Headsets - to chris king or not to chris king...

mpatts

Wor lass has a 2001 Lemond Zurich, which she loves and is a really nice bike (853, an element of handbuilt). The headset is ruined. We'll probably never sell it. It's an old 1 inch threaded, so there aren't that many options, but one of them is Chris King.

Thoughts?

majormantra

They are pretty, and very durable, but there are other excellent options that will last a long time too. I'd suggest a Cane Creek.

If you do go CK, be careful where you buy it. There are some very, very convincing fakes out there.

Oh, and beware that not all threaded headsets have the same stack height, you need to get one that doesn't leave you short of steerer.

majormantra

Actually, following on from that I've realised some things:

1. There are fewer nice options than I thought.
2. The CK fakes appear to be mostly the threadless headsets, so there isn't such a risk there.
3. Another option is Campag Record, if you don't mind traditional construction. They are less than half the price of CK.

Moonbiker

Measure the old ones stack height then choose a new one of the same stack height?

http://www.hilarystone.com/headset.html

Loads second hand here:

majormantra

Another option: http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/HSFSDX/fsa-duron-x-headset

rafletcher

CK are arguably worth it for BB's and hubs, but headsets don't really do that much work as a bearing. I have in the past used them (also 1" threaded) but not really sure they justify the price.

Here's a DA one..

http://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do? ... tAodNT4Ayg

rolf_f

Or Stronglight A9 at £25 - http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... b2s115p489

mroli

mpatts wrote:

Wor lass has a 2001 Lemond Zurich, which she loves and is a really nice bike

Worth pimping it up with a lovely headset rather than a cheaper option then?

ugo.santalucia

Get a Record... cheaper and better

cycleclinic

Record are good and so are Stronglight A9's. Tange seiki Falcon is a good cheap alternative. The Da7410 headsets out there maybe 27.0mm crown race be careful as that won't fit the more common 26.4mm crown race (also the headtubes are slightly different).

Chris king headsets are too much money. My Miche threadless 1" is flawless and is less than £30 all the above are flawless in there function and are threaded. Actually Miche do a threaded 1" headset as well.

ugo.santalucia

The thing is all threaded headsets are excellent... but if you go to Europe with your Record headset, that's a good thing and will be approved, while nobody in Europe knows who the fxck is Chris King... it's an American thing... get over it

crankycrank

You can't go wrong with CK but a bit overpriced IMO. Cane Creeks 110 (110 year warranty which will probably outlast the company ) threaded version is less expensive and possibly just as good, although still not cheap. IMO stick with either of these two due to the fact that they are more likely to provide support and spares for years to come. If you keep them lubed and adjusted properly you probably won't ever need any spares but it's nice to know the support is there.

rolf_f

crankycrank wrote:

You can't go wrong with CK but a bit overpriced IMO. Cane Creeks 110 (110 year warranty which will probably outlast the company ) threaded version is less expensive and possibly just as good, although still not cheap. IMO stick with either of these two due to the fact that they are more likely to provide support and spares for years to come. If you keep them lubed and adjusted properly you probably won't ever need any spares but it's nice to know the support is there.

Support is all well and good but you can get five Stronglight A9s for the price of one Cane Creek 110. It's hard to see the support being worth the premium. And Stronglight has been around for years as has the A9.

LegendLust

mpatts wrote:

Wor lass has a 2001 Lemond Zurich, which she loves and is a really nice bike (853, an element of handbuilt). The headset is ruined. We'll probably never sell it. It's an old 1 inch threaded, so there aren't that many options, but one of them is Chris King.

Thoughts?

If you want to get a CK then get one. They are very high quality and will do a great job for you - don't let the cynics put you off

ugo.santalucia

I think the best advice here is the guy who mentioned the stack height... that's actually the only thing that matters. If you get one that is too tall, it won't engage with the fork threads and if too short it will expose the threads and look cack...

As you might have gathered, they are all very good, including the cheap Stronglight ones... if you can't find one of your height, give a call to Brick Lane Bikes or Kinoko cycles... they fit loads of those to the fixie crowds and surely have one for every height

majormantra

ugo.santalucia wrote:

The thing is all threaded headsets are excellent...

True of the ones mentioned in this thread, but you can get really horrible ones for under 10 quid - they are very much worth avoiding.

cycleclinic

If you measure the stack height then these headset have the following stacks.

Tange passage 1" 30.3mm
Tange Passage Levin CDS 33.3mm
Tange Falcon 35.3mm
Campag record 38.5mm
Stronglight A9 alloy 38mm
Miche 1" threaded 42mm

I know all this as these are the ones I sell. I hope that helps. Stack is measured by measuring the length of your headtube and the length of steerer and doing a subtraction. That is the max stack you can use. You can normally go 1-2mm longer but if you go shorter you will have to cut your steerer tube or use spacers.

mpatts

An update:

I bought a chris king!

ugo.santalucia

Did you check the stack height or you chanced it?

mpatts

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Did you check the stack height or you chanced it?

checked it