1986 for Campy. Those big Campy heasets of the 90s sucked IMHO.

Shimano had it worse with BioPace , so people liked it I didn't .



S/F,
CEYA!

jrowe

Last year of Super Record production, according to campyonly.

edit--oops, you beat me to it. Anyway, campyonly is a good resource for people curious about the timelines and stuff.

Sin-A-Matic

What's wrong with Chris King headsets? What makes them overrated?

dolface

nothing, they're the best. some folks just like to hate.

11.4

Hmmm, let's see. Made in America, circumspect about the environmental aspects of their production and finishing, last forever, parts availability, complete rebuildability, bombproof, and if it appeals to you, great range of colors.

On the downside, some stores don't like King's business practices because they tend to stick it to the stores and store employees. Stores have to sign relatively onerous retailer agreements and some have objected to it, but if you sell high-end bikes, it's almost impossible not to have at least King headsets around. Also, King doesn't make a true integrated headset, deliveries (if out of stock) are slow, and prices recently took a soaring increase.

There does seem to be a negative attitude in some quarters about King -- too pricey, too bling, whatever. If that's how someone feels, fine. The slams never seem to question their quality or durability, only vague precepts about how the world ought to be. As you probably can tell, I have a number of them and have never had a problem with them in 20+ years of using them. I don't like paying $129 now for one when I could buy an FSA for about $65, and certainly the quality gap has narrowed from the days when only King headsets lasted more than a couple years, but this is about other headsets catching up to the standard set long ago by King. If price is an object, almost any sealed-bearing headset these days will work really well. A loose-bearing headset (including the Hatta Swan) will feel great and last well, but if you don't adjust it carefully and overhaul it regularly, it'll die. That was the problem with Campy steel headsets that made King so popular -- in good hands a Campy headset lasted forever, but for most riders, they pitted in a couple years because their maintenance was ignored.

r-dub

+1 ^

I love my Kings...I'd probably love others, too...

AfterThisNap

Just kidding. It's a great headset. I agree with the prior post though. Especially in such a non-critcal rotating assembly, most all your headsets in this class are going to treat you right with most of the differences being serviceability and sealing.

neverwrite

As other people have stated, Chris King makes a great headset. You can buy it and forget about it. I haven't had to think about the King headset on my road bike in the five years I have had it. My old mtb has had a crappy ritchey headset for a couple years longer. Both bikes have seen some rough use and been through crashes that badly bent or cracked the fork. Both headsets are ok, but I have had to overhaul the ritchey repeatedly. If I had been paying to have the ritchey overhauled (or not maintaining it and buying a new one every couple of years) by this point the King would have been a better investment. One of the few downsides is that a King headset might draw attention to the bike... Kinda bling/steal me.

So yeah.. buy a King headset if you plan on having a bike forever, hate routine maintenence, and don't lock up in lousy spots.

Chris King used to offer 1" silver no-logo headsets, but I don't think that they still do. Too bad, as I think that they would sell very well to this crowd.