King, no thread

curlyrobert

I have a King no-thread mtb head set and I realise that with a 10yr warranty and the fact it is about that age and I have never had to service it and it is still super smooth perhaps answers my next question:

I have a trek Madone 5.2 which came with a cane creek S2 h/s which works fine, but I keep finding myself looking at the king.

is there a notable difference in the smoothness in different baring materials? is there any benefit in upgrading this part (without just wanting to upgrade for the sake of it)

Also is King still the best? it has been largely unchanged for 13yrs, it revolutionised the sealed cartridge h/s but wouldn't a new Ritchey WCS carbon for example be lighter and just as smooth, and last without need for service for more than likely the life of a bike?

I guess my question is that like the Thompson elite stems and seat pin's, Chris King no-thread sets revolutionised the market some years ago and have not changed their designs since. they still get great reviews but has their technology not been surpassed?

whyamihere

Kings are still the best, yes. The bearings are significantly better than most of the competition, and they last forever. As it's available, go for it.

curlyrobert

Ahh,

I have an 06 Madone so I can

(on the other hand I should not be so happy that I don't have an 08 model...)

surely in 10 years the competition would have come up with something at least as good. there seems to be plenty of innovation in terms of design, for example the new look crank brothers headsets, or the carbon WCS.

whyamihere

Most of the innovation has gone into the internal headsets (I notice that you saw my post referencing them before the rapid edit on seeing your signature picture ). Also, King hold the reputation as the best, meaning that nobody else can really get away with charging £100 for a headset. As a result, there's a massive amount of competition between, say, £25-60, but a lot less competition at King level.