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Home | Product Reviews | Headset | Cane Creek ZS Headset | ||||
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Submitted by
Jim
a Weekend Warrior
from Kila
Date Reviewed: 3/19/2005 2:27:45 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Spencer Lake |
| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Price Paid: | $4000 |
| Purchased At: | Jenson's Cyclery |
| Strengths: | Very short, and light. Super excellent customer support. Is that descriptive what. |
| Weaknesses: | First set was stiff turning. Was to loose, or to tight with only a fraction of a turn (of set screw). This spring I ulled bike up stairs to do tune up, and found my head set totally siezed up. Pulled it apart and was indeed rusted ??? |
| Similar Products Tried: | None |
| Bike Setup: | Raleigh Inferno XC Pro frame, full Shimano XTR, Spinergy wheels w/Stan's no tubes using Hutchinson Python Gold Elite tires, Marzocchi Marathon S forks...NNNice :) |
| Bottom Line: | As I read on this Review board, I e-mailed Cane Creek customer support, explained my delema, and recieved an extreemely positive responce whithin 24 hours. I will be receiving a new head set soon, and fully antisapate that I will be completely satisfied with the new and improved head set. Did I say that the customer support is supper excellent!!! To me that means that they really believe in their product. |
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Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from Bristol, CT
Date Reviewed: 4/10/2004 8:59:27 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Strengths: | Seems Ok after a hard year of riding |
| Weaknesses: | None as yet |
| Similar Products Tried: | Regular headsets in other bikes. The GIANT NRS requires a Zero Stack Headset |
| Bike Setup: | GIANT NRS |
| Bottom Line: | Since Cane Creek warranted the defective cups last year, I have had absolutely no problems with loosening or creaking of the headset. Very solid. I have regreased the bearings once last fall, but they were very clean, not gritty. I hope to get at least another year of use out of it. |
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Submitted by
Greg
a Cross Country Rider
from Germany
Date Reviewed: 5/17/2003 4:52:01 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Strengths: | Looks good. ZS-2 has better seals than the ZS. Cheap. |
| Weaknesses: | The original ZS has a flawed design, so don't buy it under any circumstances! The ZS-2 seems to be much better but the seals on the lower bearings could be a bit better. |
| Similar Products Tried: | ZS, ZS-2 |
| Bottom Line: | Well, you can get this headset for relatively little money on ebay. Good value. There are better products out there but hey - it's only a headset. |
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Submitted by
Joe Mc
a Cross Country Rider
from Dublin, Ireland
Date Reviewed: 11/26/2002 2:47:18 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Lord of the Rings, Gran Canaria |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Purchased At: | Cycle Inn |
| Similar Products Tried: | Std Cane Creek h/set |
| Bike Setup: | Giant XTC Team |
| Bottom Line: | Stock CC h/set on Giant was cack. There was play in the bearing in race, and the bearings fell to pieces after 12 motnhs. I bought a similiar replacement h/set from giant, but the same thing happened. I called CC, and I received a new h/set!! Looks like its better quality than the last, so I'll give it a go. Thumbs up for customer service. |
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Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Ravensdale, WA
Date Reviewed: 9/1/2002 9:07:55 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Strengths: | Seals out dirt and moisture fairly well. Smooth, easy to install. |
| Weaknesses: | Original set was defective. Called Cane Creek and a replacement set (complete) was mailed out |
| Similar Products Tried: | C2 |
| Bike Setup: | Giant XTC, Raceface crank, Shimano shifters, Sun Singletracks, Duke 100, Thudbuster, Laser V, Azonic bars, Stiffy stem |
| Bottom Line: | So far so good. The replacement set was easy to install. The original set was either too loose, or too tight. Cane Creek has great customer service other company's could take a lesson from. Not too many choices for Giant owners when it comes to integrated headsets, without hesitiation I would buy these again. |
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Submitted by
NATSU
a Weekend Warrior
from HAWAII
Date Reviewed: 8/26/2002 8:24:01 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Waimea Valley |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Purchased At: | came stock on AC1 |
| Strengths: | Good looks, simple design, low stack height, customer service. |
| Weaknesses: | Everything excluding the above on first generation ZS headsets. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Chris King, WTB Momentum |
| Bike Setup: | AC1 |
| Bottom Line: | Headset was defective and did not work properly after first 4 months. Contacted CC and was sent the wrong replacement bearing set. Contacted CC again and they sent me a whole new headset. Very pleased with CC's commitment to their products and their customer service in making it right! As far as the new headset, it works like it was supposed to; simple, smooth and maintenance free. |
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Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from Bristol CT USA
Date Reviewed: 4/12/2002 1:20:53 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Strengths: | ZS-2 Headset...Bearings,cups, crown race...Pretty simple in concept. |
| Weaknesses: | Was defective on a new frame. Bearings were sloppy from the get-go. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Chris King Aheadset..Rock solid, never had a problem. |
| Bike Setup: | 2001 GIANT NRS 1, custom build. |
| Bottom Line: | Well, this Zer-Stack headset deserved ZERO chili's for being a hunka junk from the start. It was impossible to preload the bearings and remove the play in the fork tube/ frame interface. BUT , Cane Creek sent me a bearing and race kit , complete, free of charge when I used their customer service email. I recieved it fast and the new bearings are noticeably different from the old ones. Looks like a better seal system, and they don't have radial slop like the old ones. When a company responds in this manner, THUMBS UP.. I will have to give their air shocks a look over when I get in the market for a new one. I can't stand my Rock Shox SID, it's hard to adjust. I would buy from Cane Creek in the future, even though a bad headset came with the fork. They realized it was a mistake and corrected the problem as soon as they were told. |
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Submitted by
kent
from mandeville
Date Reviewed: 3/9/2002 6:29:23 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Strengths: | customer service cartridge bearings |
| Weaknesses: | bottom race |
| Similar Products Tried: | plenty of other headsets |
| Bike Setup: | diamondback xsl pro |
| Bottom Line: | i had a problem with mine. cane creek rules. the customer service was great, they helped me and fixed my problem. they had better service then most companies ive bought from. thanks cne creek, kent hoggatt |
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Submitted by
David
a Cross Country Rider
from Calistoga, California, USA
Date Reviewed: 12/28/2001 7:50:49 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Now if I told you that, I't wouldn't my favorite trail any more. |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Strengths: | Looks sweet...all intergrated into the frame. Bigger serface area at point of conection to frame which means to me it can be stronger while being lighter. |
| Weaknesses: | Abosolutly the bearings!! Mine too, after a year, went out so to speak. Grinding noise is never a good sound on a bike. |
| Bike Setup: | Giant XTC SE-1 |
| Bottom Line: | It worked great up to a year, but thanks to Rick and Eli's post, I'm calling up Cane Creek and getting hooked up. Thank's for the info Guys! |
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Submitted by
Rick
a Cross Country Rider
from Baltimore
Date Reviewed: 10/5/2001 7:31:47 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Strengths: | It works! |
| Weaknesses: | Will only fit certain bikes |
| Bike Setup: | Giant XTC NRS |
| Bottom Line: | After a year of hard riding, the bearings went bad. Called Cane Creek and right off the bat they are sending me the new improved bearing kit free. With the exception of an apperant problem with the original bearings, the headset works great, and does its job wonderfully. |
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Submitted by
geko
a Weekend Warrior
from Philippines
Date Reviewed: 9/16/2001 9:35:47 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Strengths: | Looks nice. |
| Weaknesses: | Cartidge bearing self-destructed after less than 3 months of riding!!! |
| Similar Products Tried: | Raceface Headset |
| Bike Setup: | Giant XTC AC1 |
| Bottom Line: | We deserve a better product than this. |
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Submitted by
Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from Tasmania,Australia
Date Reviewed: 8/23/2001 6:21:40 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Strengths: | It is a headset. It does the job very sweet. No problems so far. |
| Weaknesses: | Maybe not so good having it only fit those bikes with a machine headtube. |
| Similar Products Tried: | None |
| Bike Setup: | Giant ATX 890 |
| Bottom Line: | It does the job of a headset very well. It looks great, coz its not beefy above and below the head tube. |
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Submitted by
Eli Stair
a Cross Country Rider
from Providence, RI, USA
Date Reviewed: 8/10/2001 7:04:03 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Strengths: | Light? |
| Weaknesses: | Relatively poor craftsmanship, shipped in a defective condition, bearings self-destruct when installed, all milled parts are not polished, have mill marks and burrs. Too light and flimsy. |
| Bottom Line: | This is an update to my post below. I received the replacement bearings, crown race, compression ring and top cap from Cane Creek. After installation the headset actually works! It adjusts properly, is smooth and the bearings are even a little beefier than those provided originally. Bottom line: You'll get this headset if you buy a bike that can use it, and if you do call Cane Creek at 800-234-2725, and they'll send you the "correct" parts. No product should ever be distributed with such a flaw, but at least they fixed it. 1 chili value, it retails for $70, and 2 overall, it's not well made but it works OK. |
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Submitted by
Eli Stair
a Cross Country Rider
from Barrington, RI, USA
Date Reviewed: 8/8/2001 12:43:11 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Purchased At: | LBS |
| Strengths: | Being that the headset/headtube are wider than normal there may be a benefit in frame stiffness from the design. |
| Weaknesses: | Feels flimsy, the crown race is just plain cheesy, the cups aren't polished to any degree (still have cnc marks), and the bearings don't feel precise at all. The headset, in the form it came with my Giant NRS Air frame, doesn't work properly. It is either too loose, or too tight but never "just right". I called Cane Creek and they said they've redesigned the bearings and crown race/tension ring and shipped me a new set for free. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Race Face Real Seal (A+), Cheapo WTB (F), Cane Creek C-2 (B) |
| Bike Setup: | Black. |
| Bottom Line: | The headset seems to have been rushed out the door so to speak, as the parts do not function correctly together. However it would appear Cane Creek is aware of this and is correcting it for free. Unfortunately for most people who buy a bike with this headset, at least at the shop I got my frame from, it won't be fixed off the line. The shop mechanic I talked to before calling CC said "basically, all the ones I've seen do that", wrong answer, MINE won't do that. I wish Cane Creek would have informed the companies they sold the headset with and let them know they've fixed a known issue. I will update with the new bearings when I get a chance to. |
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