Where?

The VO Grand Cru headsets are really nice and a great value. I've got two of them on bikes with no problems. I also like the fact that they have sealed bearings.

In July of 2015, I went cheap with my recent Raleigh International rebuild. This is all steel, and it will probably last a long time.

[h=1]Tange Passage New 1" Threaded Headset, 26.4mm Chrome[/h]

The FSA Duron X has a classic look, like the Falcon & Levin; it's very good value at $35 - $40, esp. since it has sealed bearings like the Chris King '2-Nut.'

You're lucky you need a 26.4; finding a classic-style, sealed bearing HS in 27.0 proved to be a royal B!@$#, but I did eventually get lucky (thanks Tange; thanks friends who went to Tokyo on business & had free time!).

i got mine off ebay - i thought i had hit some NOS jackpot, but some guys on the forum imformed me they are still in production

110-Series | 110Classic.EC30 Threaded.

$140?

Seriously?

I think the $140 headsets are manufactured here rather than the Far East, hence the price difference.

The OP seemed to be interested in headsets that are a good value for the money. The Cane Creek 110 is a beautiful headset and certainly high quality, but is very expensive -- in the same range as a Chris King. Nothing wrong with buying a high quality headset if you have the money, but there are better values in the $50 range.

Campy Record is another good option. It's one of the nicest looking headsets, and you can sometimes buy them for very reasonable prices.

True. I have the Cane Creek 110 on my Technium (also U.S.-made).

You seem to be inferring that $140.00 is beyond your price range. Are you speaking for just yourself, or the O.P., as well? I found the 110 headset for $117.00 online. So can you. (Even I can afford a hundred bucks for my headset).

I've had cheap headsets last for decades. The expensive ones don't necessarily last longer or work better. I'm not sure where the value is in the high end units.

I could afford a lot of things that I shouldnt buy.
I cant imagine paying $145(or $100) for a headset when something just as servicable is half the price or less. Its some balls and cups.

This is like saying I could buy the CaneCreek SCR5 brake levers for $40, or the Tektro RL340 brake levers for $23, or the XLC Aero brake levers for $18. They are all the exact same brake lever, but I could pay over double for little lizard on the hoods instead of simply rubbing the XLC logo off(since the hoods actually even say Tektro).

Im all for paying more for better quality, but sometimes its tough to quantify quality.

The OP expressed his view that an $80 headset was rather pricey. So what makes you think that a $140 headset would be a preferred choice? Like others said, there are plenty of excellent headsets available in the $30-80 range.

Not a sealed-bearing Tange but the Levin is still easy to find with EITHER the 26.4 or the 27.0 crownrace.
I'm in the market, too but many HS are very secretive about their stackheights, you can find some info thru Sutherlands but not every model is listed (plus my edition is old so doesn't have recent model additions)...I'm looking for good value HS with TALL stackheights, the taller the better, to try to bridge the gap to reach threading on a too-tall replacement fork (the opposite problem MOST people encounter).

These new Campy units I was talking about are really nice looking --- regrettably I haven't gotten it installed yet so I cant comment on it, ---- all I can really say about the bearings is that they are shiny ---

Stronglight is still making impressive looking headsets as well --- I was going to go with an alloy Stronglight headset (new production ) for my build up until I saw these --- i'm a sucker for most things Campagnolo

I wonder if one can easily remove that record logo. Just doesn't quite suit the rest of the headset.

Yes; you might note I specified "sealed bearing" in my post.

26.4 threaded sealed bearing headsets are common;
27.0 threaded caged bearing headsets are fairly common;
27.0 threaded sealed bearing headsets? Far less so. In fact, the only one readily available in the USA is the VO 'Rinko' headset (which is quite nice). If you're lucky, you can still find DA 7410 & Ultegra 6500 versions (Shimano also made a threaded, 27.0, sealed bearing HS for 5500 group, IIRC), but they're all pretty rare, they're not cheap, and usually sell at collector prices (even the standard 26.4 versions will sell on ePay for as much as a Hatta 'Super Swan'; the 27.0 units go for much, much more).

Edit: Origin8 (Neco) now apparently sells an inexpensive 27.0, sealed, threaded HS here in the US!

Btw, has anyone mentioned the Hatta 'Vesta' yet?

My 27.0 Technoglide (Price? $25 USD):

normally this is pad-printed (AKA Tampo-printed) , and the ink used is pretty tough but some paint remover and a little elbow grease (occasionally some 0000 steelwool but used with much care!) has worked on 99% of these, for me. Then you may need to polish with the polish of your choice.

I have installed a number of Tange Levins and would not hesitate to recommend.

I have questions about the "value" of an expensive headset as well; headsets don't really add a lot of performance value to a bike and I've seen pricey ones blow up as well. Based on my experience with the Stronglight A9 and the way it help up over very rough roads for a lot of different cyclist, I'm inclined to believe that the IRD roller drive HS is worth the money (I've seen prices from $60 plus to $80).

I've heard great thing about the Stronglight A9, and I'm not sure I've used one or worked on one. It has roller bearings, right? That sounds smart. When I was a bike shop mechanic, I noticed that Stronglight headsets in general lasted longer than did Campagnolo headsets, even though it was clear that Campagnolo headsets were ground with much greater precision. Maybe the design or the precision with which it's made, made it more vulnerable to misalignments. We would not install Campagnolo headsets without first machining the head tube and fork crown. Without doing that, we knew the Campagnolo headset would live a short life.

Maybe it was the designs of the curvatures that created the vulnerability, not the precision of the grinding.

I've used a couple of headsets with cartridge bearings, the kind made for threadless forks. I think they are needle bearings inside. I haven't used them heavily yet, but it seems like a smart, durable design, and they're inexpensive.