Yep...who's blowing through headsets like it's a consumable part like a cassette?

Cheaper ones tend not to be designed as well. Cane Creek 40 as an example. Known to leak water in from the top. The 110 not only doesn't have that flaw, the 110 also uses stainless bearings. The 110 is a superior product.

So yes...in that instance the more expensive part is more durable, designed better, and will last longer.

So ... the CC 40 will only last for 40 years? What a piece of crap!

That's a pretty good troll. A Giro moto policeman was so distracted he just took out Team Sky because of it.

http://www.bikeforums.net/profession...l#post19582094 I hear he was checking Wilco Kelderman's headset.

I like my Rohloff hub.

I felt the same when I was building up my wife's custom made touring frame. I put a Chris King headset on it. She also wanted V-brakes with STI shifters, which was more of a challenge. She knows bikes and I try to please:)

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...T/DSC_0071.jpg

Your analysis is flawed. First, one would be extraordinarily lucky to only go through 4 CC40s in the lifespan of a CK. Second, you've ignored the labor involved in repeatedly replacing the CC40. My time isn't free, nor is the time of the mechanic at a local LBS. Figure an extra $25 per CC40, in 2017 dollars. Combined with a more realistic estimate of the relative lifespans, and the CK is looking like a better value all the time. :-)

Further, any extra expense associated with the time value of money is more than justified by the enhanced user experience associated with better quality kit.

For you, perhaps. For me, a bicycle is simply a practical means of transportation. If I don't need to get to point B from Point A, I'm unlikely to get on a bike.

I tend to agree with Dan, over at RodBikes.com. A month of daily utility and commuting is equivalent to a year of fair weather recreational riding, with respect to wear and tear on a bike. The Chris King headset was specifically designed for the use cases that chew up and spit out lesser headsets (e.g., fully-loaded touring). Perhaps your bike gets babied to the extent that heavy-duty components aren't justified. Mine does not.

You have no idea if ths is true because you haven't used the headset for ten years, let alone 25.

Also, you have no data on how long the CC-40 actually lasts.

You are just spewing ad copy, nothing factual.

We get it. You think Chris King headsets are worth their weight ion gold. Fantastic. No one wants to take away your headset.

Also, however, none of us want to deceive our fellow riders. We don't want to give bad advice.

Please, show me that actual data which supports your statements.

Yeah, well, I did fifteen years of daily commuting in terrible weather and never had a headset fail. So again ... show me the data, not the ad copy.

Tange Levin, installed late 1981 for use starting in 1982 on my only bike. It's still my only bike and headset, and it's still as smooth as when it was new on the inside. I don't know the mileage, but it was a lot from 1982-1991, 1997-2000 and 2002-2004. Over 2000 miles 2013-2016 - I know that doesn't sound like much, but 2 surgeries kept me off the bike in warm weather.

The Levin is not and was not expensive, but it's progenitor was extremely distinguished. Even so, I wish my budget would cover a Campagnolo NR headset.

I've had three road bikes over the years and I still have (and ride) two of them. I'm not sure what brand headset was on my first road bike, but it did require a tweak or two over the years that I had it.

My two current bikes both have Chris King headsets. I have never touched either one of them -- no adjustments, no nothing. One of the bikes is about 20 years old now and the other is 14 years old.

Admittedly that's not a large sample size... It's entirely possible other headsets would still be going strong. As somebody mentioned above, the longevity issue isn't much of a factor if you replace your bikes with some regularity, but I don't. There's a certain niceness to "set and forget".

Do you want to say that Chris King headsets use a special grease that doesn't dry up in 20 years?

CK headsets have been around for decades. There are plenty of people have experienced their long lives. The CC40 I have was in need of replacement after less than two years of use, and that's the longest lasting headset that has been on that bike. Maybe it's because my head tube is relatively short. Maybe it's because I ride year round, in all weather conditions, usually with a load. In the end, it doesn't matter. The CC40 isn't up to the task.

If you are talking about a $4K bike, sure go for the bling.

But if you are looking at building a bike for under $2000, there is sure as $h!t going to be somewhere else you should be putting $100 than going with a $150 headset over a $50 one.

Regarding the value of a $150 headset (such as a King) over a $50 one (like a Cane Creek 40):

Whether a King will last 2, 3, or 4 times as long is impossible to know...

... and in most cases it is also irrelevant.

In the vast majority of cases, a decent $40-$60 HS is never going to be replaced due to wearing out. Seriously, how many times have you heard of a CC 40 wearing out? Or any properly installed and adjusted $50 headset?

I have used countless $40-$60 headsets in many bikes over the past 20 years. I have needed to replace ONE due to wearing out, and it turned out the head tube was in need of facing, so ANY headset would have been toast. I was glad to be out a $40 Cane Creek S2 rather than a (at the time) $130 King.

15 years ago you may have been able to make the argument that the CK would outlast a frame, or that you could use it on your next build, but now headtube standards change so often that you have no idea if you will be able to use it on your next frame.

So AT BEST a CK MIGHT mean you never have to replace the headset on a bike you keep for a very long time.

But how long are we talking about here that you would not get similar results from a headset for 1/3 the cost?

I have 10 years on the CC 40 on my Karate Monkey, 7 years on the CC 40 on my wife's road bike, and an FSA has been on 3 different mtbs over the past 9 years. All of them are still smooth.

In all the bikes I have owned, I cannot think of a single instance where spending the extra $80-$100 on King would not have been money down the toilet.

My CC40 lasted less than two years of daily commuting/utility use.

There's plenty of people who have used ONE CK headset in many frames, with zero issues, over the same period. You do the math.

personally if I were doing a build keeping $$ in mind, i would direct money into the locations that matter most and just put in the lower priced option in areas like headset or BB. I would want to feel the money I spend first, e.g. cockpit, drivetrain, tires, brakes etc. Then later on I would just upgrade those parts, like headsets and BB or cranks. Kind of like building a house, you upgrade the things that are difficult (or impossible) to upgrade later, then as you live there upgrade the things you didn't get to put in what you really wanted.

But quite honestly, if I were doing a build I'd get caught up in it all, and take my time and bling the whole bike to the 9s.

Sounds like there is something else funky going on there if you are tearing through headsets like that. That is definitely not normal. I've got a cheap caged bearing headset on my 3-season commuter (no snow, little salt) that has been going for 6 years. I carry loads often, too (as in groceries). I do clean and re-grease the headset every few years.

Have you had the head tube properly faced? Sure you are not over-tightening them?

Please explain how you use one headset in a bunch of frames at the same time.

Or one headset in frames taking different headset sizes?

Yeah, I DID do the math, and I am about $1000 ahead of the game skipping the King headsets with zero downsides.

It's not an installation problem.

If expensive headaets really DO last longer than $50 headsets historically (which I do not see evedence of), I am inclined to think that may be due to the people buying them being more likely to take extra steps like getting the head tubed faced.

So one guy tears up a headset in two years and blames the headset.

If I wrecked Any headset in two years I would figure I did something wrong or the head tube needed facing. Back when I used department store bikes and bikes I literally picked up from the side of the road I never had to change a headest. But ... when someone desperately needs to win an argument.

See, .. . we Did the math. it doesn't add up.

I say again---if FOR YOU Chris King is the way to go ... fantastic. But the stories you tell kill your credibility.

I mean, I hope your brother-in-law Chris keeps doing well with his business and all ....

So you did have the head tube faced?

It is common for people to keep their CK headsets when selling their frames, and reinstalling it on their new frame.

It's hard to imagine how buying countless $40-$60 headsets is $1000 cheaper than buying one CK headset. Your local CK dealer is definitely overcharging.

Two years is the LONGEST a cheap headset has lasted me.

This guy ... what a comic. Thanks for the laughs, jaywalk3r.