Wednesday, December 19, 2007

BSNYC Product Review: The Ultimate Cup-And-Ball Game



Once upon a time, bicycle headsets were like the prison system: they were gritty, they were full of caged balls, and they always needed overhauling. Now, however, there is a dizzying array of standards and designs: loose bearing; needle bearing; cartridge bearing. 1”; 1 1/8”; 1 ¼”. Threaded; threadless; integrated; internal; zero stack. Indeed, the headset is truly the most dynamic and exciting of all bicycle components.

Needless to say, when Cane Creek sent me their new 110 headset to review, I was thrilled. If you don’t already know, the 110 name refers to the fact that this headset is backed by a 110-year warranty. Yep, that’s no misprint—110 years. I’m sure you’re asking yourself what allows Cane Creek to offer such an extraordinary guarantee. Well, firstly, they’re incredibly confident in their product. Secondly, the warranty is only valid for the original owner, and since the average human life expectancy these days is only around 80 years they’re anticipating very few claims after 2087. Thirdly, the 1 1/8th headset standard is already disappearing, so in the next few years it’s unlikely you’ll even be able to find a frame to put it in.

Not only does the 110 come with one of the best warranties in the business, but it also comes with some of the most persuasive promotional literature I’ve ever read. “Headsets lead a hard life,” it says, “so no wonder that it’s hard to find one that gives you 100 percent of what you’re looking for.” Well, 100 percent of what I’m looking for is a headset that allows your bars to turn, so if the 110 does that they’ve already succeeded. The literature also says, “We’ve designed and manufactured a few million headsets in our day, so we have some idea of what it takes to create a benchmark, no-compromise design.” Cane Creek certainly has made a lot of headsets. Not only that, but many of them were crappy and more vulnerable to water intrusion than the New Orleans levee system. You’ve got to figure that a company whose failures number in the millions must have learned a thing or two by now.

I was nearly sold, except for one thing: the price tag. $140 is pretty steep for a headset, which brings us to the anodized and laser-etched elephant in the room. That’s right, Chris King. It’s pretty obvious that the 110 is a shot of colorful head tube candy directly across the King bow. For years, King have been taunting Cane Creek with their technologically superior headsets. Furthermore, Chris King's anti-integration stance has make him the Governor George Wallace of headset manufacturers, and his rejection of the integrated standard culminated a few years back with a controversial protest in which he crucified himself outside of Cane Creek headquarters and read aloud from his famous anti-headset integration screed.

But King must be quaking in his Sidis now. Cane Creek have not only apparently figured out how to keep water out of a headset for more than a week, but they’ve also trumped King’s once-mighty 10 year warranty by a full decimal place. Sure, chances are your properly-serviced Chris King headset (or just about any headset) will still be turning 10 years and a day from now. But it’ll be turning without a warranty behind it. Maybe you can sashay blithely around on that kind of thin ice, but I can’t.

Well, Cane Creek had me convinced on paper, but it was time to try the 110 out and see if it lived up to the hype. I grabbed one of my two BSNYC test-cycles, went over to Dave Moulton’s blog for some headset installation advice, and got to work. Now, I’m always extremely careful when applying hardware to my test-cycles, but unfortunately things did not go as smoothly as I’d hoped. No matter how hard I turned the bolts on my homemade press, the cups would not seat themselves in the head tube. I double-checked that both the headset and the head tube were 1 1/8” in diameter, and indeed they were. I re-read Dave’s instructions and, convinced I was on the right track, went back to work. Still, though, the cups refused to seat, and in fact I noticed that both the headset and the head tube had begun to deform. I had crushed my test-cycle!

So I called Cane Creek, and I learned two important things. Firstly, the standard headset they sent me was apparently not compatible with my test-cycle’s integrated head tube. Secondly, the 110-year warranty does not cover user stupidity.

That said, I still give the 110 high marks. Since its only shortcoming was incompatibility with my frame, it’s unlikely a King headset would have worked any better. So in that respect, they’re at least equal. Secondly, Cane Creek have informed me that they have several new improvements planned for the 110 that will make it even more competitive with the King. These improvements include: a blue and white Zionist color scheme to compete with King’s popular Rasta; a set of oil and vinegar cruets they expect will outsell King’s salt and pepper shakers; and a revolutionary new proprietary top cap.

Now that’s what I call getting a-head!

80 comments:

Anonymous said...

gdgdfsgfgafs

Anonymous said...

yes11111

Evershed said...

woohoo #3

Evershed said...

and four

Anonymous said...

Dang, name dropping George Wallace. Kudos.

Anonymous said...

(crash) Hincapie!

Strayhorn said...

Looks like they don't have a Tall Cap version, like Campy, so you can proudly display your discretionary income for all to see. I mean, the neon colors are nice, but being able to print the company name in letters one-inch tall will help with that valuable older demographic - the only people with the money to spend on items like this.

Anonymous said...

Better to crucsh your test-cycle than your testicle I suppose.

Jim said...

no-compromise design

It's about time. I was getting really sick of looking for headset advice in that stupid "Getting to Yes!" book.

Anonymous said...

The main complaint I hear about Chris King is that they have steadfastly refused to do anything new in quite a while. But then no one ever says that about Phil Wood, and they definitely aren't going to do anything new anytime soon. I don't think integrated headsets will ever fully take over, because it is a bad design. At the very least Rivendell will keep every old bike technology on life support, no matter if it works well or not.

Anonymous said...

first pull up then pull down

Anonymous said...

Chris King's rant on integrated head sets is nice, too bad reality is not on his side.A bearing seal is a bearing seal.
But, like any good politician, in the absence of any new ideas, start a negative campaign against the opposition. Litespeed is in this boat, ...it's not working there either.

I would caution on the use of colored head sets with 110 year warranties, especially in New York, where you cannot predict 100 years from now which gang and its colors will control which neighborhood. In 2108, when the Crips are in the Whitehouse, the 120th street Republicans will be a mean bunch.

Scottie said...

Despite being wonderfully tongue-in-cheek, today's post was actually littered with useful info. Moulton's improvised headset tools work really well and are wonderful tips. You just have to be gentle (as you would with a normal headset press, anyway).

I was actually unaware of CCs reputation for making leaky headsets. Was it specific models or all of them? I've been using an S2 for several years now and it's always worked really well, never had any problems with water in it.

Prolly said...

Integrated headsets ftw!

Anonymous said...

sign me up for the zionist set!

Anonymous said...

From the Chris King website: *Please Note: As of January 1, 2005 we've discontinued sales of Turquoise and Purple hubs.

Oh my god! How will I match my turquoise chain, purple spacers, teal frame, pink wheels, and green bar tape now? This is terrible!

Anonymous said...

For a true comparison, you should force an incompatible king in the test rig. Have another homemade press or two on standby, in case it happens to fail before the cups or headtube. Added leverage always helps, and don't forget, if it's jammed, force it.

Anonymous said...

Your writing is so good that I just enjoyed reading about headsets.
Damn.

"culminated a few years back with a controversial protest in which he crucified himself outside of Cane Creek headquarters"

"they’ve also trumped King’s once-mighty 10 year warranty by a full decimal place."

Genius.

Anonymous said...

...and if it breaks, it needed replacing anyway.

Anonymous said...

Allright Frank you little Be-otch! Let's Dance!!

Anonymous said...

BGW, you have to sign in so we know it's the real you. you know, before the battle.

GGehrke said...

Scott said...
I was actually unaware of CCs reputation for making leaky headsets. Was it specific models or all of them?

---

I was thinking the same thing.

Anonymous said...

Great post- you make me laffffffff

Anonymous said...

I think I see the problem.

I think we're supposed to seat the test cycles in the cup, not the other way around.

The cup is what protects the test cycles. Not vice versa.

Of course, if one has more test cycles than brains, one quickly discovers that no cup provides adequate protection.

P.S. -- thanks for the David Moulton link. I learn useful stuff at the BSNYC blog every day!

Jim said...

culminated a few years back with a controversial protest in which he crucified himself outside of Cane Creek headquarters"

Jeez, how'd he get Grant Peterson to come down off it long enough to read that manifesto?

Ps. Grant - if you're reading this I'll stop picking on you if you make me a cross bike. Just one condition - it *can't* have 650b wheels, aiight? In the alternative I'd settle for you feeding the multitudes of people who feel lied to by Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis with just 4 loaves and 5 fishes, or turning my bidons into bottomless wine bottles, preferably a good estate '98 Haute Medoc, if you please...

Anonymous said...

I had to re-install my headset a few weeks ago, and I saved myself a lot of money. Instead of buying proper tools, I pounded the lower cup in with a hammer. The good news: it turns just fine. The bad news: it's never coming out again, because I was also too stupid to grease it.

Anonymous said...

I've been looking for a set of oil and vinegar cruets for my wedding registry...thank you cane creek!!!

Unregistered Coward said...

Ehhh.....

This one was reaching deep into the find something to post about sack.

Shark jumping ahead?

Anonymous said...

Oh snap, bsnyc. Oh snap.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Scott and ggehrke,

Cane Creek (or Dia-Compe, or AheadSet) have indeed made millions of headsets, as the 110 literature claims. I didn't mean to say that CCs are universally leaky or anything, but the fact is that under their various names they've made a wide range of headsets--some good, some bad. It was less a joke about Cane Creek's quality than it was a joke about marketing.

To my eyes, the 110 is aimed directly at the Chris King. I suppose I find it ironic and humorous that they're simultaneously bragging about their threadless headset expertise while still trying to convince customers they can offer King-like durability in a threadless headset. And I suppose I'm disappointed that they're attempting to do so by touting a $140 headset with a 110-year warranty.

That's not to say CC makes bad headsets, nor is it to say that CK headsets are worth the price. But the skeptic in me reads something like the 110 marketing sheet and wonders, "Hmmm, if they invented the threadless headset over 20 years ago and have made millions of them, why can't they just make a headset that's as good as the King for a fraction of the price?"

Now that would be something to brag about.

--BSNYC

BikeSnobNYC said...

Unregistered Coward,

As I've commented in the past, I jumped the shark weeks ago with the orangutan post.

You mean you don't find headsets as fascinating as I do?!?

--BSNYC

Scottie said...

Ah, I see where you're coming from, BSNYC. I mean, I'd heard occasional bad things about CC, but nothing I hadn't heard the same about Ritchey, FSA, or Race Face.

Come to think of it, I've never heard someone complain about their CK headset, but I figured that's just because if I spent that much on a headset and it sucked, I sure as hell wouldn't tell anybody, either.

iamameatpopsicle said...

this is the best non-review i've ever read! are you serious that you tried to install a non-integrated headset on an integrated-headset bike?

LK said...

I'm not sure about your prison analogy as being "once upon a time"y, on the Cane Creek webite they mention: Hard-Pack Alloy, Captured Compression Ring, and Split Lip Bearing. Sounds like prison to me. Like Ouch.

The headset on my commuter has certain sedimentary value. She has loose balls and needs lube, I wouldn't trade her for anything. She's a keeper.

Snob - Your test cycle will be fine. Give it a few days.

...and that unlinked bikesgonewind is a poser, probably rides a lead sled with a Wald headset....

Karl Rover said...

Headsets are the new black. Even Crank Brothers are jumping into it. Have you seen their new 58g headset? Half the weight of CK, but still $140. Wasted money if you ask me.

BTW, the Clyde post from a few months ago was clever. No need to label it "the shark tank jump".

Niki said...

Once a friend of mine asked me how the hell I could spend $120 on a saddle.

He had a Chris King headset.

The argument was over.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Karl Rover,

I enjoyed this review:

Consider a conventional cartridge bearing headset. It has a cup you press into a head tube, and then a bearing, which consists of an inner and an outer race. One cup, two races. Why not use the cup as a race? Why not. Crank Brother engineers found they could do just that...

Now that spells durability. Wheels look great too.

--BSNYC

Anonymous said...

I've never had a problem with a head set. Is it just me?

Anonymous said...

good grief. beavis and butthead change a headset.

Bluenoser said...

Ok Snob this isn't fair. I saw your post first and thought I was on the top step. But no I live in te middle of nowhere. Don't believe me? Then Google Earth "Black Hole" and that's where I am.

Anyway, I replied on my ugh, dial-up and then went to return the Cane Creek 110 that I had bought for a Christmas gift for my 92 year old great uncle whose on life support.

I am allowed to say Christmas gift here aren't I instead of something like "Politically Correct Item for Giving" or something of that nature.

So figure how I felt when I got back here after my LBS closed it's doors after going into receivership because of the long lineup of Cane Creek 110 customers standing outside to find I'm at this miserable spot in the comment peloton.

How the hell is my great uncle going to steer his electric scooter now?

Oh the shame great uncle...

-B

Anonymous said...

Anon,

Actually Chris King is stop on in many ways with his criticism of integrated headsets. Ever look inside the head tube of well ridden bike with an integrated headset? I have. The lack of a cup means the head tube get trashed where bearings sit. You can replace headset cup but you can't replace a damn head tube (most folks can't anyway). So in the end you are forced to ride on it until it is completely thrashed and then buy a new bike.

Integrated headset, threadless headsets, are just another way to lower the cost of producing bicycles. Threadless headsets reduced the cost of making forks to fit different size frames. Companies could just make forks with a standard long steerer, not thread it, and cut off whatever wasn't needed. Cheaper than manufacturing forks with different steerer tube lengths and machining threads, so overhead is cut. Integrated headsets work on the same principle. No need to spec a bike with a branded headset (Ritchey, Cane Creek, etc.) and pay the cost of outsourcing that component. Simply buy bearings by the truckload and fit them into the head tube. Even better: You can charge more for these bikes they have the latest advance in the industry, which makes you even more money on top of what you already saved on overhead. This happened at the beginning of threadless headset era. Bikes that were cheaper to make with threadless sets cost more to buy because they had the new great technology. I think most people got convinced about threadless headsets because of the reduction in weight. But to have any room for adjustment you end up with more steerer tube and spacers which essentially make the weight savings minimal. But hey money talks so threadless is the new standard.

Matthew Reamer said...

The salt and pepper shakers are $120. $120 for up-cycled defective hubs. Amazing.

Anonymous said...

My latest bike is my first non-steel bike. I got freaked out and went to a shop to have them pound in the integrated headset cups before I built it . . . but in retrospect I think I wimped out. On all of my steel bikes in the past I just cranked down the headset bolts which in turn set the cups. Then I backed them off so the fork could turn freely. I never crushed any bearings, everything worked just fine. Those tools must just be just marketing hype. Using one headset wrench and a pair of giant plumber's pliers is more Zen. You dig?

Karl Rover said...

Snob,

Thx for the link. Interesting to see that Crank Brothers has color coded its product lines, and that they selected green for "free ride".

KR

Anonymous said...

guns_o_brixton,

Threadless headsets are mechanically superior in *every* way. They don't come loose nearly as often, they provide a better and stronger interface, they do away with the ever-problematic wedges, and what you complain about in that anyone can make them is a feature, not a problem. Not having threading to destroy greatly benefits steerer tubes. I could go on.

You might not like them aesthetically, but even Jobst Branst grants that they are a great advance.

Anonymous said...

For $140, that headset better give me some "a-head", too. Pretty colors are not enough to trip my trigger!

The guy doin' the thing said...

BSNYC..

Wait, 1-1/8 standard is disappearing? WTF...hadn't heard that...but then, i ain't so smart.

Secondly, I traded a 1" CK HS for a perfectly good ole school made in IT Bianchi RB...turned into a sweet fixie. Not one of those FAG hipster thing-a-ma-bobs but a tried and true 42x16 (Campy track cog, thank you very much) "cramp and go slow" SR brakes honest to god fixed gear. Best deal I've made in years.

Joshua said...

It's really kind of amazing to read these comments, and see just how many people don't get it. I mean, they don't get anything. How do they function in life? It blows my mind.

Jared said...

I always thought the biggest problem with the most recent model pistas was the fact that they always slept with other late model pistas of the same gender. Thats disgusting, I'm glad that someone finally had the nerve to write about it in capital letters. I'd better hop on my decidedly heterosexual steamroller and go pick up a six pack before the corner store closes.

Anonymous said...

C'MON TANK! ..... YOU A CHICKEN SH*T??

Adam Lorenz said...

although, i'm intrigued by c.c. new headset and warranty the thing that has always gotten me with king is their business practices... sure their stuff is pricey but it's quality through and through.

Anonymous said...

I take showers with small boys...

Anonymous said...

woogie woogie

Anonymous said...

where you at, bikesgonemild!?

Anonymous said...

Jim, 3:26:

Rivendell makes a Cross bike. It is called a Leglolas. It is remarkably light. It only comes with 700 wheels.

There is a wait list, meaning there will be some competition to get one.

You may want to work on your research skills if you hope to get a leg up on other would be buyers.

Anonymous said...

Ding. In the Red corner weighing in at a fully wet 300 lbs the current World Chump Bad Cussing terror of the south FFFFFFFFrank the Tank.
In the Blue corner weighing a dweeeby 120 lbs in a lovely pink tutu and bike short number, the defender of all things moral........ BGW. This ladies and Gents is a fight to death or one who cries uncle or the most, for the heavy middle Batam weight cruiser cycle division. Let'ssssss Ruuuuuumble

PS With a name like Cane CREEK wouldn't you expect a little dampness??? Also just having fun boys so do not star whaling on me

Anonymous said...

Hey Andy Pandy,

Your enthusiasm is commendable, but don't get too excited for a fight. bgw and franky may have had their tiffs, but currently looks like some moniker stealing goober is masquerading as several different posters. snooze.

The evolution of a comments page: the more popular a blog gets, the more spam comments for a reader to filter out. Fake posters, lame antagonizing, people writing useless things (yes, "woogie woogie," I mean you--your mysterious comments are almost as titillating as Who stole the Lindberg baby. There, somebody paid attention to you!), and so on. To be expected, and best ignored.

Anonymous said...

Next you will tell me that Santa ain't real,carbon bikes are really perverted work from plastic cookie cutters and the FG craze will last. Damn

Anonymous said...

MADE IN CHINA, not better than a King really, and no high end American jobs being supported, just 2 or 3 old rednecks in North Carolina.

Jim said...

You may want to work on your research skills if you hope to get a leg up on other would be buyers.

Joel - thanks. I've been looking for somebody to fact check me when I'm making sarcastic jokes about stuff. You want the job? The pay is competitive and the hours are really good.

Anonymous said...

I'm with guns_o_brixton on this issue. With integrated headsets how the hell are other people supposed to see how much you spent just to make the fork turn in concert with the handlebars?

I'll probably wait until CC come out with the full collector's set. An inside source here in NC tells me that this limited-release set will include the following.

The Dreadlock. Green, yellow and red. Nothing like exploiting cool reggae stereotypes to impress your desparate and white middle class friends!

The Drool Brittania. The Union Jack scheme presents an appropriately confused message, mixing current hipness and ancestral imperialism.

The Stealth Special. Matt black. Like the namesake bomber, precision built and a hefty tag. Unlike the namesake bomber, it has CANE CREEK emblazoned in bright silver block letters on it. Oh, and it doesn't kill as many civilians.

The Swiss Barmy. Shit, we can jack up the price of this one just because of the little white cross on the red background.

The Tie Dyed Turny Thing. Ben and Jerry and Jerry Garcia would be proud. You should buy this because we just mentioned their names!

alliwannadoisbicycle said...

there's no such thing as bad head...

Daniel said...

there's no such thing as bad head...

You've never been in prison.

Anonymous said...

re: BSNYC 4:31 pm and Crank Brothers headsets

I still have no idea how their design differs from my $25 The Pig headset. Sheldon Brown's site can't help; Park Tool's site can't help; the usual forums are hopeless - why am I so stupid? Is it that the cartridge component (of the cartridge bearings) is itself shaped into a cup?

Also, when installing a headset, you really need to focus, but don't miss the big picture. I installed a CK headset in my frame following Dave Moulton's advice, and it went in like butter: my seatpost has never spun so freely.

Steve Griffiths said...

I had a cane creek headset on a Salsa cross bike once. Went to a race and had it seize up on me just before the start. It had about 10-20 rides on it.

Rode over to a nearby bike shop and had em put a Chris King in it. There's a reseaon they call it KING! They'll last 111 years.

Unknown said...

Headsets? When I was a youngster, we welded our forks to the frame. We didn't need to turn because you know what? Turning was for pussies! We rode straight and straight only and we were damn happy to do it.

Kids today... GET OFF MY LAWN!

Anonymous said...

..at least you had forks, we would ride with our chins on the top tube and hold the front skewer in our hands. We called forks "polish hay tossers". Kids today with their Wiis and their carbon forks, no respect.

Anonymous said...

Hey Bikesnob,
I'm curious about the home-made headset press. Not the hammer like one anonymous poster (thats for punching the cups out, not in). I made a homemade headset press out of 18" of threaded 1 inch steel stock, 4 massive 1" washers and 2 1" bolts. A wrench on each nut. It presses 'em right in at a fraction of the cost of a Park or other professional press.

Jared said...

Hey volthause
that's exactly what I'm talking about, bikes that go straight

Anonymous said...

Jim @ 8:26

Fact checking would be boring. But how about coaching your literary skills?

Your first post would have been sarcastic if Rivendell did not make or Peterson did not believe in Cross bikes.

As it is, Rivendell makes a nice, if over priced and probably too pretty Cross bike.

Good sarcasm needs at least some measure of truth to be worth the time.

Anonymous said...

First you say regular headsets are gritty and need constant overhauling. Then you say $140 is too much for a headset that needs ZER0 maintenance and will NEVER need to be repaired or replaced.

333 @ 4:42PM and Bonechilling @ 9:13 PM are on to you also, but seriously:

You are so incompetent you have to consult someone else’s blog to install a headset.
You didn’t even know the headset was incompatible with your frame and likely ruined both.

“I double-checked that both the headset and the head tube were 1 1/8” in diameter, and indeed they were.”
Uh, excuse me. The only thing that should measure 1 1/8” – in diameter - is your fork’s steerer tube!

Buy the proper tools. Even so, they are worthless if you don’t know how to use them. And you don’t, so, you are.

You’re even more pretentious than the people you mock.
You are completely unqualified to review anything.

Anonymous said...

Dwayne.Dwayne Dwayne. I guess folks don't practice parody in Colorado. Dwayne or Duane. Both sound very serious.

Anonymous said...

Dwayne, GET OFF MY LAWN.

Shouldn't you be policing gay people to make sure they aren't happy?

Anonymous said...

I hope you're kidding about attempting to install a traditional headset in a frame designed for an integrated one. If not, your a complete moron who has no business sharing his opinions or observations with anyone.

Anonymous said...

great item but I cannot but hate them for not making a threaded version

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Term Papers said...

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