I'm shopping for an appropriate headset and I've come to a conclusion. Of all the components one can find a reason to waste lots of money on, I believe it's the headset. I'm surprised at how expensive some of them are. In my bike line up, I have an older aluminum bike with the good 'ole caged bearing set-up. No markings on the headset, although I suspect it's a Cane Creek.Works wonderfully! Smooth. Steers to the left and and to the right, and back again, quickly. No play between it and the steerer. I wiped out hard on the bike this past year and the headset was undisturbed. Easy to clean and lube. So I suspect spending $150+ on a new fancy headset is not the smartest thing to do, for my purposes. Does anyone else think this way about headsets?

As long as they use 5/32" or larger bearings, and nothing funky is going on with the headtube or steerer tube, a cheap headset can last a long time if well cared for. And often they can be brought to useable shape even when not properly cared for in the past. On my beater bike, the crown race wasn't just brinneled, the bearings had also carved out a track that was noticeably deeper than how the race was designed. But the wear was evenly distributed, and it feels relatively smooth with fresh grease and bearings.

Cane Creek FTW

I really line CC products. I may jump for their fancy 110 model. Or save $70 with the 40 series and get the exact same performance!

Historically, headsets were an item prone to premature failure, no matter how well "cared-for" they were. For someone riding tons, a season's use was expected, but not much more. Even the "best" Campy headsets failed prematurely. For 1" headsets, this was an issue, which is what prompted Chris King to produce his own. Especially true for 1" mountain bikes. His were come to be known as "lifetime headsets" that would move to your next frame. Then 1 1/4" and 1 1/8" headsets came along and their durability improved. Now add suspension and tapered head tubes to 1 1/2" and headset failure has been greatly reduced or even eliminated.

Another trick to extend headset service life is to toss the bearing retainers into the trash - they're only used to speed the assembly process at the factory, at a detriment to the user: fewer bearings means more force endured per bearing, which means higher probability of bearing damage (brinneling, pitting, etc.) The last bike I restored had 16 5/32" bearings in a cage. Without the cage, I got 26 bearings in the cup (including the gap from the ONE you remove). That's a 61.5% increase in bearings! So if you want your headset to last longer, toss the bearing retainer & add more! (Prep the head tube and be sure to use grade 25 or better replacement bearings.)

The CC 40 is a perfectly good headset and will probably last the life of the bike. The CC 110 does have better sealing, and is made with some slightly better materials. If you are going to regularly ride in really nasty conditions -- rain, mud, dust -- the 110 might be worth it.

FWIW, the 110 in my main gravel bike has >27k trouble-free miles on it. One day I might even service it.

During Covid I wasn't able to get the CC40 I wanted and had to go to Amazon for a headset. Made me cringe, but I did it and ended up with a Jessica cartridge headset. It has been perfect. The Chris King headset I have on a touring bike has been on two mountain bikes, a commuter bike, and now serves on yet another touring bike. Gotta say the price was worth it 20 years later as it is still in use!

As someone who owns one bike with a Chris King NoThreadSet, and another with a Cane Creek 110, I'm probably not the target audience for OP's diatribe... but, in fairness, those were the stock headsets offered by the builders who made those frames, so I wasn't going to quibble over a few bucks or try to second-guess the framebuilder when it came to non-a la carte component choices.

The one time I've ever spent money on (just) a headset, it was a VeloOrange model, cost me $36. It worked. :::shrugs:::
Didn't look or feel as nice as the Chris King or the Cane Creek, but the bike I put it on was a 40-year-old Bridgestone so who cares?

For my Lynskey frames, I bought the Wolf Tooth Headsets, has very nice Enduro Bearings and was not super expensive. I've also use a Cane Creek 110 in the past and I think it was $70-ish if I remember, excellent setup.

I have Cane Creek on everything I own. My son also. All headsets seem to work well nowadays. I live in really dry conditions. So there's that consideration. I'm also considering FSA headsets. Just need to figure out the right size. I think my steerer tube tapers from 1 1/8 to 1 1/2. But I'll have to measure to be sure.

22 years ago, when I was building my "good" bike, only a King NoThreadSet would do. I don't regret that decision - >100k miles later, it's still smooth as silk. However, when building up a travel bike this year, an FSA Orbit-X for 1/5 the cost of a King made more sense. Is a King headset five times better? Not really

I've been using the Orbit headsets in pretty much everything for several years now. Threaded and threadless both. Never had a problem. Really excellent in every way IMO.

Half of your post is talking about how things were 30 or more years ago.
The other half suggests doing something that isn't applicable for cartridge bearing headsets...which is what the overwhelming majority of headsets are, for bike shop level bikes these days.

So funny...Just pulled my frame out of the box to take some measurements and found an FSA headset packaged therein. Very nice surprise. What a great company.

So the thread was...pointless.

cool that you have a headset.

Between your wheel concerns and confusion, your unawareness of how seatpost offset should be determined, not knowing your frame uses a pressfit BB, not being up on electronic shifting, and not knowing what 142mm spacing is...should you be building this frame into a bike?
Perhaps taking it to a shop and asking them to assist with component spec, would be beneficial.

And the pun was intended....and very funny!

Thank you. And yes, I'll have my LBS build it all out. But allow me to ask you mstateglfr, do we not endeavor into things, ask questions, make mistakes, all so as to learn?

Yes, of course- making mistakes and then learning is one way to go about building up a bike frame.

Yes, Grasshopper. When you can take the stone from my hand.

I loved that show. And I'm trying. I remember my first build. Rim brake, mechanical. Had no idea what I was doing. But, I figured it out, as we all do. I'm now trying to figure out this whole electronic, hydraulic, carbon, 142 mm rear thingy. I think I'll get there, in great part due he the excellent direction I receive here. And for that, thank you all!

I never had any issues with any headset on any of my bikes. And I rode some cheap bikes throughout my life. Other than a few of the old threaded headsets that were just a tad different in the way they were supposed to be adjusted than the others.

And I really find it hard to believe that some can tell the difference between them for just the very few degrees it's moved while actually riding a bike.

Or is all the difference in perception of the headsets just when turned by hand in the work stand?

I saw a video where bike mechanics were interviewed about the most overrated bike components. One guy thought that the headset is the most overrated competent, and he made lots of sense. I still haven't run into a headset that is problematic or gave a "cheap" feeling.

I just replaced my first headset bearing ever (about $10) on a CX bike that I jump and beat the snot out of... meaning, it's something I never even had to think about other than some grease every so often... meaning to me - an expensive one is an over rated item. (But I tend to think that way about a bunch of things)