Submitted by
John
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto, Ontario, Canada Date Reviewed: February 12, 2007
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$30.00
Purchased At:
Frankford Cycle (1998)
Strengths:
Much better then the stock dual roller bearing Dia Compe headset that came stock on my 1996 GT Ricochet. Needle bearings in the lower cup are great. The top cap of the top cup is made of metal (the Dia Compe's was actualy made of plastic and cracked 1/2 way around after 15 months of expanding & shrinking in hot & cold weather). Glides like silk after years of use.
Weaknesses:
None.
Similar Products Used:
Stock Dia Compe headset on my 1996 GT Ricochet & W.T.B. Momentum C on my 2001 Trek Fuel 90 Disk.
Bike Setup:
1996 GT Ricochet.
Bottom Line:
Excellent headset, that should of been stock on my 1996 GT Ricochet and it would of saved me $30, the cost to have it installed and the time I lost cycling while my bike was in for service. Bottom Line: The best headset (upgrade) for my 1996 GT Ricochet & the second best when compared to my W.T.B. Momentum C.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
ukrider
a Cross Country Rider
from England Date Reviewed: June 7, 2006
Favorite Trail:
ones that go downhill
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Strengths:
Good build quality, price, smoothness, easy to assemble.
Weaknesses:
none yet
Similar Products Used:
Crappy cheapo headset that comes standard with a Saracen DirtTrax 4.
Bike Setup:
Saracen DirtTrax 4
Bottom Line:
Only bought this recently so cannot vouch for its long-term durability though I suspect it'll last a long enough time given due maintainance every now and then (check grease). The headset was a bargain at £14GBP and seems impressively well machined/designed for that price. There was very little grease in the bearings initially so make sure you pack the bearings in grease before fitting (as the manual states). Assembly was straightforward with everything fitting and tightening up perfectly with no play or grind/friction when done.
Very happy with it for the price paid. Recommended.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Trevor
a Cross Country Rider
from Tillsonburg, Ontario,CAN. Date Reviewed: May 6, 2005
Favorite Trail:
fanshawe park
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
first cycle works
Strengths:
light, strong, cheap
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
crane creek
Bike Setup:
KHS 904r frame, firex team,717's,ritchy stem and bar, thompson post, HFX 9's, trans am C2 seat
Bottom Line:
great headset!!!!!! cheap as dirt!!!!!! you are spending soo little to get sooo much!! best bang for the buck there is!!!!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
PickledEmbryo
a Cross Country Rider
from Mid-England Date Reviewed: January 23, 2004
Favorite Trail:
Cannock Chase
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At:
Mark Anthony
Strengths:
Discreet, alloy / rustless, easy to service, no noise, laser -etched graphics makes a nice touch.
Weaknesses:
none so far
Similar Products Used:
heavy dia compe with nasty plastic bits
Bike Setup:
Viper F40 elite easton alu (www.woollyhatshop.com), Alloy stiff front fork, Deore lx transmition throughhout, Avid SD 2.1 levers, Avid brake cantis, FSA orbit UF hdset, Mavic x517 rims laced with Micheilin wildgripper sprint tyres in green.
Bottom Line:
Best for the money, just needs re-greasing with lithium based grease once a year and then your on ya way with a no hassle headset.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tommi Bass
a Cross Country Rider
from U.K Date Reviewed: October 30, 2003
Favorite Trail:
ya sisters house
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At:
Halfords bike hut (u.k)
Strengths:
its cheap, its fabricated well.
Weaknesses:
None at this price chaps!
Similar Products Used:
tooooooo many ta mention.
Bike Setup:
merlin xc frame,raceface seatpost,wtb rocket v cromo saddle,kore lite stem ,avid custom drilled levers and suped up 7 'v',black comp lock out 100/120 forks,fsa uf headset,deore hollow tec crank which is customed machined to run a single chain ring,mavic d521 rims,dt spokes deore hubs,salsa liplock,dmr chain cage,lx rear with custom jockey wheels,easton monkey bars etc.
Bottom Line:
This has taken a punishing over the past year. Two monster 30 mph crashes,plus loads of larking about. I think this product is very good, i would love a king but over in the U.K it costs about £110,thats a lot of f*@$ing cash eh! Parts are very expensive over here..sometimes double in price, so this will do untill i can blow about two hundred bucks on a headset.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
eric hoefer
a Weekend Warrior
from NY Date Reviewed: June 21, 2003
Favorite Trail:
hunter mtn
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$30.00
Purchased At:
universal cycles
Strengths:
Bomb proof durability extremely low maintanance just install and go ride the crown race installed without a tool.
Weaknesses:
none after a year of use
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
wildwest silver with xt lx kit rs psylo fork and other goodies
Bottom Line:
amazing product i will be using this headset for many years to come and when i finally wear it out i would be extremely comfortable buying another one without thinking twice about it. 5 flamin chillis
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Robert Thompson
a Cross Country Rider
from Leicestershire / uk Date Reviewed: September 25, 2002
Favorite Trail:
fields of gold
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$39.00
Purchased At:
local bike shop
Strengths:
nicely designed (i like the laser-etched logo's) keeps the water out and is light, easy to maintian.
Weaknesses:
fairly costly at £23 british pounds. Stem cap comes joined with the star-fangle washer so you have to bang out your old star fangle thats wedged in the stearer tube
Similar Products Used:
circuit comp headset - DONT BUY THESE... lasted only 7 months. Dia compe Ahead set - good but heavy
Read it was one of the better headsets for under £50, so went and bought one. Headsets are an upgrade which improves the handling of ya bike. No problems as yet, took a while to bed in but now its smooth and steering is greater than ever!
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Submitted by
JD
a Weekend Warrior
from York Date Reviewed: September 12, 2002
Favorite Trail:
anywhere muddy
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$35.00
Purchased At:
Halfords!!!
Strengths:
Easy to install.
Weaknesses:
the intructions! - somwhere in there it states "lubrication before fitting is not recommended" like a pr1ck i followed this and 4 months later it starts squeaking - guess what - a dry bottom race... i think i've saved it though.
Similar Products Used:
Tioga (OE on Marin) and other crappy no-name stuff
Bike Setup:
MArin Nail Trail Y2K, Avid SD7, XT/Deore blah blah like it matters
Bottom Line:
Gives a really solid feel, once it beds in needs no further adjustment. Seems "indestructable" as i have stacked it quite impressively a few times lately!! (especially considering the 14.5 stone lump up top!!
Good kit.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Nick
a
from Tempe, AZ Date Reviewed: June 28, 2002
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
Here's my one year follow-up review from the one below. Still going strong, and I only have had to clean it three times in a solid year of Arizona dust.
Weaknesses:
Still none
Similar Products Used:
Stuff by Chris King, Ritchey, Race Face, plenty of others
Bottom Line:
I swear by this headset. After a year of breaking just about every part on my trials bike, this thing is still with me. It has withstood the destruction of *4* rigid forks without any sort of damage whatsoever. No pitting or ovalizing of the bearings, warping of the cups, nothing. I recently bought a slalom bike that came with a King headset, and I will be selling it soon, and replacing it with one of these bad boys, and using the surplus cash to improve areas of my bike that are actually important. You may want to drop the Conix setup for a star nut, but that's just a personal preference thing and won't affect performance at all.
Installation is easy, the bearings are quality, the seals are very good, it's easy to overhaul, and it's reliable. Cartridge bearings may be all the rage but loose bearings are easier to clean up and replace. Cheaper too. Few companies offer this kind of amazing price to quality ratio.
Do you really want to spend $90 on a HEADSET, for the love of God? The performance difference just isn't there!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Nick
a Weekend Warrior
from Tempe, AZ Date Reviewed: July 11, 2001
Favorite Trail:
urban trials
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
swap meet
Strengths:
The Conix design is pretty slick. Needle bearings on the bottom are nice for load distribution (more contact with the cups= less concentrated impact = less pitting) Great value at the price I got it.
Weaknesses:
Slightly heavier than some. The conix nut can be difficult to remove from the steer tube (but not as difficult as a star nut most times.)
Similar Products Used:
Quite a few, but none of the high end jazmataz
Bike Setup:
Planet X Zebdi with all the fun bouncing gear.
Bottom Line:
I don't think I'd recommend this headset for DH (though I've never tried it) but the truth is, if you ride cross country, weight is really the only issue you have to look at. Buy this for $15 and replace it every two years when you pit the races, and you can go 12 years for the price of a King headset.
It's just a headset. It works fine. I rode XC with a crappy Giant OEM headset for 5 years before I realized that part of the bike needed maintenance of any kind. And guess what? I took it apart and it was fine. This is a great place on the bike to save money without sacrificing performance.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Marty
a Weekend Warrior
from Moncton, NB, Canada Date Reviewed: May 28, 2001
Favorite Trail:
any
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
smooth... umm... it works
Weaknesses:
a tiny itty bit damped feeling for the first 2 minutes of riding.. but this is cutting a hair in 4..
smooth working affordable gear.. would be nice to try out a king or RaceFace one.. but for the cash.. i dont think i coulda done better.. this thing is built to take a relativly good beating.. angled needle bearings on the bottom.. the one bearring the fork will beat up if you cetch air, and to keep thins affordable.. normal.. bearring up top.. rubber seals.. keeps thing clean.. little less maintenance... all good! :)
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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