Crank Brothers headsets....who's got'em and how are they?

no first hand knowledge bro, I know your pain on the King headsets. I switched over to cheapy Cane Creek's and haven't looked back Davep posted something about the sunline headsets a while back, think he liked 'em.

i am interested in these as well for my trail bike...they look killer but that is about all i know

They are pretty damn strong, I have them both on my R9 and my Gruitr.
Never creak, super light weight and low profile. The only complaint is that I cracked 3 while installing. You have to hammer it in a little with a rubber mallet and then very carefully press it in with a headset press.
Crank Brothers is currently working on a solution and it should be out very soon, also different colors.
I would highly recommend them, just pay very close attention while pressing.

RUFUS said:

They are pretty damn strong,


The only complaint is that I cracked 3 while installing.

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I guess if it was not for the 3 cracked ones, we could remove the word "pretty" from the above sentence.

RUFUS said:

They are pretty damn strong, I have them both on my R9 and my Gruitr.
Never creak, super light weight and low profile. The only complaint is that I cracked 3 while installing. You have to hammer it in a little with a rubber mallet and then very carefully press it in with a headset press.
Crank Brothers is currently working on a solution and it should be out very soon, also different colors.
I would highly recommend them, just pay very close attention while pressing.

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When I read the first sentance I thought to myself, "wow, crank brothers finally designed something correctly?", then I got to the bottom.

Go with the new Cane Creek 110. I had the same loosening problem with Kings, both on my DH bike & my 6" travel trail bike. The new 110 locks in nicely & I have beat them to death for 6 months without a complaint.

Have you tried the sunline headsets? My king wouldn't stop coming loose on my dh bike so I picked up a sunline and it worked great, never came loose and was always smooth. Get the v1 dh though, I broke the v2

kidwoo said:

Okey dokey.


FSA it is.


Thanks man!

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LOL bud i can see what went through your head when u read that bit... Same as in my head

F**K THAT!!:biggrin:

FSA are really good.. SuperStar Components do a headset, and it the smoothest bearings i have ever had..!! Smoother than King.. Which is crazy i used to have a king to!

RMboy said:

Smoother than King.. Which is crazy i used to have a king to!

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I love statements like this. No you cannot feel the difference in "smoothness" between new headsets. You just can't.

Cane creek, FSA, whoever... they're all the same and it's really hard to make a bad aheadset. Pay extra to get 7075 cups and nicer bearings and call it a day.

ABEC calibrated hands

Just in case you're considering a sunline headset-

I mounted one on my girlfriend's DH bike. It's super strong, and the way it is setup, I can guarentee there is no way its comming loose. The only problem is, since there is no way it's comming loose, it's also REALLY difficult to remove a fork. You pretty much need a to bang the ever living crap out of the steer tube with a rubber mallet to get the fork back out of the headset.

Once you decide you're ok with that, you'll never have to worry about your headset comming loose again though.

I meant to write light but oh well. I dont mind them. I am going back to my CK for the R9 but it works well for weight reasons on the gruitr.

Why anybody bothers paying more than is required for a FSA headset is beyond me... In all seriousness, there is sweet FA benefit in paying anymore than their prices for a headset.

kidwoo said:

What's a gruitr?

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Here is a pic of when I first built it up, (with the crank brothers headset)



It is a sinister gruitr www.sinisterbikes.com
The tires are on there for photos only

And this is my Sinister R9 (with the chris king on it)

kidwoo said:

Aaahhhh

That guitr


Thanks.

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Heh, it sounds like a gland you try not to hit on your top tube when you slip a pedal.

FSA Pig...replaced my rattling King with it two years ago and haven't looked back.

kidwoo said:

Yeah sunline was off the list even though a friend of mine is a local rep. I've seen guys sweating and cursing trying to install and get forks loose with those things.

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I now have the fork removal down to three really hard whacks with rubber mallet. This must be done on carpeted floors and with close toed shoes as your fork will hit the ground with a little force.

The install works best by using your headset top cap as a bearing press. Line everything up, start with a bunch of spacers and then slowly crank it down, ever so often removing a spacer.

We'll see if I'm sick of it in a year or not, but it's kinda nice to know that the headset wont' come loose since my girlfriend will ride her bike into the ground before noticing something is wrong with it.

and once again king products have proven themselves to be a pain in the ass.

kidwoo get yourself a FSA DH pig PRO and call it a day. they never seem to break and it you do they are cheap as well.

oh thought that i should add that i have also have great luck with the FSA MXII pro. its alot lighter than the PIG but i would not say as strong

fsa pig pro's are cheap as hell on ebay. i've bought three in the last year all replacing kings, because i'm cheap and the kings were old as my mom.

davep said:

ABEC calibrated hands

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Yo davep, want your opinion on this one.
I've got the same drama with the headset loosening, and have had it for ages. I think I've mentioned it in the past, this is with the e13 cups and stock FSA IS2 headset. Basically, I don't run a topcap/starnut (weight) but obviously this shouldn't affect anything theoretically.

Running a thomson stem, the headset would be loose in a few rides - they clamp pretty poorly. Switched to an easton havoc and the problem went away. I'm doing my crown bolts up quite tightly (boxxer) so I really don't think the problem should be stem dependent anyway.

Anyway, finally switched to a direct-mount so the problem is back. I use a headlock to preload the headset very gently (just enough to have no play), tighten all the crown bolts and she's apples... a few rides later, loose again.

Any ideas? Am I the only one having this issue with a proper aheadset?

Udi said:

Yo davep, want your opinion on this one.
I've got the same drama with the headset loosening, and have had it for ages. I think I've mentioned it in the past, this is with the e13 cups and stock FSA IS2 headset. Basically, I don't run a topcap/starnut (weight) but obviously this shouldn't affect anything theoretically.

Running a thomson stem, the headset would be loose in a few rides - they clamp pretty poorly. Switched to an easton havoc and the problem went away. I'm doing my crown bolts up quite tightly (boxxer) so I really don't think the problem should be stem dependent anyway.

Anyway, finally switched to a direct-mount so the problem is back. I use a headlock to preload the headset very gently (just enough to have no play), tighten all the crown bolts and she's apples... a few rides later, loose again.

Any ideas? Am I the only one having this issue with a proper aheadset?

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I don't think thomsons grip all that well. Adequate? Yes, but the design is actually the same as a kalloy stem I had like 10 years ago, and I've always found it interesting that thomsom uses it.

Haha, I did already say that.
Honestly, I wouldn't even class it as adequate, sans topcap it was sliding up the steerer at times (with bolts cranked down 1-2-1). Not running them anymore so it's a non-issue for me now I guess.

Any you guys tried running a spacer on top of the stem?

Jayem are you talking Thomson Elites or X4s or all Thomsons just interested to know?

On the topic of headsets, does anybody have any experience with the hope zero stack headset? Any other zero stack headsets?

Iv'e had no problems with my king so far, not sure what you guys are talking aboot. FSA's have got to be the best for the money. I had two dh pro's and have a orbit cf on my mob great headsets.

Cane Creek on all 3 bikes for me!

I've fitted an Acros AH-06 to my V10 (dual crown and Sunline direct mount stem) and so far it is working just like a good headset should - cool range of colours too

Udi said:

Yo davep, want your opinion on this one.
I've got the same drama with the headset loosening, and have had it for ages. I think I've mentioned it in the past, this is with the e13 cups and stock FSA IS2 headset. Basically, I don't run a topcap/starnut (weight) but obviously this shouldn't affect anything theoretically.

Running a thomson stem, the headset would be loose in a few rides - they clamp pretty poorly. Switched to an easton havoc and the problem went away. I'm doing my crown bolts up quite tightly (boxxer) so I really don't think the problem should be stem dependent anyway.

Anyway, finally switched to a direct-mount so the problem is back. I use a headlock to preload the headset very gently (just enough to have no play), tighten all the crown bolts and she's apples... a few rides later, loose again.

Any ideas? Am I the only one having this issue with a proper aheadset?

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You've answered your own question... you need to run a top-cap. Stems are designed to clamp hard enough to prevent rotation around the steerer (with a hard crash being the threshhold), not provide preload to your headset (especially during DH use). The thomson design isn't defective, it's more than sufficient for the task it SHOULD be used for. Ditto for the top clamp on your fork. Is 75 grams of hardware really too much for your DH bike? Will it be too much when your rattling headset ovalizes your frame?

Zark said:

no first hand knowledge bro, I know your pain on the King headsets. I switched over to cheapy Cane Creek's and haven't looked back Davep posted something about the sunline headsets a while back, think he liked 'em.

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Sunlines are definitely nice, that's what I have on my bike. I think its the lightest one out there too.

And that person who doesn't run a star nut and topcap...wtf were you thinking on that one. That's what holds the whole headset in place.

jeffj45 you might want to rethink your above statement. the top cap is only here to load the bearing before you tighten you stem. after that its all the stem

You thought wrong, Kings are quite a bit lighter. Anyone use the Canecreek 110?

Well, lets see...I first started seeing a lot of loosening on my Foes fly with the King that I Had on it. THat particular bike had an 888 or a Dorado on it for the time I had it (both direct mount) and I had constant issues with the star nut (IMO) actually walking out of the fork from the King top cap rocking and walikin up the steer tube..

I tried to use a little loctite on the top crown interfaces (steer tube as well as stanchions) and that helped a bit....but every other day or so @ whistler I would have to chase down the front end rattle....always the headset.

THen I got a woodman headlock and started using that. I had to eventually set pre-load...then tighten the crown..then overtighten the headlock to keep things tight using the King.

Last two DH frames (Turner DHR & Sunday) have both used the e-13 cups with FSA IS headset parts. Neither bike have used the top 'dust cap' for two reasons....one is stack height..the other is the headsets do not come with the micro-spacers needed to keep the dust cap from binding on the headtube/e13 cups. Either way, they have both been set up with no dust cap (just the compression ring on top.....and maybe a very small (1mm) spacer for crown clearance) and with direct mount stems (888 with go-ride crowns, now boxxer).

I have not had a single issue with losening since I ditched the King, but I do still run the headlock as I have it, and it is easier than pounding in a star nut etc. I have modded the woodman with Al bolt and a bit of cutting so it weighs very little.......Although I am pretty sure that I could go without the pre-load device, I have just become 'trained' to use it by having the king for so long...it works and stays tight....so I have not messed with the current 'system'.


I would try a tiny film of loctite (for adhesion) on the steer tube/compression ring interface as well as all the top crown interfaces and see if this stops the 'creep'.....If all else fails, a very light 'headlock' can be constructed easily with some aluminum tubing (run a 6mm tap inside) and use a Al bolt and super light cap on either end......

I do a lot of regular work on my bike to try to prevent mechanicals (like ripping any frame down to single parts and re-assemble with propper lube/loctite before ever riding...)....but for me, f*ing around in the parking lot fixing stupid little things like this when I could be up on Garbanzo are not worth the small weight savings or extra time....