Dumb question...What justifies a $120 Headset vs. a cheaper one?
 

SO I'm looking at headsets on ebay, and I am noticing quite a difference in prices. You can find them as cheap as $7, on up to $120 for a Chris King. What makes a headset retail for $120, condsidering that they basically serve the same function as a cheaper model?

why buy a colnago when a huffy serves the same function?

Some of the more pricey headsets have sealed replaceable cartridge bearings and weigh less. I think at 120bucks for a CK your paying for the name and color selection. there are plenty of good headsets out there between 30 and 70bucks.

How do the Campagnolo headsets rank as far as build quality and such?

the construction and attention to detail in manufacturing make the difference.
an expensive headset will have sealed bearings and the tolerances will be way tighter, a cheaper one will have looser tolerances and loose ball bearings. they will both feel smooth when new and assembled correctly. but over time, the cheap one will wear and need maintenance, it might even become 'indexed' if neglected.
the expensive one will stay smooth and require practically no maintenance.
if you put a cheap one on a frame you plan on keeping for a while, you may have to change it later, and removing headset cups kinda sucks. the expensive one will probably never need to be changed, just serviced almost never.
and like timezero said, $30-70 gets you a good headset..

To narrow the division: why pay $120 for a CK over a $50 Cane Creek? I'm not saying I wouldn't ever do this, but why would *you*? Good build quality, sealed bearings, reliability, smoothness, and ease of service are characteristics of both.

one of the things you're forgetting about the chris king headsets is that they're made in the u.s., the company pays its workers well and provides really good benefits, AND they are very environmentally sensitive.

baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

i work in the US and i get paid ****

Drop it in and forget it. That is what you pay for.

I got one a month ago, and this was part of the reason. Worth every penny, to me.

Nobody has yet mentioned that the CK headsets have been crafted by the gods.

I like Chris King for the reasons dolface said, plus the fact that they're in my own city and it makes me feel good to throw money toward a real company employing real workers who also happen to make what is probably the best headset in the world. Plus sporting one on my bike makes me feel like a pimp. :D

Also Chris King will rebuild your headset at no cost to you within the first ten years of its life. They don't care if you are the orig. owner or the 50th.

After that they charge but it's still cheaper than a new one.

What about the fact that they don't obsoletize parts? Your King headset from 1982 can use the same replacement parts as your 2005 set. Phil Wood and Chris King should run off to Canada and be wed.

amen

dude that olympia is just class! i love roller lever brakes

Thanks. It's my little souvenir from my stay in Italy. My wife has a Bianchi that sorta matches

hatta fuucking swan!

one other aspect that bumps up the price of a CK, they make their bearings in-house. unheard of for any other headset. its all about the tolerances.

Search function is at the top...

Chris King also do nice things like donate money to breast cancer research.

blahblahblah

p.s. I use a 1" threaded Dura Ace. $89.

Well, Chris King headsets got the reputation they got by being much, much better than Campy. He basically opened up the market for all the other headset makers and has been sitting at the top of the heap ever since. I'm not sure how that translates into today's parts though. Campy may have (probably did) improved their bearings. Personally I'd go with a mid-priced part. Something like a Cane Creek S-2.

An excellent headset and a damned good value.