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Crank Brothers
Directsets (Headsets)
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Submitted by
lebikerboy
a Weekend Warrior
from North Vancouver
Date Reviewed: November 22, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Low stack height, Stainless steel, 5 year warranty | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | Chris King, Syncros, WTB, Cane Creek, FSA, etc. | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Mountain Blizzard | | Bottom Line: | I got an unbelievable deal on a Fox F100 fork which unfortunately had a fairly short steer tube. I removed the King headset and with the Crank Bros. in place it was just long enough. To be honest if feels just as good as the King
mind you it's only been three months... | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jpzweifel
a Weekend Warrior
from Houston, TX, USA
Date Reviewed: August 18, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | eBay | | Strengths: | Light, simple design, no problem with install | | Weaknesses: | rust really fast | | Similar Products Used: | King, Cane Creek, Shimano, Tioga, etc... | | Bike Setup: | XTR full suspension cross country bike | | Bottom Line: | I bought this headset after reading up about it and likeing what I read about the cup/race design. When I got it in the mail I opened the package and gave it a once over and agreed that it was a nice looking headset and the design did allow for a light weight simple product. I did not have any of the problems installing the headset that others mentioned. On my first ride I did not feel an overwhelming difference in the bike, which is good in my mind as the headset was not crapy. Bearings felt smooth and the connection with the frame/fork/headset felt snug and secure.
I have ridden with this headset for about six months and I was doing some work on the bike (cleaning chain, checking torque on bolts etc) when I felt something crusty on the headset cups. When I looked closer I saw that it was rust on the outside of the cups. I bought the Cobalt C and do recommend buying any of the crank bro headsets unless you are getting the stainless steel version. This product only made it thru 1/10th of its warranty life before rusting, better luck next time. I went back to tried and true Cane Creek S2, nothing fancy but I know that it works. If a product cannot make it to at least the warranty life then it does not deserve more than one flamin' chili poo. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
AustinBiker
a Cross Country Rider
from Austin, Tejas
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Thumper | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$75.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Low stack height, light, innovative design, solid quality so far | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | Cane Creek, King | | Bike Setup: | Racer X 29er with Fox RL G2 80 mm, I9, SRAM drivetrain, Thomson stem/post, Syntace bar, Ergons | | Bottom Line: | Suggested by my LBS, I'm very glad I went with this headset. I like a really aggressive riding position on my bikes, and with a 29er, the low stack height really helps. Not to mention shaving some weight. It has been solid to date, riding about 100 miles/week of aggressive xc/am. Others have mentioned trouble installing but my shop, which handles lots of 29ers, are really loving these headsets lately. I'll rewrite this review later if it is worn out in a few months, but I'm sold enough that I'm about to put the all mountain version on a new 120 mm Sultan. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
sonyisdope
a Cross Country Rider
from Livonia
Date Reviewed: August 9, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Cycle to Fitness | | Strengths: | Lightweight, low stack height, clean looks. | | Weaknesses: | Installation can be tricky, kind of fragile, bearings are not the highest quality. | | Similar Products Used: | Chris King, Cane Creek S8, and 110. | | Bike Setup: | A really nice one :) | | Bottom Line: | I'm posting a followup review, I also posted the first review at the bottom of this page. I posted that up when I got my first Cobalt in April of '08. Well, after a year and a half of use, and purchasing 2 other Cobalts, I have to lower my reviews.
If you want a lightweight headset, that is a great value, this is it. It is kind of fragile, and in the end, I feel it is kind of a throw away headset. Sure, it has a 5 year warranty on it, and if you buy one, you will either utilize the warranty or throw it away within 5 years of owning it. The bearings are just cheap bearings, and nowhere near the quality of King bearings, or even the basic Cane Creek S-8 bearings.
Also, installation can be tricky. Either take it to a shop, or make darn sure that the cups go in PERFECTLY straight.
I have a Cobalt on my race bike, on my CX bike, and on my BMX bike, and they have all fared very well. On my singlespeed that I plan on keeping forever, I still rock a King, because it is a better headset. The King is just made of nicer materials and has nicer bearings. If you want the top of the line badboy headset, the King is still it. If you want to save a few bucks, AND want a lighter weight headset, the CB is the headset for you. If you can't understand why you would want a King, don't get a King, save a few bucks (and 1 ounce) and get this headset. I trash my CX bike, and this headset has stood up pretty well. On my race bike though, I noticed that the bottom cup is missing a small chunk of metal on the cup, but still works perfectly. I guess my big hangup is that when you decide to take one apart, you see how crappy it is, and the metal that they use on the cups is very fragile.
Sooooooo. . .If you want light and cheap, get the CB Cobalt. If it is something that you plan on keeping for a long time, step your game up to the King or Cane Creek 110. In the end, it's just a freaking headset. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tj90
a Cross Country Rider
from oceanside, ca
Date Reviewed: February 24, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | close | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | beyond bikes | | Strengths: | stack-height, colors | | Weaknesses: | installation is key | | Similar Products Used: | king, aheadsets, cane creek | | Bike Setup: | XC | | Bottom Line: | I got the iodine to get a beefier bottom bearing. When I opened the box, both races were 34 balls - so I essentially got the DH version with iodine (orange-red) cap. Its not that much of weight penalty for more balls in the bearings.
I used homemade tools to install the HS. Make sure your rod stock press only pushes on the inner radius of the bearing. I think people are cracking the headset, cause they put all the compressive force on the outer race that is cantilevered - BAD!! After reading threads on here about installation, I honestly was scared to install. It turned out to be easy, just take your time.
When I first installed, it was binding when moving the handlebars close to 90 degrees. I took a flashlight and found a small gap between bottom race and frame. I took a plastic mallet and fully seated bottom race into frame. Now no binding. The HS is sensitive to race parallelism - as are most good HSs with good bearings.
The headset has been performing well. I appreciate crank brothers novel approach to HS design. They saved a ton of weight and lowered stack height. I was able to salvage an awesome fork on a new, larger frame thanks to their reduced headset. Its very clean look and great Crank Brothers 5 year warranty! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
MDC
a Weekend Warrior
from Atlanta, GA USA
Date Reviewed: February 2, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | REI | | Strengths: | Weight | | Weaknesses: | Stack heigth | | Similar Products Used: | King | | Bike Setup: | Ellsworth Truth, Fox RLC- 23.5lb finished weight w/XTR | | Bottom Line: | Don't throw away the box; It's not empty. Very light weight. No problems installing, with supplied tool, and it's always a pleasure to hang another tool on the wall. The only problem is that the stack height is shorter than headsets used in the past. Unmodified adjustment knobs on the Fox fork will hit the down tube on my Ellsworth. Sorry King, I will never stray again. The bearing feel is what I would expect from CB and the finish clean. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
hitek79
a Weekend Warrior
from Littleton, CO
Date Reviewed: February 1, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Apex | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$62.00 | | Purchased At: | Chainlove | | Strengths: | Lightweight, very smooth, machining is very nice | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Titus Racer-X | | Bottom Line: | I'm fairly new to this upgrading parts game, so take my advice for what it is. My bike came with a cheapy WTB headset, and I saw the Cobalt SL headset pop up on Chainlove. Package arrived promptly, and I set out to attempt my first upgrade using MTBR as my guide. I removed the old headset and installed the new one using homemade tools I learned about here. I got everything done and back together pretty quickly. When I had the bike on the stand it didn't really feel any different, but the first time out on the trail I could notice a difference in smoothness. I guess I'll just see how it goes. If something catastrophic happens I'll update, but so far I'm extremely happy! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
chowsm
a Cross Country Rider
from NY, NY
Date Reviewed: November 2, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Stony Brook | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | Looks Great and it's light. | | Weaknesses: | Extremely difficult to install. I'm using a Park headset press and it just won't go in straight. I've used several headsets from cane Creek and King without a single hiccup. | | Similar Products Used: | Cane Creek, WTB, Chris King, FSA | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Blur, Fox F100RLC XT/XTR Stuff | | Bottom Line: | If you get them, go through the LBS and have them install it. It's not worht the aggro. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
schmedly
a Cross Country Rider
from
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | lbs | | Strengths: | light,looks good new | | Weaknesses: | its summer and it has rust on bearing races,I thought stainless didnt rust,not happy with cust. service | | Similar Products Used: | ritchey,cane creek | | Bottom Line: | should have bought the lower priced one that I know last | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
taesbox
a Cross Country Rider
from boulder co usa
Date Reviewed: August 22, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | LbS | | Strengths: | Light weight, low stack height. Is rather smooth. | | Weaknesses: | not really a true cartridge bearing headset | | Similar Products Used: | Chris King is king. | | Bike Setup: | single speed with manitou fork | | Bottom Line: | Have used this headset for several weeks now. Got it because my lbs gave it a little cheaper than the King headset. I have not had any problems and it works more than fine for my commuter bike. However, I am not sure about the bearings. For the money, they don't seem to be a true cartridge bearing. The instructions say you can spray them with wd40. For my race bikes, I will only use King. For my commuter, this is a good headset, just kinda expensive | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Daniel
a
from Livonia, MI, USA
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Cycle to Fitness | | Strengths: | Light, awesome looking, it's Crank Brothers. At $90, it's pretty affordable for an "Uber" looking headset. | | Weaknesses: | It's $90 for something that just holds your fork in place. Crazy colours not available. | | Similar Products Used: | Cane Creek S-8, Chris King NoThreadset, Cane Creek IS headsets, etc. | | Bike Setup: | Voodoo Sobo | | Bottom Line: | Well, I have not actually used this headset yet. I just got it, and it looks sweet! I honestly can't see how it won't perform well. It is very clean looking, and they managed to shave 1 ounce off the standard headset configuration. I am writing this review about the Cobalt version, but I'm sure the other versions all look very similar. I am very impressed with the weight and the overall look of the product, so for now I am going to give it 5 chilis. I will write a follow-up review in a few months if something goes horribly wrong with it.
As for value, well, it is still $90. However, it is less expensive than the other uber headsets on the market, and IS lighter weight so it is still a very good value. Compared to the other high end stuff out there, it is actually a pretty darn good value when you factor in the weight of it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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