Submitted by
Ian Hall
a Racer
from Austin, TX USA Date Reviewed: March 15, 2007
Favorite Trail:
all of them
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$80.00
Purchased At:
http://www.nrcycles.com/
Strengths:
Sealed bearings, free bearing replacement for life of the headset - limited*, 6 anodized colors
Weaknesses:
Durability
Similar Products Used:
Stack Cane Creek 'Aheadset', loose bearing FSA unit, Cane Creek S3
Bike Setup:
2005 Kona Kikapu, heavily modified & upgraded
Bottom Line:
This review is for the standard Techno-Glide, not the stainless steel version.
NOTE: no crashes or hard jump landings caused the issues described below. It was installed in my 4" XC bike.
This headset was about 6 months old when I started hearing a clicking in my front end under braking that I thought was in my fork, then possibly a crack in the frame. Then I thought it was a loose headset. Tightening it didn't help. I think the housing was cracked or damaged in some way because the bearings still turned pretty smoothly, but the lower sealed bearing assembly couldn't be removed from the housing after the headset was removed. Meaning, I couldn't see what it looked like behind the bearing. The top one fell right out even without the use of a bearing/seal remover.
We yanked the whole unit out and replaced it with a Cane Creek S3 that the LBS had sitting on the shelf, and I haven't had any trouble with it since. Thanks to James at New Revolution Cycles in Kyle, TX for taking care of me the night before I had to leave for a race.
NRC will be sending it back to IRD for a possible warranty replacement, but I don't think they cover the housing, just the bearings. If they treat me right, I'll post up another (better) review based on customer service. Until then, I'm not impressed with their products.
$
Overall Rating:
