REVIEWS DEALS BIKESHOPS TRAILS

King me....or not?

1060 Views 25 Replies 18 Participants Last post by Marshall Willanholly, Dec 9, 2005

IdahoBiker

Discussion Starter · Dec 9, 2005

I need a headset for my soon to be had spot. Does anyone have a good alternative to a King? I got a great deal on my last King at $79, but I can't seem to find that price anywhere now. I do run king hubs so mabye it is too sacrelegious to run any other brand of headset. Thoughts......

1 - 20 of 26 Posts

SSINGA

· #2 · Dec 9, 2005

The Cane Creek Solos seems like a good alternative at approx 1/2 the $$ of the CK.

cactuscorn

· #3 · Dec 9, 2005

its cheap, its sorta light and its damn decent. i speak of the cane creek S 2 h/set. also i seem te remember someone tellin me it uses king bearings. true? i dunno as i dont look that close. i just stuff em in and ride em till they complain. but still, theres nuthin as good overall as a king.

CDtofer

· #4 · Dec 9, 2005

If you dont need the bling than dont go King...

Yeah, yeah, I know I will be demoted from this board for saying this....but if you dont need a King headset to make you feel like your bike is the best thing then sliced bread dont buy it. I also think that Solos likes damn nice and you can get it lots of pretty colors. Even a sealed bearing FSA orbit lasted for years on one of my old bikes without problem. I think I got it for 30 bucks.

I have one CK hs but would pay for another one at the price they are now...good thing they last for a hundred years

darkside

· #5 · Dec 9, 2005

Check out the Hope headsets - had one on my spot for 6 months now and no complaints whatsoever. Retail in the UK is ~£60 and come in a wide range of colours.

http://www.hopetech.com/products/products_index.htm

DS

A MAN CALLED HORSE

· #6 · Dec 9, 2005

If there's one part on your bike worth spending the extra on, then it's the headset. I love Hope gear and can get it at a good price- but their headset is full of fiddly o-rings and if you ever want to remove the crown race to put it on another fork, then it's nearly impossible to do without damaging it because it is easily deformed due to the o-ring channel. No doubt it works well, but it's not a patch on the King, and neither is anything else- but you already knew that, right?

JmZ

· #7 · Dec 9, 2005

IdahoBiker said:
I need a headset for my soon to be had spot. Does anyone have a good alternative to a King? I got a great deal on my last King at $79, but I can't seem to find that price anywhere now. I do run king hubs so mabye it is too sacrelegious to run any other brand of headset. Thoughts......

Actually had one of the Interloc's on order. They look nice and was around the $80 mark too. Shop got a great deal on a King set though, so switched the order.

It looks to be about 80% of the headset at a bit less than 80% the cost. Take a look here...http://www.interlocracing.com/headset.html

JmZ

k1creeker

· #8 · Dec 9, 2005

second the FSA

I made the same decision a few weeks back when I picked up my Spot frame.
I have used King headsets in the past, but my last bike had an FSA that worked flawlessly for 5 years and retailed for about $50. I ended up going with an FSA Orbit Extreme Pro for $89. Yes, for another $40 I could have gotten another King, but I decided to put the extra cash towards the suspension which I feel will make a bigger difference than what type headset I'm running. The $40 paid about a 1/4 of my Push mod.

http://www.fullspeedahead.com/fly.aspx?layout=product&taxid=65&pid=171

Best of luck with your decision.

Jerk_Chicken

· #9 · Dec 9, 2005

What about the new gen of Race Face headsets?

Can people list the headsets up in King territory and their respective warranties? One thing I thought about FSA was that they have so many headsets that I couldn't figure out which one was a viable alternative. Similarly priced, no less. Same for Race Face, but they finally streamed their line down.

As far as the S2 goes, I had one and didn't see the similarities. In my experience, it kept loosening up and didn't have very good sealing.

k1creeker

· #10 · Dec 9, 2005

Jerk_Chicken said:
What about the new gen of Race Face headsets?

Can people list the headsets up in King territory and their respective warranties? One thing I thought about FSA was that they have so many headsets that I couldn't figure out which one was a viable alternative. Similarly priced, no less. Same for Race Face, but they finally streamed their line down.

As far as the S2 goes, I had one and didn't see the similarities. In my experience, it kept loosening up and didn't have very good sealing.

Can only speak for the Orbit Xtreme Pro I picked up, from FSA site which lists a 10 year warranty, just like King: copy/paste

"Headsets: Orbit Xtreme and Orbit Xtreme Pro headsets are guaranteed against defects in materials and workmanship or bearing failure for ten years from date of purchase. All other FSA brand headsets are guaranteed against defects in materials and workmanship for two years from date of purchase."

The sell for me was their mix of stainless and aluminum in the right places. Oh, and the "patented alignment tip"

whatever the h$ll that is.

CDtofer

· #11 · Dec 9, 2005

Hope its nothing like....

k1creeker said:
Can only speak for the Orbit Xtreme Pro I picked up, from FSA site which lists a 10 year warranty, just like King: copy/paste

"Headsets: Orbit Xtreme and Orbit Xtreme Pro headsets are guaranteed against defects in materials and workmanship or bearing failure for ten years from date of purchase. All other FSA brand headsets are guaranteed against defects in materials and workmanship for two years from date of purchase."

The sell for me was their mix of stainless and aluminum in the right places. Oh, and the "patented alignment tip" whatever the h$ll that is.

Expanding reservoir tip!

Jerk_Chicken

· #12 · Dec 9, 2005

Checked out the FSA website and got the same experience I had before I bought my King. Could not tell which was good, adequate, etc. Too many headsets. They definitely need to streamline the selection.

I'm thinking the top ones were the top of the line, but then I go down and see Carbon caps and 36 degree TH bearings, whatever those are. King is no-brainer, but I'd like to know what alternatives are out there in terms of sealing, tolerance, maintenance of said tolerance over its lifetime, and durability.

SSINGA

· #13 · Dec 9, 2005

darkside said:
Check out the Hope headsets - had one on my spot for 6 months now and no complaints whatsoever. Retail in the UK is ~£60 and come in a wide range of colours.

http://www.hopetech.com/products/products_index.htm

DS

I don't think we can get the Hope HS over here in the states. They do look nice.

The Squeaky Wheel

· #14 · Dec 9, 2005

SSINGA said:
I don't think we can get the Hope HS over here in the states. They do look nice.

Right. Some kind of patent issue if I'm not mistaken. I think they market it as an ICT Headset in Europe

Jerk_Chicken

· #15 · Dec 9, 2005

Wonder if it's the Cane Creek aheadset patent they won't pay, since CC gets a chunk from everything made in the 1 1/8" aheadset configuration. Not sure about the 1.5"

SSINGA

· #16 · Dec 9, 2005

cactuscorn said:
its cheap, its sorta light and its damn decent. i speak of the cane creek S 2 h/set. also i seem te remember someone tellin me it uses king bearings. true? i dunno as i dont look that close. i just stuff em in and ride em till they complain. but still, theres nuthin as good overall as a king.

The S2 uses smaller bearings made bearing grade steel where CK uses stainless steel. Not a bad unit but not really comparable to the CK. The SOLOS uses SS 5/32 cartridge bearings that carry the same 10 year warranty as the CK. The bearing seals are held in place by snap rings so it can be user serviced and it comes in 6 colors. Another cool feature is the high and low rise top bearing cap and interlocking spacer system. They can be found for much less than the $100 MSRP.

http://www.canecreek.com/solos.html

KDK

· #17 · Dec 9, 2005

IdahoBiker said:
I do run king hubs so mabye it is too sacrelegious to run any other brand of headset. Thoughts......

Warning: This is not a technical posting

Since you have thought about it, you may want to consider the 'what-if' mode that you will get into when you buy something else, as you will always wonder how would the bike look with the King

. It will be a matter of time before you 'upgrade' which will cost you more !! (I think SMOKEY had this therory)

The bonus will be that it will match your wheelset and that you will also have an fantastic headset

!!!

Jerk_Chicken

· #18 · Dec 9, 2005 (Edited)

For high end headsets, is it pretty much required the bearings be pressed into the cups and not removable like with King, or do some have user replaceable drop in bearings?

Call_me_Clyde

· #19 · Dec 9, 2005

FSA Pig DH Pro

Yes, it's a DH headset, but it's inexpensive, has cartridge sealed bearings and much like people say about the King...you just don't have to worry about it.

paddlefoot64

· #20 · Dec 9, 2005

Live it up! If you can afford it, get a King.

1 - 20 of 26 Posts

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