expensive headsets

kopite1979

i`ve been perving at other peoples bikes and noticed that alot of them have either hope or chris king headsets, which we know are quite expensive.
what i want to know is, why would you spend 100 quid on one? and what do they actually do?

Andy B

Lifetime guarantee on CK headsets, very high quality parts

Hope headsets are also of a very high quality.

same with any bike parts, the higher the quality & lighter they are the more expensive they are.

kopite1979

i get that bit but, what exactly does a headset do?

ThanksBye

Its the bearings which allow the fork steerer to turn nicely, allowing you to turn the handlebars smoothly

Dazzza

Bearings are easily serviceable as well, plus you can upgrade the bearings should you find the right size say ceramic for instance.

kopite1979

100 quid for a smooth turn of the handlebars.. seems a bit O.T.T. to me but... thanks for clearing that up

hucking_fell

I think that if most folk were honest they'd admit they get them 'cos they come in pretty colours.

Bling ! 8)

yoohoo999

put a £15 headset on and ride your bike hard for a couple of months.

then try enjoying going for a ride when your entire bike judders when you brake, your steering becomes sketchy, and every time you drop off so much as a kerb it feels like your entire bike is about to fall to pieces.

put a hope or chris king headset on and ride your bike hard for a couple of months.

then a couple more, then some more etc etc etc.


durability, quality of finish, weight, warranty

the headset is the centre piece of your cockpit, every movement flows through it. A hope headset is only £60 and will last longer than 100 cheap headsets.

It's a worthwhile purchase.

Then again, if you've a got a £200 Apollo bike and you rarely do anything on it other than cycle to school and back, then it's probably a bit overkill.

headsets are one of those parts that you either have to acknowledge that you will need to spend a decent amount of cash on a good one, or be replacing not so good ones often.

ThanksBye

You say you got to replace them often, all i need to do if every few months strip down, regrease and its fine

nicklouse

yoohoo999
sorry wrong, if you dont maintain your headset yes it can happen.

But a maintained headset will last years. whether it is a 15 or 100 pound one.
Infact the one on my old MTB must be 20 years old and is fine.

why do people fit expensive headsets?

Bling/colour and name. and for some easy of bearing replacement.

what is interesting is that many of the cheaper headsets are getting as good as the "Boutique" ones. (if not better).

yoohoo999

nicklouse

if you look at my post, the actual reason I gave for some headset being more expensive was:

"durability, quality of finish, weight, warranty"

In my experience, a well maintained headset made of a more durable material (such as 2014 aluminium) will perfom better for a longer period of time than a well maintained headset made of a less durable material.

Even the subtle differences between 6061 and 2014 would be noticeable over time.

I haven't got access to the full document, but a brief summary can be found here:

http://resources.metapress.com/pdf-preview.axd?code=vw2071356n78152p&size=largest

Anonymous

i use hope cause it makes me look cool

nicklouse

yoohoo999
but there you are only referring to headsets that have cups that are just to locate the bearings. (also not all headsets use cups).

what about the cheap headsets that have steel cups/races (some expensive headsets have steel cups I know.

the deformation of an aluminum headset cup is one of the last issues that people have with headsets.

mea00csf

When i built my bike up i put Hope headset, bottom bracket and wheel hubs on as they have a reputation for durability and when something does go wrong, they have easy to follow guides and vids on service and repair. They also seem to provide spares for old models for eternity. Also, being UK based small ish company would make speaking to someone about replacement parts/warranty issues/anything else you can think of, much much easier.

bomberesque

I have been riding various bikes for 30 some years, mountainbikes for 20 and I have never understood the interest in 100 pound headsets. A simple headset is so easy to diagnose (lift the front of the bike, turn the steerer with your fingertips) and so easy to strip clean and fix (*loads* easier than a cup and cone hub for example) and so easy to keep properly adjusted that I've never been able to convince myself to spend more than about 25 quid on one

and I'm not sure I can remember *ever* wearing one out

Plus there's nothing in the weight, usually.

Thus I just fitted a 20 quid Cane Creek IS headset to a 1500 pound carbonium frame. Save the difference and spend it on upgrading your brakes, or something.

100 pound bottom brackets, now yer talkin'

turnerjohn

I used to murder headsets and was getting right peed off keep changing them.
Bought one Chris King but my life it was worth it ! Even when I through after a few years I'd best check it, I found no wear and even the original grease still clean !!!...and yes I do hum get the jet wash a little close sometimes ! So far I've had them on 3 bikes and not a problem once. In my opinion worth it for the no hassle fit and forget aloan !

yoohoo999

nicklouse

agreed, but my whole point is that it all comes back to a balance of "durability, quality of finish, weight, warranty"

Some material will be more durable, but heavier - and some lighter but less durable.

some will be very resistant to the elements for example, but have poor finishing.

IMO, for £60, Hope churn out a product that is a good balance of durability, quality of finish, weight and warranty provision.

There are, I agree, products on the market for £30 which are excellent - but I don't feel that many can match the overall £60 "value" of a Hope headset.

I've got an old 14.5" Avalanche frame I built up in 1998 for playing around the in the street and general jumping duties. Just something to thrash around when I wasn't playing too far away from home.

It became like the youngest brother of a family - all the components that were being replaced on my XC and DH bikes were being cast off onto the Avalanche.

I've always been a fan of Hope and it wasn't long before the Avalanche was covered in Hope kit after I bought a newer verison for my other bikes.

I gave the bike to my little cousin years ago when he wanted a bike to use at a dirt track near his house. Whenever I go back home to Scotland to visit family, I always look in his garage for the bike and it's always there, still being used - still with the same Hope kit on it.

That's 11 years of treating a bike like it was a bouncy ball. It's been maintained to a reasonable degree, but there probably isn't a tree, wall or rock in the West of Scotland that the poor bike hasn't hit at some point.

The Hope kit (for the most part) still works well. In my book, that's worth every penny I could have spent on it.


While I agree that there is a point when products become excessively expensive, but I really do see the benefit of some kit over others, and often it's the kit that cost that little bit more.

I know i'm drifting off a bit here - but back to headsets - i've been through a few over the years, moving them from bike to bike etc - and the ones that tend to stand up to the most abuse in my experience (without having to bear too much of a weight penalty) is my Hope ones.

I've also had massive comfort knowing that if I do manage to break a bit of their kit (and it has happened obviously) that help is easily obtained direct from the people that built the product and spares are readily available (probably even for my 10 year old kit!

supersonic

I wholeheartedly agree with Nick here. I have a 13 year old, 15 quid Dia Compe headset, weighs about 90g, still running fine with 2 bearing changes. More expensive headsets do not feel any smoother than cheap ones when they are fitted and loaded correctly.

I personally see no benefit at all.

The Hope headset is a licensed design from Cane Creek.

adb1006

I bought the Hope one purely for the fact that they have a good rep when it comes to bearings, they're easily replaced/serviced if needs be, and i could afford it at the time (£70). Plus i was buying the frame off Merlin and they'd agreed to fit the headset so i had to buy it from them - i actually wanted a Chris King but they don't/didn't sell them. Not regretted going for the Hope though, it certainly seems a good quality piece of kit and went together nicely (they only fitted the cups for me as i don't have a press), and has stayed nice and tight. The head doctor is 100% nicer than those fcuking star nuts too!

supersonic

How about one of these?!

http://www.balfa.co.uk/catalog/product_ ... cts_id=179

Kiwi Kranker

supersonic wrote:

How about one of these?!

http://www.balfa.co.uk/catalog/product_ ... cts_id=179

That is ridiculous.

No really that is quite frighteningly ridiculous. Top racers yes/maybe/dont even think they could justify it.

The world is going mad

supersonic

You could buy a car for that!

Lol.

joshtp

supersonic wrote:

You could buy a car for that!

Lol.

no, you really could, my sisters first car cost her £300

Torres

For those who only like hope/chris king headsets because of the pretty colours i give you...these.
What do we think?

ThanksBye

I like them, but personally think the white lettering looks cheap

Dazzza

I like how they use an x type/ht2 spline making it much easier to fit and remove, very novel, when they say cartridge bearing im assuming they mean normal replacement bearings?

Anyway it's a moot pont to me as im having a commie next.

toasty

I wanted my FSA Pig headset to break on my Stumpy HT, it's completely inappropriate, unfortunately, even when it fills with mud and grit, it'll clean out, regrease and be as good as new. Curses. The huge ball bearings are indestructable (are you listening here Shimano :P).

Chris Kings are odd, they're not actually overly light. A bog standard Cane Creek or FSA Orbit is a similar weight. Something like a Crank Brothers Directset is 30g lighter (and a bit more fragile).

Anonymous

specialized owners should be aware that chris king headsets are at the smallest tollerance but many headtubes are at the highest end of the tollerance. this means they can damage your bike and its pretty well documented, even by chris king themselves who offer an oversized pair of cups for use with specialized bikes.

i had one fitted for ages to my oldest stumpy with no problems but it was too slack in the top of my headtube on the enduro so had to be replaced.

no such trouble with any other manufacturers as far as i know.

Northwind

Torres wrote:

For those who only like hope/chris king headsets because of the pretty colours i give you...these.
What do we think?

I've been generally happy with superstar, but their bearing'd products get an awful lot of bad feedback... I'd go with an FSA Orbit of some description, in fact, I did Good price, good performance.

salsarider79

supersonic wrote:

How about one of these?!

http://www.balfa.co.uk/catalog/product_ ... cts_id=179

I've used Acros stuff, and it's worth the money. Well, I had the Clockwork Orange BB and that was nice. Lasted three of my bikes, and is on a friends bike now, still getting no maintenence, and it's still running sweet. I've another friend who has one of the headsets on his Salsa road bike. The fact it's still there speaks volumes.

p.s. He has gone for a green CK in his racing Salsa cross bike.....mmmmmm trust me....
p.p.s. My first car, taxed and insured was £304 (With monthly payments due on top but you get the idea.)

kopite1979

my GT came with a cane creek headset so looks like i just need to learn how to service it myself and i`ll be fine