School me on 1" headsets.

[CDollarsign]

May need a new 1" threaded headset soon. I see that Campy still makes record headsets for around $60 bucks. You can get a Chris king for roughly double - is the quality that much better?

[charliedid]

Cane Creek also still makes a 110 Threaded 1" and TANGE makes a surprisingly good one for little money. It's not fancy and does not have the finish but it works.

Prep is King. (I guess that's a pun)

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by CDollarsign

May need a new 1" threaded headset soon. I see that Campy still makes record headsets for around $60 bucks. You can get a Chris king for roughly double - is the quality that much better?

Well, I've had only 1 Campagnolo Record headset, and 3 Chris King headsets, but here's my experience: The Campagnolo developed pitting/notchiness within 3 or 4 years of use, but none of the Chris Kings (age range - 12 to 22 years) have worn out yet and are still in use.

As far as the Tange - I've been using one for about 10 years, and it's still running fine.

[FlashUNC]

Cane Creek 110 has been trouble free for me. I'd second the Tange if you're looking for something that doesn't break the bank and works well.

[ultraman6970]

I have a mint JIS Sunyour superbe road just in case.

IMO what the op wants to know has to do a lot with taste, personally I do not like cane creek 1inch headsets, neither the king ones, why? well.. .the CC ones arent my taste in design (ugly) and the king ones my issues is that after a few years the colors are fading badly, not saying are bad just saying what I do not lke from them...

If i had to pick I would go campagnolo or shimano... specially the shimano 600 and the dura ace ones, those are hard to kill and look great. Miche makes headsets aswell and arent bad at all.

[Luwabra]

fsa makes both as well. I got the 1" threadless in silver and its great....

https://www.amazon.com/Fsa-Orbit-Bla.../dp/B00KROHFBQ

they also make threaded

fwiw FSA customer service is top notch in my experience as well.

[bfd]

What I look for in a headset these days is whether it has angular contact cartridge bearings as it basically eliminates “index steering” as there are no individual ball bearings to put indents into the races.

CK, CC, Shimano and many others now come with cartridge bearings. I believe the Campy headsets still have ball bearings.

Of course, YMMV!

Good Luck!

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by bfd

What I look for in a headset these days is whether it has angular contact cartridge bearings as it basically eliminates “index steering” as there are no individual ball bearings to put indents into the races.

Cartridge bearing headsets are usually less likely to pit, but there's a different reason. Cartridge bearings use balls in retainers, just like non-cartridge bearings, but there are other differences.

Contrary to common belief, headsets don't form pits due to impact damage (well, at least not headsets that use hardened races). Pitting is actually a form of erosion called 'spallng'. As the bike runs over uneven surfaces, the headset bearings will continuously rock forward and back in micro-motions. The balls in a headset bearing are nearly stationary most of the time, so over time these continuous micro-motions cause the balls to slowly eat away races at their contact points, creating the pits that cause "indexed" steering.

In a cartridge bearing headset, the cartridges sit on tapered seats. These tapered seats allow the bearing cartridges to rock slightly, so the back and forth micro-motions from road vibrations occur between the cartridge and the seats, rather than the between the balls and races. The tapered seats have much larger contact areas than the balls, so the pressure between the surfaces is much less, and the slow wearing from micro-motions is much slower.

[bicycletricycle]

the CC 110 is nice and in silver is classier than the current CK option. I have one on a bike that has been daily ridden through many new england winters, it still looks and works like new. CK headsets are always great and you can never go wrong buying one.

King makes undersize baseplates and threadeless conversions which can be handy.

[Joxster]

I fitted my Campag Super Record Headset in 1989, it get stripped and regreased every year and is still going strong. The key is looking after it. My other Campag headsets on my Winter Bike have been in since 2002 and Race bike 2004, again they're perfect and stripped and regreased every year.

[zmudshark]

Make sure you check stack height. It can vary between brands.

[CDollarsign]

Originally Posted by zmudshark

Make sure you check stack height. It can vary between brands.

This brings up another point. The fork needs to be a certain length to work with a headset of a certain stack. How do I determine that?

[Dekonick]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

Cartridge bearing headsets are usually less likely to pit, but there's a different reason. Cartridge bearings use balls in retainers, just like non-cartridge bearings, but there are other differences.

Contrary to common belief, headsets don't form pits due to impact damage (well, at least not headsets that use hardened races). Pitting is actually a form of erosion called 'spallng'. As the bike runs over uneven surfaces, the headset bearings will continuously rock forward and back in micro-motions. The balls in a headset bearing are nearly stationary most of the time, so over time these continuous micro-motions cause the balls to slowly eat away races at their contact points, creating the pits that cause "indexed" steering.

In a cartridge bearing headset, the cartridges sit on tapered seats. These tapered seats allow the bearing cartridges to rock slightly, so the back and forth micro-motions from road vibrations occur between the cartridge and the seats, rather than the between the balls and races. The tapered seats have much larger contact areas than the balls, so the pressure between the surfaces is much less, and the slow wearing from micro-motions is much slower.

Thanks! Great information!

[zzy]

You can always add a spacer or two to a threaded HS so as long as the fork's steerer at least equals the total stack height of the headtube and the headset you're okay.

+1 on the cheapo Tange. Very simple loose ball design with a nice polish. But if you intend to ride it often in all weather a cartridge design may provide a better service life.

[bigman]

The VO house brand headsets are really nice as well. You cant beat the basic Tange for value.