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With more builders, manufacturers, and riders asking for full internal routing of cables and brake lines, Chris King has released two more headsets to bring this option to a much wider array of frames. AeroSet™ 1 (Patent Pending) fits headtubes with IS52/IS52 upper and lower and 45° x45° bearing sizes. AeroSet™ 2 (Patent Pending) is the same but with a lower bearing spec of 36°x45° degree…
Within a relatively straightforward product lineup, Chris King Precision Components manufactures hubs, headsets, bottom brackets, and, perhaps most importantly, the bearings inside that make them spin. On a recent trip to Portland, Oregon, Josh spent some time at the Chris King HQ factory to learn more about the company’s origins and what makes it continue to stand out in a crowded space of bearing-centric bicycle components. Read on below for the full rundown of what goes on at CKPC’s giant vegetable oil-fueled machine shop!
We love our friends in the Maker community, and during a recent build, John stumbled upon some nifty headset spacers from White Industries. Check out what makes these spacers so unique below!
Chris King just announced a custom headset builder called Mix-n-Match for custom colors under the Factory Finds banner. Available in a veritable panoply of colors (actually an assortment of King sunset colors) in NoThreadSet, InSet or Tapered NoThreadSet configuration. Want a NoThreadSet in orange, brown, and gold? Or an InSet to match your custom paint? Now’s your chance! Each Mix-n-Match headset is built to order while supplies last.
Roll on over to Chris King to build your custom Mix-n-Match headset.
Just south of Asheville, NC, in the town of Fletcher, is the Cane Creek Cycling Components headquarters. Backed up to the Blue Ridge Mountains, it’s here that they assemble all of their suspension forks, shocks, and brakes by hand and continue to carry the torch of design innovation lit by their predecessor, Dia-Compe USA. Photographer Steve West is back from a factory tour and shares about the Cane Creek process below.
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Wolf Tooth has expanded its headset lineup to include two bearing options for each headset model. You can now choose between the less-expensive Performance headset and the more expensive, longer-lasting Premium headsets. Check out an informative chart below showcasing the differences and see more info at Wolf Tooth.
A lot of companies are standing behind their products with Lifetime Guarantees now. Cane Creek Cycling Components is the latest brand to announce a 100% lifetime guarantee on all 110 series headsets – including bearings – purchased after August 28, 2019.
Another US-manufacturer just launched their headset line. Minnesota’s Wolf Tooth offers a variety of designs, with custom Seals, featuring Enduro Stainless Bearings, and are made in Minnesota. See more at Wolf Tooth.
White Industries‘ headsets have been popping up sporadically here on the Radavist for almost a year and now, the Petaluma-based manufacturer has opened up a pre-order. All you’ve gotta do is go to your local shop and have them call in your order. These will be shipping October 2nd.
These look great! Phil Wood inserts itself into the headset market with these shiny 1 1/8″, made in the USA gems. You can never have enough MUSA headsets!
In 1976 Chris King manufactured the first Chris King headset. It was built to medical grade tolerances and set the standard for what a quality bicycle component should be. Since that time bicycles have changed significantly, from 6-speed road bikes and 45-pound fully ridged mountain bikes to sub 10-pound road bikes and 35-pound dowhnill bikes, the design of today’s modern bicycles has kept pace with the development and style of riders. As riders we want our bikes to perform with out hassle so we can get the most out of our riding experience and it was with an eye on the changes in capabilities and material of todays most advanced bicycles that we developed GripLock™ the next generation of our legendary headsets.
GripLock™ has been in use on Chris King’s headsets for quite sometime and has been featured on our InSet family of headsets since their introduction. Also all 1-1/8″ NoThreadSets have been equipped with GripLock™ since 2010. Our press introduction comes about after we were awarded a patent for this advanced system prior to receiving the patent we wanted to keep our messaging about GripLock™ light now that we have patent security we are thrilled to share this feature with the world.
Chris King’s GripLock™ headset retention device uses an isolated wedge system to separate headset bearing adjustment from steerer tube location thus eliminating loose headsets on long travel mountain bikes while simultaneously removing any chance of headset inflicted fatigue on the lightweight carbon steerer tubes found on modern road forks.
GripLock comes stock on all InSets and 1-1/8″ NoThreadSets. GripLock upgrades are available for 1-1/8″ NoThreadSets currently with out a GripLock bearing cap.”
Learn more at Chris King
Wait. Huh…? Why on earth would you need to do that? Head over to Chris King to find out.
Yeah, bearing races. They might seem insignificant to you, but Chris King is the only manufacturer of headsets that makes their own bearings and races in house. Truth*. This past week, they celebrated their 1,000,000th bearing race. Head over to the Chris King blog for more!
*if it’s not true, I’d like to see details!
Each year, I love watching people’s faces as they enter the Chris King compound and although the metaphor “like a kid in a candy shop” is somewhat dated, it’s application here is quite fitting. I can’t even walk into their booth without picking up at least a headset (purple!). This year at NAHBS, the Portland based frame builders and component manufacturers brought all kinds of eye candy. My favorite project bike was the champagne and purple Sportif Racer but people were tapping the top tubes and squeezing the brakes of the Cross Racer and Overlander (which I totally didn’t get a good photo of).
At this point, you’re probably not even reading the copy anymore, so check out the gallery for more goodness!
This just in from Chris King:
“We are ecstatic to be offering a handpicked selection of our most popular products in a moody dark purple. These components will be released for a short time and in limited quantities so make sure to place your order with your local Chris King dealer by December 10th.”
You know I’ve gotta get my hands on this stuff ASAP!
This is just the beginning of a project I’m documenting with Chris King and Argonaut Cycles. We’ll start off with something extra special, the Chris King I8 headset. Here’s the latest from Chris King:
“The Chris King I8 headset was developed for 1-1/8″ to 1-1/4″ tapered steerer tubes that are quickly becoming the standard for performance oriented road and cyclocross bicycles. We worked with locally produced Argonaut Cycles to develop a headset with seamless visual design that will elegantly interface with the head tubes found on modern carbon bicycles. In doing so we invested the I8 with the same precision performance and durability that is built into each and every Chris King component.
Carbon frames are most definitely here to stay and we wanted to make sure that our riders had the option of a Chris King headset for their future dream bike. A headset that avoids the deleterious wear effects that occur with the use of integrated headset designs.”
I can’t wait to share more of this exciting project with you! Expect much more to come… For now, head to the Argonaut Facebook and await updates!
Over the past few years, these Serotta track bikes have been floating around NYC due to them being sold at various swaps in the area. Serotta made these frames for the junior track league at T-Town and they came equipped, full Mavic Pista with my favorite headsets. While the tool is notoriously difficult to find, you can’t beat the aesthetic. It’s like a Campagnolo Contax model (Record, Chorus, C-Record) had a bastard lovechild with a Dura Ace 7200.
I’m still going through my photos from my Shop Visit to King Kog, where this was shot. Expect them to be posted shortly!
