Chris King headset is a MUST for grocery haulers. Campy EPS as well. And a bell. Hamburger bell.

Dont feel bad for me. It isnt unfortunate that my free time is worth nothing. Thats why its called free time. I appreciate and feel fortunate to have free time.
You cant spare 30min(the time it takes to remove old and insert new) every few years to swap out a headset? Man, with such a busy schedule, its now me who sees your situation as unfortunate. Again, its surprising you manage to type so much here with a schedule where your free time costs you money.

I really dont have a dog in this fight- your means of transport and grocery getter rocks a headset that exceeds the value of probably 85% of groclcery fetter bikes(at least where i live). More power- thats a sweet piece of metal you have. Get after it and great that your headset woes are a thibg of the past. Sucks you had to go the proverbial nuclear option route, but cool that your problems are no more.

And yes, obviously a shop needs to be paid. I recpgnized that in the earlier post. No need to condescendingly say 'who knew'?


Yup, its a hobby for me most everyone on these forums. The commuting and car free forums have some who cycle only for life, but even there, many consider cycling a hobby in addition to lifestyle.
Get the best of everything and be proud of it. I cant see my relatively low end CC40 headset failing any time soon when all my threaded headset bikes have original headsets from 25-40 years ago and they work just fine. The bikes dont live outside though, i ride them then hang em up.

This is a Dutch bike. I'll bet the headset could use a little TLC:)

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...e_rusty_22.jpg

I think you'll find that they have, across the price spectrum, components designed for heavy-duty utility bikes expected to live outside. We do not have the luxury in the US, where the bicycle industry targets fair weather recreational cyclists.

I guess all those Dutch bikes must use Chris King headset ... otherwise they;'d all have broken down so often the Nertherlands would be bankrupt.

How incredibly ridiculous this thread had gotten.

FWI, the CC 40 is not relatively low end. I'll wager a $50 headset is in the top 5% of headsets out there on "real" bikes (in other words, not including dept store bikes).

Throw in dept store bikes and it is in the top 1%.

Why did you go with a Travel Agent (that spool thing at the top of the brake), rather than just getting mini-v's?

Its low end relative to the King. Thats what I meant.

Fully agree that its in the top few % of all bikes.

For Cane Creek and Chris King headsets as well as many other manufacturers, the aluminum is anodized, not painted. I can't ever recall seeing a painted headset except on some really cheap Big Box BSOs.

That's what many people say to justify not paying for the steak.

Personally, I choose the "bling" not for the shininess but for more substantial reasons. I have King headsets on everything because they simply work. I have one headset that has moved from 3 different bikes...two off-road mountain bikes and one commuter bike...with a combined maintenance free mileage of nearly 30,000 miles over almost 20 years. Prior to that I replaced threaded headsets on almost a per ride basis. Even threadless, which are much less prone to loosening, had a higher replacement rate than the King headsets I have now.

The same can be said of my hubs. I bought them for their ease...nay, lack...lay of maintenance and for the ease of replacing bearings if things go sideways in the middle of no where.

As for bottom brackets, my personal choices are a bit "blingy" there as I've never worn out of cartridge style bottom bracket of any brand. I'll agree that the higher end ones don't offer much of an advantage.

Not to question your experience but how much off-roading did your Ross see? Up until the advent of threadless headset, loosening of the headset in off-road use was a constant problem for me and many others. In the late 80s and early 90s there was a thriving cottage industry making locking headset nuts to keep that problem from happening. They mostly failed but that didn't keep the industry from thriving for a while.

Thank you. Most of my bikes are built with Tange Levin headsets. When I feel like splurging, I'll go with the $30 Levin NJS. I do have one bike with a Record headset, but that still was not quite $50.

Sorry, and no direct disrespect intended, but that is flat BS.

One ride per headset?

Why is it that ninety percent of the people who post here (many who ride several thousand or tens of thousands of miles per year) seem to get tens of thousands of miles out of their headsets regularly, but the Chris King fans can't do 100 miles with those headsets?

I can tell you why---purchase justification delusion.

I am completely happy that some people can get 30,000 miles out of a headset. I don't see why that would be unusual.

I am completely happy that some people buy Chris King headsets.

What bothers me is that the people who buy Chris King headsets make ridiculous claims about their own (who here had 150,000 miles on a CK headset? I am sure someone will Claim that,) and others' headsets.

What makes it comical is people claim that the best headsets below the Chris Kings only last a couple rides or a couple years ... while plenty of us have had low-cost headsets for ten thousand miles without any maintenance at all.

It is as if someone came running up at noon screaming about how it was night time---"That huge glowing ball in the sky is Not There. It is not light here---it is dark."

I don't care if you buy three Chris King headsets and carry a couple in your saddle bags just to have them. It is your money and your bike.

But when you keep telling me complete BS which 90 percent of the posters here Know is BS ..... well, also your option.

Wow! Who knew that headsets were items that would bring such passion and divisiveness? However, other than potential longevity, I'm not seeing any other benefit to the expensive headset. Or at least everyone has hyper-focused on longevity, and maybe there are other performance benefits out there that haven't been discussed?

Can't stop laughing, just when I thought this thread couldn't get sillier. Every ride, right. Only thing more over-priced than a CK headset is CK hubs. $700 a pair when there's DT 350, same weight, much longer lasting, easier to service, $280 a pair. When you need different axle-ends on DT hubs, no problem, simple end cap swap, CK requires new axles, ouch, that's another couple hundo $$. I guess if all you ride is leftover 90's era MTB frames it makes sense to buy CK....

Ok, so earlier in this thread, I said my time isnt worth anything. Its a hobby, I wouldnt otherwise be earning $ if not riding, etc.
Keeping that in mind, even I would find it a waste of time to replace a headset every ride. Thats a lot of work, worth nothing, just to get to ride again.

A new headset on each ride?...what was going on?!?! Good lord thats costly, even back in the 80s and 90s.

"Headsets are pretty durable, and hardly ever need to be serviced if your bicycle has a front fender. If you ride without a front fender in wet conditions, the front tire will spray filthy, gritty water right up into the lower race. (It is the lower race that supports your weight. Most headset failures occur at the lower race." - Sheldon Brown

As usual, Sheldon has wisdom that cuts through the silliness factor that has taken hold in this thread.


With just under 20k miles on my road / commuter bike, that I frequently ride in the rain (but with fenders), I've taken the headset apart once to inspect it. No issues. Lightly greased, put it back together and forget about it. Don't even know what it is...whatever came on the 2007 Tricross Comp. It should last another 20k miles at least.

One additional factor that seems to be lost in the fuzzy math and baseless assumptions used to justify a King over a $50 CC 40 is that a worn out CC 40 does NOT cost $50 to replace.

It will cost $20 to replace, and be incredibly easy.

Even if it does wear out (which it likely never will), you only need to replace the cartridge bearings, not the cups. This is very simple with no special tolls needed, because you do not need to remove and re-press in cups. And they cost $20 for replacement CC40 bearings.

So now you need to wear out 6 CC40s in order to have been better off with a King.

Ain't ever going to happen, not even close. One is hard pressed to find people wearing out even ONE CC40 (unless you count the guy who even after multiple headset failures of different brands still does not even check the headtube alignment/facing).

Apples and oranges in this thread.

A Chris King headset is comparable to a Cane Creek 110, not the 40.

Both the Chris King and Cane Creek 110 are similarly constructed and around the same price. The Cane Creek 40 series is a step down.

A Cane Creek 40 has a 40 year warranty. That is not a short period.


-Tim-

Has anyone mentioned colors? The expensive stuff tends to come in different colors. Colors are important.

Sanity check: more expensive options are "worth it" to a lot of cyclists, and I can't believe that they're all throwing money away just for a brand. Headsets specifically, I selected Origin8 which for me has been install and forget for (maybe) 20k or 25K miles. It's about the last priority that I'd be tempted to upgrade on my bike so to me, a more expensive headset is definitely not worth it. For others, maybe the peace of mind, or the warm feeling of knowing that you have the highest quality for this most critical component is worth it. I can see that, and couldn't argue otherwise if someone felt that way.

I can't see why I would want more than a Shimano cartridge bottom bracket either, but I have little doubt that there some circumstances - which I don't typically experience - where even I would prefer one of higher quality. So it's useless to gainsay it. The body of experience is so large, for such an extended period of time, that it's only reasonable to take it as a given that any of the more expensive options have a legitimate purpose in the right environment.

I live 45 minutes from the shop that made my wife's frame, and get in there regularly. When we were in there getting my wife measured, I saw a complete bike they had just finished on their showroom floor. It was set up with the Avid Single Digit 7 brakes using a Travel Agent. I figured they knew what they were doing, and set up her bike the same way.

Haven't bothered to read through most of the absurdity.

Just took the headset out of a 20 year old bike. No corrosion at all, not falling apart, just some brindling. Didn't have a name on it, but looks suspiciously like a Ritchie Logic. This is a bike that was used as a college commuter and kept outdoors for the better part of five years, which most parts were in various states of rusting. Was just going to toss some extra bearings in and call it good, but I figured since I was going to keep it for another 20, I may as well do things right when it was apart.

I don't know where the line of quality starts, but I do know that Tange Sekais Levins are MUCH better than Sunlites.

FWIW, all my other bikes which predate me presumably have their original headset. None of them are marked as anything special, and none are in an unusable (or even brindled) state.

My wife has a CK headset on her bike, and I have mid-range Cane Creek headsets on my bikes. I chose the components for our bikes.

The reason for the CK on my wife's bike is it that they were available where her frame was being made. The shop was going to face the head tube, and would install a CK headset for me at a good price. Her bike was going to be a retirement present from me, and I wanted it to be something special.

The reason I have Cane Creek headsets on my bikes is because they work!

I do have Paul Cantilever brakes on 3 bikes, all purchased used at very reasonable prices. I believe that the cost is worth it in this case. I've gone through several sets of "good" brands of cant- brakes. Most of the time it was the centering adjustment screw in one of the arms either stripping or becoming inoperable due to wear. Paul brakes have a very simple centering system that is quick and robust. The extra cost was worth the benefit of having very smooth effective brakes.

Doug - that, IMO, is a great reason to drop some extra money on something. :thumb:

Not that I'm against anyone spending whatever they want on their own bikes - I'm not. That's totally cool and their option. But the folks asserting that lesser headsets wear out regularly are just talking nonsense.

Don't get me wrong, King stuff is top-notch and all, and if someone likes the bling and is willing to spring for it, so be it (I like it, but am not willing to spring for it...) but one does NOT have to spend that kind of money to get functionality AND durability. Personally, I've NEVER had a headset fail- be it on a BSO, a decent quality road bike or a higher-end one.

And ironically, the only bottom bracket/crankset I've ever had an issue with, was a BB30 and carbon cranks and aftermarket chainrings, which all together cost more than some road bikes. And just ask owners of some of those 11-speed SRAM Red front derailleurs (I think those were the ones?) about functionality and durability.... :D

Whether you buy a $40 headset or a $300, chances are, either one will last longer than you'll need it to; and the weight difference isn't going to mean diddleysquat. Only real difference is the look and feel. (Or just to get away from all of this boring black stuff!)