So I got new job recently and to celebrate I decided I needed a new bike. I've wanted a relaxed road/touring/railtrail/general use bike for a while so I scanned the offerings from all the major producers. I had my heart set on the Masi Speciale but instead pulled the trigger on the Nashbar touring frame and fork and decided to build out the frame myself.

With my life story complete, lets talk headsets. Specifically, what should I get and why? I know I need a pretty standard 1 1/8" threadless so I have _many_ options to choose from but I'm a little confused about where the cost to quality curve is at it's best point for a budget conscious build. I know Chris King is supposed to make the finest headsets but I think they are a little out of the price range for this build. A friend has recommended Cane Creek S3 as a budget-minded but still quality option. What say you, BF Touring forum; are there other headsets I should be looking at?

(pssst, Ill let you in on a secret: they all work the same and for years and years, spend your money on stuff that matters.)

/thread

I'd have to agree. Even on the remote chance that they fail they don't typically render the bike unrideable leaving you stranded.

You can spend $30 or you can spend $300 and the difference is pretty much zero in the total touring experience. Once some pretty minimal standard of suitability has been met the same could be said of pretty much all of the components IMO.

On my LD bike, I went through three headsets, all supposedly decent quality, before I bought a Chris King. End of story. It's true that it's less important if you don't ride in the rain.

I don't worry about them. I fished around for one with lower roller bearings to deal with the load. The CK is eye candy on custom bikes etc... Where it makes the statement that no cost was spared on the components.

One thought is that you should possibly source this part from your LBS since you may require a headtube reamer and/or crown reamer to install it.

If you're worried about it, install a front fender and use an inexpensive Cane Creek or FSA headset. The front fender keeps the junk away from your headset.

I like me some Chris King too, but headsets usually give you plenty of warning before they go, and the bike's still rideable even after the headset goes.

I have been using Cane Creek headset for years. I have the used both the S3 and S2. I have no complaints about the quality of the headsets they make. If the time ever comes that I need a new one, I will probably drool over the Chris King ones for a long while, but pull the trigger on another Cane Creek.

Thanks for all the helpful replies. It looks like it'll be a CC or FSA, whatever I can get a decent deal on.

go talk to larry black at Mt Airy bikes and see if he has an old stronglight needle bearing set in his parts collection. those are the only ones worth spending on...

If you are patient you can often score a used Chris King HS on Ebay for a reasonable cost. All my bike except for one have CK headsets, and I never regretted the cost.

I also have a Cane Creek S6 on my 26" touring bike, and it compares favorably to the CK ones. I've installed Cane Creek S3 on a few friends' bikes, and it seemed like a nice cross between reasonable cost and good build quality.

While I am a sucker for "ultimate builds", the headset is one of the first places I'd make a compromise. The $30 Cane Creek is all you need.

Speedo

If you stretch a section of innertube over the lower headset race,
it will be sealed well from the elements.
of course fitting mudguards is a real help.

NB stronglight tapered needle bearing headsets are Good,
But I'm only familiar with the 1" threaded types.

only the bottom race gets hammered, anyway .

when it does , replace it, don't over think this by pre-worrying ..
:

I just installed an FSA with needle bearings this past year, so we'll see how that holds up. Have used many Cane Creek S2 and S3's, good bang for the buck. Only one I would not use would be an Aheadset, durability and quality were relatively poor but then again they were cheap.

I never understood all the hype about headsets. It's about the last thing on my bike I ever think about.

I read Origin8 re-brands parts from other makers. Does anyone know who makes the Origin8 Pro-Pulsion Torq-Lite headsets?

I would say that I feel the same way about most components. Even the fairly low end stuff is completely functional these days. Yeah you can still find junk, but especially for touring, the parts that come as original equipment on even the low end touring bikes are fine. The exception not being quality of parts, but inadequate gearing on some.

I guess the bottom line is that for me touring is about the places, the people, and the riding and not much about the bike itself.

I can't remember EVER being on a ride and thinking to myself that life would be better if I had a better component somewhere on my bike. I have always had decent or very nice stuff, so maybe that's part of the reasoning, but I remember when integrated headsets were becoming all the rage and some of my mountain biking friends would wax on about the virtues of their exotic headset and I would just nod dumbly and wonder what it was that I didn't understand about something so "important"...

CK is a nice HS. I have one on my fancy bike. Because of it's cost, it doesn't make sense to use CK except on a >$2000 bike, IMO.

Cane Creek and FSA are pretty good, I've used several of each. I've had some CCs with defective crown races. I use split crown races now, or choose HSs with them to simplify installation and fork changes.

OP, you didn't state intended brake type (canti or vee), but it can affect your HS choice. Some HSs don't exactly fit well to available brake hangers. On many, you have to add spacers between the hanger and HS so that the hanger won't interfere with the HS's top cup. I found an attractive, inexpensive HS with a small outer diameter that lets me install a canti brake hanger above it with only a 5mm spacer, linked below.

https://cgi.ebay.com/X-Lite-Pro-1-1-8...mZ300500221837

The problem with using more spacers is that it moves the hanger up closer to the handlebar, thus reducing the brake housing/cable bending radius and creating a potential pinch area that may cause cable drag and affect brake performance.

The X-lite aka Origin HS linked above is a good deal for <20 bucks shipped. I have 2 installed with ~5,000 miles so far, and no problems. Like most HSs these days, they have top and bottom "sealed" cartridge bearings. Even these cheap HSs will last a long time if you keep them out of the rain, so that water isn't trapped and rusts the bearings.

Here's a more elegant (and costly) solution to handling canti brake hangers - a HS with hanger integrated into the top cap:

https://cgi.ebay.com/FSA-Orbit-X-CX-1...item3a60721376

I first used a Chris King HS in 1978 on our Santana Road Tandem. I have regreased it once since then. Another CK HS from 1989 on my Ti BG RNR was just serviced by CK after 21 years for the first time. I think the Divide Ride pounding finally made that necessary.

I calculate cost amortized over the long run and CK HSs are cheap by that measure. I also use fenders on all of the bikes -single and tandem- from new that also protect the HS from debris thus extending service life and service interval.

On the first long tour my wife and I did on our tandem, the headset totally failed without warning on the Yellowhead hwy. While we were pondering our options, we met a lawyer from Kamloops who gave us and our bike a ride into town. There was a great bike shop that found some fancy roller-bearing replacement and put us on our way. We were lucky to have been bailed out; the bike was totally unrideable. Don't skimp on the headset if you are going to use the bike for any extended tours. It is a one-time expense when done right. It may leave you stranded, or worse, if you cut this corner. I consider the headset second only to the wheels when it comes to critical component decisions.

By the way, that headset is finally being replaced after 21 years; the forks are due for replacement so the head-tube is being re-bored to modern standards to accommodate the new forks.

Cane Creek S3 is what I use on my bikes. The bearings are well sealed, and once you install/adjust them, you can pretty much ignore them. I actually like them better than Chris King headsets (I've used both). Ever wonder why Chris King said that the split/compression-ring wasn't necessary, but when Cane Creek's patent ran out, King suddenly started using it (more here)?

+1. I've never had a headset need replacing. With that, I'd buy the middle of the road name brand headset, and you'll be set for thousands of miles...

...care to elaborate as to what broke and why it made the bike useless?

Also, unrelated to the topic at hand, why is your fork "due" for replacement?

Just curious

Answer: a mightily screwed up headset can certainly make the bike dangerous and unridable at speed and in curves, however, the reality is that headsets almost never fail dramatically *anymore*, at least not modern headsets. This post describes an incident 21 years ago (1989). In 1989 cheap headsets were loose bearing models with caged ball bearings. A blown cage could bend into the races and sieze a headset rather quickly. The replacement with a roller bearing headset (almost certainly a Stronglight A9, or perhaps a Miche) was a good move and has lasted 21 years. The reality is that even the cane creek S3 is far superior to any of the headsets available in 1989. The "one time cost done right" need not be more than 30 bucks or so.

I don't wanna ever think about my headset. So it pisses me off when it wears out and my steering's sloppy and floppy over rough terrain. So I finally started buying Kings and I haven't regretted it. They're expensive, but they last forever and I like that. I don't know, some people complain about the cost, but I like things to work. That's why I wear $100 gloves...although I really tried hard to find a cheaper alternative.