I just got back from a LBS and was told that Chris King Headsets (sealed threadless) are not worth the money ($130). They don't carrry it and offered something similar from FSA ($50). Should I take his word for it. I'm not too familiar with FSA so I ended up walking out with nothing...

Thought I'd ask the experts opinion here.

i have and 2 of my friends have an FSA the pig headset. no problems with them yet. as for chris king, i havent tried those, but $130 does seem a little excesive.

... and yet people keep going back. There must be some real advantage to them. Veterans?

Yes.

$130 for a headset that has a 10 year warranty on it, that headset will likely out live your current bike. That $130 is very well worth it.

Kings are Kreaky

I believe that ten years ago Chris Kings were worth the money, they far exceded any other headset made. Now I think that there are a lot of good headsets out there, many just as good for half the price.

I'm not sure if it's worth $130, but my Kris King is 7 yrs old, on it's 2rd bike, and works
perfectly. Never had to do anything at all to it.
Wish I could say yhat for all my MTB parts.
If what your looking for is buy it and forget it, then the King may be worht it to you.

That's worth $130 to me ( although i paid $99 in 2000 ), besides, it's USA made.

And no, I've never tried FSA.

no

https://www.danscomp.com/301046.php

I have used one of these for a long time with no problems on my bmx, and now on my mtb. It is sooo smooth and has a massive race to support the needle bearings.

I've got the FSA headset on one of my bikes. It's only been 2 years, but no problems yet. Knocks on wood.

I got the King headset because of his environmental practices. I also got it cuz when it hits the ground, it sounds like this, "BLING..." FSA makes nice headsets, too I reckon, hmmmm....

No, it's not. You can get a headset off Nashbar for $25. If it lasts 2.25 years, it's equivalent to a Chris King. It will probably last longer. You can use the money you save on something else. Even if you eventually buy 4 headsets instead of one Chris King, it's still not worth it to buy the Chris King.

They look great, are vurrrrry smoooth (if set up properly,) and have a great warranty. But a lot of other headsets offer that nowadays as well.

For example, these, which I just stumbled across today: https://www.benscycle.net/index.php?m...9379d4ed2d03dc. They're German, and apparently quite well-made. Cane Creek models can be really nice, too. 8-year warranties on most of theirs, I think. I'd be lying if I said I'll never buy another King headset, but there's other good options. If you're planning on building a really decent bike, though, I'd say $80 would be a good starting point for headsets.

King headsets are largely a fashion item in today's world as the quality of the competition has increased since the days when King made their reputation.

$40 Cane Creek Ahead set on the mtb is 7 years old with over 9000 miles on it. Still going strong.

I've been using the same CK headset since '99. I've never given it any maintenance, and I really don't even know it exsists most of the time except when I gaze lovingly at it. It cost a small fortune ($100 at the time) and was worth every penny. It also came with a 10-year warranty, and I don't think anyone else backs their headsets like that (though I haven't actually looked into that).

CK = worth it! But you won't be crying if you get an FSA or a Cane Creek, either.

Chris King is worth it! Period. Two of my bikes has Chris King on it and never had a problem.

One of mine has a old FSA and it drives me nuts! No matter how tight I get it, it comes loose after two rides.

I think a couple other brands that are OK are WTB, Cane Creek, and Hope. Hope are also expensive. I have one and its working out pretty good. Cane Creek and WTB cost less but they are ok. Not too bad. I heard the new FSA are ok as well actually.

But if you have the cash, go with King! Its the best you can get out there.

Or maybe you can give IRD a try...I heard that its similar to King but its half the price.

+1 The competition has come a long way to bridge the gap over the years.

Also, people should not kid themselves. The cost of bike parts is a combination of R&D, manufacturing costs, marketing costs, and demand by the consumers. There is always a premium that goes above and beyond the actual "performance" of any given part. That premium is equal to how much they can charge that people will still actually pay. My opinion is that this is especially true for road bike parts & accessories.

Best "bang for the buck" are the few Cane Creek S-2 headsets I bought from Nashbar for about $10 each. Precision fit, replaceable sealed cartridge bearings, not a ton of "bling" but they just work.

FSA Pig is a worthy competitor. I don't think king sets are worth it, I think a lot of the money goes to the bling factor. They are made well, but personally, I haven't destroyed a pig headset, so whats that make king....overkill. I cant afford to pay for overkill.

All 5 bikes in my house have fsa pigs. One has had the same headset and bearings for 6 or 7 years now. I have hucked it, jumped it, downhilled with it, and then of course standard xc. Never a problem.

Oh and I am 6'5 270ish and ride like a hack.

Hope is cool.

Pray?

hahhaahah, damn you're fast!

On a roll ....just started my actual vacation and I am a posting machine...hahaha