Starting to build up an NOS hardtail and ran into another question. The bike is this (Specialized) which I asked about in another thread HERE.

It came with an internal Chris King headset bearings & cups as shown in these pics, but that’s it -


Looking up from bottom of head tube

So not the rest of the headset, just what you see here. I’m reusing our previous fork, which has the crown race like this


And was used along with the Cane Creek headset shown here:



Questions are

1. can I reuse the crown race or do I have to get a “baseplate” specific to whatever CK headset this is?
2. And can I use any of the upper portion (not bearings or race) to bolt this together, or do I need to kinda buy part of a CK headset somehow (perhaps from them)?

Due to this damned pandemic, @ LBS consults are hard to get scheduled. I’d like to use what’s in the bike already, obviously, but want to make sure the angles are gonna work.

First, those are external cups on an external headset. That’s actually better. Second, you’ll need to use a Chris King race and probably the bearing cap to make the headset work. Try contacting Chris King to see if you can get the parts. Here’s the installation instructions for the King headset .

You might just replace the King headset with the Cane Creek, although the Cane Creek looks like it is a cheaper headset. You’ll need to knock out the King cups and press the other ones into place.

As a bonus, the Cane Creek would look better on the frame than orange cups! Those clash so much that I’m surprised you don’t have open warfare!

Right, ok, still external cups. Duh. The CK one is just sealed bearings and not what I was used to seeing.

It is what I wanted to use, in that it’s nicer than the caged-ball Cane Creek, plus it’s brand new and its IN, which eliminates the need for a press/paying for install of that- I’ve got enough of a list . But if I need to get the rest (esp. parts B, D, E, & H) from CK, that may change things.

[The colors - yeah, as usual, the color isn’t quite like that- the frame is less pink and more red and the cups are more gold and less orange... but point taken. It would not have been my choice either!]

+1) Drive out the pieces from the frame, (start over) with the other one,

or buy the crown race/base-plate.. & No Thread top piece from CK.

Chris King should be able to answer your questions & tell you which parts to get. Not to dismiss any advice you are getting here, but to save you some time. They know their stuff. Whatever you get from CK, you know it's going to last forever!

After looking at the prices for the small parts, I’m not excited about it! I get why, say, the base plate (crown race) would be crucial, but I was hoping to reuse some parts. We’ll see

When I removed the Chris King headset from my '93 Trek 5900 for servicing I hoped to reuse the existing CK crown race with an inexpensive Origin8 headset that I planned to use temporarily. No go. The angles don't match. So I had to pull the CK crown race and use the Origin8 crown race.

The crown race isn't really a conventional "race" since it only supports sealed bearings. But the angle still needs to match. It wasn't even close between the King and Origin8 bearings.

I called Chris King and they were very helpful. I’ll order the important pieces from them and move forward. Thanks everyone.

You won’t regret it. I have at least 15 Chris Kings on bikes in my garage. Zero issues in using some of them for over 20 years.

Same. When I emailed them about the CK titanium headset on my 1993 Trek 5900 they were very helpful and perfectly happy to service it.

A previous owner (not the guy I bought it from) had used it as a time trial/tri-bike and apparently sweated or drooled electrolytes down the headset. Over time the minerals crusted up the entire steerer tube (steel, with carbon fiber fork), sealed bearings, etc., causing it to grind itself apart.

I was so baffled by the pieces that didn't match any diagram that I didn't realize I was looking at cartridge bearings that had come apart after tapping out the headset.

I figured the folks at CK would take one look at that mess from a nearly 30 year old bike and say "Nah, brah, not our problem," but they responded just as if it were a new item.

That's what we're paying extra for, not just the premium components.

And the original King headset is much more svelte than the Origin8 I'm using as a temporary headset. Between the original CK headset and very early 1" threadless steerer/headset and titanium Ibis stem, at a glance it looks like a classic quill stem setup, which is kinda appealing for folks who like old school bikes.