Cane Creek 40-Series External Cup Complete for 34mm Head-Tube (1-1/8-Inch Straight Steerer), Black

I have used several different brand headsets over the years, although most were Tange threaded models. I used a threadless Cane Creek 110 series for a previous bike (a Trek 720 disc that the frame cracked at the seat tube/top tube junction, but that’s a tangential rant I will skip for now), which was a pricey upgrade. While I would love to put a 110 series in my new steel frame, I could not justify the cost. The 110 is all US made and beautifully finished, including the smoothest bearings I have ever handled, but the 40 series appears just as nice in the hand, albeit not entirely US sourced. The bearings were just as smooth as my memory of the 110 series, too. Installing it was easy, using a home made headset press (threaded rod, an assortment of fender washers, and some nuts — look up DIY headset press and crown install tool on your favorite internet search engine), some wrenches, and grease (use it liberally at the headset/headtube interface). Adding the crown race to the fork was easy, using a section of PVC pipe long enough to extend from the fork crown to just beyond the fork steerer tube. You want the PVC to fit in the race as tightly as possible, so all the subsequent force is applied to the race, so take the race with you to your hardware store of choice. PVC is key, as you want something softer than the race. Place the crown race and gasket on the crown (more grease), PVC pipe on that, invert the whole assembly, and slam the PVC on a hard surface until it sets properly on the crown. Or you can pay your local bike mechanic for installation, but it really is easy to do without the pricey, dedicated tools from Park and other makers. Installation of the bearings and dust covers are easy to follow from the included instruction sheet supplied by Cane Creek. Definitely recommend Cane Creek, the 110 series (if you can afford it), and now the 40 series. I expect it to last for years, and Cane Creek sells replacement parts, so it is essentially a lifetime purchase.

Sealed bearings are the best. Very good quality material and great performance.

I replaced my headset with a cheaper FSA non-cartridge bearing version and was plagued by all sorts of issues with my front fork / stem getting loose and poor breaking performance. I replaced it with one of these, and it is a night and day difference. It is like it is not even there (honestly the way a headset should be). Bike is way more surefooted under breaking and no more random rattling around over bumps. Definitely worth the money.

Installing a headset and crown race requires a couple of special tools, so if you don’t have them, take your frame to a bike mechanic. With the tools, installation is pretty quick and easy. For a standard 1 1/8” head tube, the Cane Creek 40 hits the sweet spot… reliable and reasonably priced. I’ll probably not have to think about this headset for many years to come.

I bought this to replace my bearings seeing that I had bought a new air fork to upgrade my Schwinn Santis 29 inch spring fork . I was reading what a pain it was to get the bottom bearing flange off a old fork and how much a pain it is to replace the star nut I decided to just buy a new head set and this filled the bill . Of course You will have to replace the bearing caps but for me that was easy took me a large flat blade screwdriver and a hammer , hooked it from the inside of the steering tube on the bearing cap and whacked it , popped them right out just be sure on where your hitting and take your time . saw many you tube vids on the "official procedure " in volving special tools , I call BS I used no "special tools " installing with a piece of wood and a hammer and some grease to lube it up and drove in the new races . I did buy a star nut driver from amazon for cheep that really helped . Happy with the new bearings as these are quality sealed bearings much smoother then the old bearings

This is a great headset. I ride a tandem and my headset took a beating. This one is working great as a replacement. However, the documentation that came with it isn't very specific about which way the races and spacers go. I don't work on bicycles for a living and this is the first headset I replaced. I had to do a bit of internet searching before I could find a picture detailed enough to show how everything fit together. Experienced mechanics might laugh at me, but other do-it-yourselfers might have the same problem. A good picture or diagram in the enclosed documentation would have saved me a lot of time.

I was replacing my fork and in the process realized my original headset was in awful condition. Picked this up on Prime and had it Saturday delivered. I was without my bike for 24 hours. Thanks Amazon! Anyway, this is a nice, smooth, lightweight headset. I would say it's ALMOST as smooth as my Chris King that cost maybe 3 times as much. Honestly, I find headset smoothness only to matter when you're standing still and lift up the front end. Usually that "smoothness" is also inhibited by cable housing/routing friction. Headset smoothness is mostly imperceptible if your headset is in good working condition, well adjusted, and is of relatively good quality. This is a great headset for the money. In fact, I may never buy another brand headset unless I want a special color. You could buy a fancier, possibly smoother headset for a lot more, but why would you do such a thing?

These days, why would you want to install a headset without sealed bearings. And, while bearings can "sometimes" be found as exact replacements, it is not that much more expensive to get the whole set, which you then know will fit together. I certainly tried to find the replacement bearing I needed--to avoid the longer journey of replacing a headset. I failed at that. I did however succeed at installing the new headset and bearings myself, without buying any fancy tools. It definitely took some improvisation. I might have looked at some videos by RJ the bike guy along the way. The "take me to the bike shop" moment was driving on the new crown race, which was not split, and was quite tight on my new fork. I used two pieces of scrap wood with a "v" shape cutout on each to sandwich the steerer tube so I could drive down the crown race without hitting the steerer tube. I used appropriate sized sockets from my socket set and the old top screw to drive down the star-fangled nut into position. AND I should have been less generous with the grease around the sealed bearings, as it made it harder to get the right tension on the bearings once installed. Still, all things considered, the old is gone and the new has come, it steers like a baby and I can use the $100 or so I saved by doing the deed myself wherever else I choose!