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who makes the best sealed zs56 headset? (only need lower cup)

englertracing

you owe me a sandwich
Mar 5, 2012
1,573
1,069
La Verne
looking for a zs56 headset, preferrably not a split race, and featuring a nice auxilary seal.
any reccomendations?
 

konifere

Monkey
Dec 20, 2021
513
634
WolfTooth! The best headset I've ever had. Bearings are well sealed, manufacturing tolerances were perfect, non-split crown race with a double-lip seal, no creaking. I preload my headset a bit more than most and my bearings are still perfect after 2 years. I just serviced my bike and there was no dirt at all in the headset cups. I can't say enough good things about this headset.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,853
9,557
AK
WolfTooth! The best headset I've ever had. Bearings are well sealed, manufacturing tolerances were perfect, non-split crown race with a double-lip seal, no creaking. I preload my headset a bit more than most and my bearings are still perfect after 2 years. I just serviced my bike and there was no dirt at all in the headset cups. I can't say enough good things about this headset.
So you’ve never had a headset last more than 2 years?
 

FlipSide

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2001
1,376
804
Never owned a 110, so I can't comment on the quality of the 110 bearings vs the 40 but I do have a 110 crown race. It seems to be made of aluminum and is super light. The 40 crown race is made of steel and seems much beefier.

If the 110 bearing are worth it, I'd be tempted to say that the best CC combo is probably a 110 headset with a 40 crown race.
 

konifere

Monkey
Dec 20, 2021
513
634
So you’ve never had a headset last more than 2 years?
Where did I say that?
I've had headsets last for many years, but never one that was as well sealed, tolerant to more headset preload, well machined and didn't creak. Cane Creek 40s creaked and it annoyed me like hell. The FSA Orbit Xtreme Pro I had was the second best but it's not available in ZS56. And I've had great luck with the relatively cheap FSA Orbit Z too.

But for a little extra, I prefered to get the USA made Wolf Tooth. You can also select a flat, short or long top cap height, and a clean top cap/spacer when you buy it. Great customer service too. Hey I'm just sharing my thoughts on what I have experience on, and I am pickier than most.
 

slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
I've had excellent results with Superstar ones, both anglesets and regular. We're basically riding in 70-95 % humidity through the whole winter down here, with lots of rain and mud splashes at the lower half of the headset, and after three years on the regular headset and two on the Slackerizer I'm happily impressed.

Shipping could be stupid expensive though, since Superstar uses some obscure local courier who seems to lease a whole Jumbo jet to send a headset to Argentina, but for locations at Europe it drops to more logical values.
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,538
5,470
UK
tolerant to more headset preload
What?
if you need to increase bearing pre-load surely the bearing is already worn.

Personally for ZS44/ ZS56 tapered headsets I'll happily just go with a cheap sealed bearing headset that has readily available replacement bearings at a reasonable price.
eg. Brand X (dunno if you have those in the US)
If a headset bearing only last 2 years that's absolutely fine by me. just replace it for like £7
 
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konifere

Monkey
Dec 20, 2021
513
634
I don't increase it, it's just that I am a bit ocd with loose headsets and I tighten my top cap bolt at 2.2-2.5Nm (what the Wolf Tooth manual states), which, by feel, is more preload than everyone I know uses. Most people go with the traditionnal feel, but I can't anymore ... :twitch:
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,853
9,557
AK
I'm with Gary. Bearing quality is important, but I'm always skeptical that the bearings by any particular company are nothing special. Lower cup bearings take a beating for grime and grit thrown up by the wheels. I'll just take a cheap 40 bearing. Nearly every bike shop has those in stock and they are relatively cheap and decent quality.
 
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englertracing

you owe me a sandwich
Mar 5, 2012
1,573
1,069
La Verne
Well.
I'm replacing a Pivot lower, the upper is an intend stiffmaster.
Problem 1 is that there is no seal on the crown race. Lots of crud gets in there. Problem 2 is that the bearing looks like most 45 x 36, but is a 45x45.
And..... I can get them from pivot, but they come with an upper bearing I don't need, because of the stiffmaster.

20220509_221142.jpg
 

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,648
3,089
I have good experiences with popping the seal on new headset bearings, cleaning them out and refilling them with marine-grade grease. That way you stop the grease getting washed out quickly.
 

Happymtb.fr

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2016
1,907
1,252
SWE
No personal experience but it has moar sealz
 

carlos1

Chimp
Nov 14, 2011
55
59
Czech Republic
No personal experience but it has moar sealz
No dont buy the Acros, the crown race is made from very soft aluminium, buy something that has steel crown race.
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,827
13,063
No dont buy the Acros, the crown race is made from very soft aluminium, buy something that has steel crown race.
You're being unfair to aluminium there.

The Acros which came on my 2021 Commencal Supreme has a crown race made of soft cheese.
 

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,908
634
You may consider me a biased source because I used to work at CC and still have good relations with them and like them and their products a lot, but here's my breakdown of their products:

40 is mediocre. It's about the same as every other OEM level headset out there - think similar to FSA headsets. Bearings are cheap, wear out pretty regularly every year or two if you're riding hard. Not the end of the world to buy new bearings, but tracking down creaks is annoying and I get not wanting to deal with it.

110 is the best they offer - lifetime warranty includes bearings and they'll cover you if you have issues (or we did during my time there, since the 4 I have have been trouble free I haven't had any reason to test).

Hellbender 70 is essentially the same headset as the 110, but without a lifetime warranty. I don't think it uses 7075 cups either, but don't quote me on that.

Slamset is uses 7075 cups, same bearings as the 110/HB70, super low stack (I think 2mm? 4mm?) and has terrible upper seals and I don't recommend using it if you ride anywhere with rain.

Aluminum crown races don't really wear out - I like them a lot more than the heavy steel crown races the 40 series uses.

The one part that I find wears out most quickly and causes some creaks (and this is pretty common in most high end headsets, not isolated to CC) down the line is the compression ring. Maybe somebody will make a steel one at some point, but pretty much everybody uses aluminum or plastic. Aluminum tends to last longer than plastic, but I don't really like either of them if we're being honest. I'd rather have a steel compression ring, but here we are. Pretty cheap and easy part to replace, and will be visibly marred/rubbed/deformed (depending on the material) when it's in need of replacement.

Edit to add: You can also throw nice bearings in a 40 headset. Dimensions are all identical, so if you already have a perfectly good cup installed, it's probably cheaper and easier to just get a new bearing for it.
 
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6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,827
13,063
Edit to add: You can also throw nice bearings in a 40 headset. Dimensions are all identical, so if you already have a perfectly good cup installed, it's probably cheaper and easier to just get a new bearing for it
Which is what I've done before. When the lower 40 bearing has given up, replace it with the 110 bearing.
 

Avy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 24, 2006
1,119
374
Do none of you run a mudguard?
Gary,that remind’s me. Member years back they had a “dirt skirt” I think was the name? You slam the Fork Race Down on it,when put together,it had a AL Lip that was wider than the Frame. You could see and feel it. What ever came of that?
Avy
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,630
5,444
I've had three Acros headsets and haven't had an issue with a soft aluminium thing people are calling a race.

I've put one on three different forks with no issue and I usually remove them with a pocket knife and a hammer then a couple of screwdrivers, coz butcher.
 

Avy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 24, 2006
1,119
374
Gary,that remind’s me. Member years back they had a “dirt skirt” I think was the name? You slam the Fork Race Down on it,when put together,it had a AL Lip that was wider than the Frame. You could see and feel it. What ever came of that?
Avy
Sorry,it was for BMX only. I did have the name right though. I also had one One on my Hutch and Goose. Must not be any BMX folk here.

I use King and don’t have this problem. HeadSet is the only bearing I have not had to change. Must be my Dirt.
Avy
 

FlipSide

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2001
1,376
804
I've had three Acros headsets and haven't had an issue with a soft aluminium thing people are calling a race.

I've put one on three different forks with no issue and I usually remove them with a pocket knife and a hammer then a couple of screwdrivers, coz butcher.
I cracked one last summer. I had no idea this was something that could happen. Maybe it was a freak incident and light aluminum crown race are nothin to worry about. It left me (perhaps unreasonably) worried about these.