Cane Creek Headsets

[Pete Serotta]

Lots of talk on headsets, I just wanted to let you know my experiences with Cane Creek.. I Have about 5K on their 110 headset and it is rock solid,

Cane Creek is a NC company so yes I am partial but I can tell you from knowing the crew up in Hendersonville NC for many years that their customer service, if ever needed, is second to none,

If you are at the Handmade show, stop by their booth. One of Kelly's Bedford display bikes will also have a Cane Creek HS on it - - yes Spokes secret weapon and Kelly's latest creation. (Yeah HandleBra will be on it also),

[Ahneida Ride]

Don't miss this Bedford Show bike ... :beer:

[AndrewS]

I have "lowbrow" 1" S2 headsets on two bikes. They're light and seem to work perfectly. The split flange deal really works nicely.

[Lifelover]

Based on all that talk of late, Cane Creek is what I would buy. In the past, there have been some very experienced folks stating that CK is NOT the cats meow.

[Blue Jays]

It appears the Cane Creek 110 is the sweetest headset for most to install on a bicycle these days.

[rwsaunders]

I have a CK on one bike and CC on the other. I'm not good enough to tell the difference.

[dave thompson]

Cane Creek 110 on the fabulous Taylor!

[rdparadise]

Well, I recently read a review on this headset and it gave it a comparable review to the Chris Kings.

Two points for those that may not know:

1. 110 stands for an 110 year warranty. Take that CK.

2. Cane Creek developed the technology for the threadless headset and license it to eveyone else making this type of headset.

Now, before reading that review I didn't know either of these facts.

Here's the link...

http://www.canecreek.com/news?article=44

Happy trails,

Bob

[totally_fixxate]

Back in the day, it was called Dia-Compe USA


S3,S5,S6,S8,Solos, and 100 are the models that I own.

[Ahneida Ride]

interesting thread ATH on headsets

[Ahneida Ride]

Cane Creek Review (http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCM?PAGE=PRODUCT_REVIEW&ARTICLE_ID=2310&RETURN=search&RETURNLINK=%2Fza%2FCCM%3FPAGE%3DSEARCH_RESULTS%26S HOW_TYPE%3DTRUE%26QUERY%3D110)

[Marcusaurelius]

I have 2 years of use on two different cane creek S2 headsets and not a single problem.

[Sheldon4209]

I have a 6 yr. old C 1 Cane Creek with 18000 miles on a Co-Mo tandem and the CC headset is still going strong. The mechanic said not to replace it when I had the bike overhauled this winter. Tandems are tough on headsets.

[musgravecycles]

Cane Creek 110 > King

[Louis]

Just to be a contrarian because it's so much fun, I have to say that I'm always amazed by all this talk about fancy headsets.

I've put ziilions of miles on no-name generic headsets, cruising over tons of railroad tracks (used to do that nearly every ride in my previous home) never bothered much with maintenance like re-greasing and they just go and go and go. Of all the bearings on a bike the headset has the least challenging job - it is not down in the muck, does not need to be terribly friction-free, operates at low rpm, is easily adjusted, etc etc.

It seems to me that cheapo versions give you 99% of the performance of units five or six times the cost. If I'm going to dump money into a bearing I'd want in the rear hub and the BB, not in the headset.

Louis

[AndrewS]

My last Cane Creek headset cost $25.

Cheap headsets do work, but they also get pitted. I think it is worth it to have cartridge bearings.

[eddief]

this is not about the practical. My bling is bigger than your bling. FSA Orbit on my Rex cost about 35 bucks. I swear my steerer turns and the fork stays on the bike...and it looks just like a CK.

[11.4]

I am running both Chris King and Cane Creek 110 headsets, the latter in both integrated and semi-traditional threadless versions. My take:

1. Both are superb. No reason to change from one to the other.
2. King has more colors and has entered the 21st century with already-popularized integrated designs.
3. Installing a King headset you need to gently bevel the cut at the steer or at least take off any bur so the top cone, as it were, can slide onto the steer -- the o-ring inside it is essential to keeping water out and also to keeping a perfectly aligned steer inside the head tube. If your steer cross-section is deformed in any way (and it's amazing how many are not perfectly round) then the fork isn't properly aligned in the frame. This was becoming a chronic problem with Reynolds forks, perhaps one reason why they dropped them; also a problem with some odd unlabeled forks from Taiwan, with Alpinas, etc. The design works, but the internal tapered sleeve design on the Cane Creek works better.
4. Cane Creek has at least the same bearing protection as a King, at the bearing, and the whole design protects the bearings a bit better. I've seen this in practice with two winters on rainbikes -- it's demonstrable even with less rain on the Chris King this year versus more last year with the Cane Creek.
5. The flanged Cane Creek spacers are both nice and a bother -- nice because they keep moisture out better, don't get corroded as fast by perspiration (compared to CK's proprietary spacers), and they are ultra stable (I have one track frame with a lot of spacers and it was enough to make me change that bike to a 110 headset). The bother is that you then have to use their spacers -- you can use regular spacers in a pinch but it looks bad and they don't seat as well. Not a problem for regular road use where you only rarely might change spacers, but on a track bike swapping regularly between aero and drop bars, or even on a road bike doing the same, it's obnoxious.
6. The top cap for the Cane Creek has a thinner flange underneath so you don't hit the top of the steer quite as readily, or can use a thinner spacer on top of the stem and under the top cap (the preferred method anyway).
7. There are subtle differences in dimensions between integrated headsets. Cane Creek has the runaway most popular standard but you do have to check it out -- I have a frame that came with a Campy Record hiddenset headset and got a Cane Creek 110, and the Cane Creek was a much better fit.
8. Both headsets are pricey but if you want quality, you pay.
9. The cheaper Cane Creek headsets aren't bad (like using Ultegra hubs instead of Dura Ace) but if you pay attention to the nuances (like with the hubs) the 110 is a nicer headset. Up to you.
10. Nothing here is enough to get my dander up about either except possibly whether your frame fits one better than the other. My BT really needed the Cane Creek.

[bearingpress]

I've used chris king and cane creek 110s as well as an S3. a sealed bearing headset with a good top cap is going to give you excellent performance regardless of price. I have had some problems with chris king star nuts in steel steerer tubes. but I'm sure they don't make their own star nuts. I think it boils down to a bling factor. 110s are tight but there is no Dreadset option and origin8 makes powder coated sealed bearing headsets for real cheap

[Ahneida Ride]

this is not about the practical. My bling is bigger than your bling. FSA Orbit on my Rex cost about 35 bucks. I swear my steerer turns and the fork stays on the bike...and it looks just like a CK.


Louis is just jealous of my grade 1 ceramic HS bearings .. :banana:

[Volant]

I just installed a 110. Super sexy in silver!

[Louis]

Louis is just jealous of my grade 1 ceramic HS bearings .. :banana:

Ray, I've always been impressed by your balls ;)