Headsets

Why We Make It Maybe we’re just a bunch of old softies, but the GripNut told the world we meant business when it came to headsets, and there are still a kajillion of them out in the world, giving good, daily service. It’s hard to talk about sustainability and not keeping making a cornerstone product like this one. Why You Want It You want to ride that classic bike of yours forever, and we don’t blame you. Our GripNut™ headset is designed for threaded forks that don’t require a cable hanger or additional spacers, allowing us to build a low stack height threaded headset with a unique collet locking system that stays securely adjusted. Every Chris King headset is built with our heat-treated bearings, and surgical-grade steel races machined simultaneously to ensure they are perfectly matched. As Chris King bearing tracks age and burnish, they actually get smoother, and all headsets are fully serviceable for years upon years of demanding riding. External upper and lower cups with the iconic, Chris King rounded profile adds timeless style to even the most modern bike. - Engineered, manufactured and assembled in Portland, Oregon USA - King Lifetime Warranty - Legendary made-in-house bearings - GripNut™ proprietary collet retention system - Options for 1” or 1-1/8” straight steerer tubes

The Inset headset offers Chris King's trademark quality and durability in a low-stack configuration sized for contemporary headtube dimensions. King's legendary made-in-house bearings still form the centerpiece of the Inset headsets, with precisely machined aluminum cups and headset caps available in all ten classic Chris King colors. The Inset 2 is compatible with tapered 1-1/8 - 1-1/2-inch forks and frames using a 44/56mm headtube.

Why We Make This Contemporary bicycle frame designs are incorporating larger diameter headtubes and forks with tapered-steerers to improve the bike’s front end stiffness, and as a result handling accuracy. This move has made particular sense for off-road bikes. We evolved the form and function of our legendary NoThreadset to address the variety of tapered steerers and headtubes on the market today. Why You Want It Every Chris King headset is built with our heat-treated bearings, and surgical-grade steel races machined simultaneously to ensure they are perfectly matched. As Chris King bearing tracks age and burnish, they actually get smoother, and all headsets are fully serviceable for years upon years of demanding riding. Built for the next generation of tapered road forks the Chris King InSet™ 8 is built to fit contemporary road and cross bikes that utilize 1-1/8” to 1-1/4”tapered steerer tubes and a 44mm headtube. Our InSet™ 8 combines our exclusive Chris King built bearings and our GripLock® retention system for unequalled riding quality. - Engineered, manufactured and assembled in Portland, Oregon USA - King Lifetime Warranty - Legendary made-in-house bearings - Patented GripLock® retention design for dependable headset adjustment (US Patent 8662517) - Responsibly lightweight - Designed specifically for a 44mm straight headtube and a 1-1/8” to 1-1/4” tapered steerer tube

Why We Make This Headtube and fork steerer standards have proliferated in recent years, but for a long, long time these variables were more fixed, so we made thousands upon thousands of NoThreadsets™ to serve bikes with unthreaded fork steerers. We made them in a variety of diameters, and everyone was happy in the land. We still make it, because it’s still a great headset for all those bikes that are still rolling through the world with a headset that will never die. Why You Want It For decades our NoThreadSet™ set the standard for quality headset function delivering precision performance to numerous world champions, grand tour winners, and aspiring riders around the world. Every Chris King headset is built with our heat-treated bearings, and surgical-grade steel races machined simultaneously to ensure they are perfectly matched. As Chris King bearing tracks age and burnish, they actually get smoother, and all headsets are fully serviceable for years upon years of demanding riding. - Engineered, manufactured and assembled in Portland, Oregon USA - King Lifetime Warranty - Legendary made-in-house bearings - Patented GripLock® retention design for dependable headset adjustment (US Patent 8662517) (1-1/8” only) - Available in 8 beautifully anodized colors in both bold and sotto voce marking options - Responsibly lightweight - Options to fit 1” and 1-1/8” straight steerer tubes

Why We Make This Our tapered NoThreadSet™ brings our classic profile to the world of tapered headtubes. The NoThreadSet™ is built to be precise and dependable and sets the standard for quality headset function delivering precision performance to numerous world champions, grand tour winners, and aspiring riders around the world. Why You Want It Every Chris King headset is built with our heat-treated bearings, and surgical-grade steel races machined simultaneously to ensure they are perfectly matched. As Chris King bearing tracks age and burnish, they actually get smoother, and all headsets are fully serviceable for years upon years of demanding riding. External upper and lower cups with the iconic, Chris King rounded profile adds timeless style to even the most modern bike. - EC34/EC44 for 1-1/8" to 1-1/4" tapered steerer - Engineered, manufactured and assembled in Portland, Oregon USA - King Lifetime Warranty - Legendary made-in-house bearings - Patented GripLock® retention design for dependable headset adjustment (US Patent 8662517) (1-1/8” only) - Available in 8 beautifully anodized colors

Why We Make This: The simple answer is that many contemporary bicycle frame designs call for the headset bearings to ride inside the frame’s headtube. After decades of making press-in bearing headsets, we needed to make headsets that worked in these newer frames. From the beginning we understood that integrated headsets posed a unique challenge in that the bearings are not pressed into a cup and sit loosely in the frame. When bearings are not pressed securely into a cup they shift and move, rapidly losing preload. As preload drops, the bearings are more susceptible to creaking, damage, and failure. That’s a problem we know how to solve. Why You Want It: Enter, our patented GripLock™ bearing cap. The GripLock™ preloads the headset independently of clamping onto the steerer, so it retains preload far better than the competition and is impervious to the ill effects of load spikes from large hits and heavy braking. This means smoother steering, no more creaking, and a longer lasting headset. Our GripLock™ design also takes the guesswork out of preloading a headset, because the bearing preload force is independent of the clamping force. Our headsets can be preloaded to a torque spec. Compatible with Open, 3T, All City, Low, Cinelli, Lynskey, and more. - Engineered, manufactured and assembled in Portland, Oregon USA - King Lifetime Warranty - Legendary made-in-house bearings - Patented GripLock® retention design for dependable headset adjustment (US Patent 8662517) - 42mm 45x45 upper bearing for 2.8-3.0mm bearing ream depth. - 52mm 45x45 lower bearing - Compatible with our included baseplate and 45 degree integrated crown races

Chris King DropSet 3 Headset. - Crown Race: 30 - S.H.I.S. Stem Clamp Diameter: 28.6 Threadless - Bearing Type: Cartridge - S.H.I.S Lower: IS52 - S.H.I.S Upper: IS41

We started making headsets in 1976 and have been refining them ever since. Our DropSet™ 4 is built to be precise and dependable and sets the standard for quality integrated headset function delivering precision performance that is built on the same pedigree of Chris King headsets from the past 40 years. - Engineered, manufactured and assembled in Portland, Oregon USA - King Lifetime Warranty - Legendary made-in-house bearings - Patented GripLock® retention design for dependable headset adjustment (US Patent 8662517) - 42mm 45x45 upper and lower bearing - Compatible with our included baseplate and 45 degree integrated crown races

Why We Make This The simple answer is that many contemporary bicycle frame designs call for the headset bearings to ride inside the frame's headtube. After decades of making press-in bearing headsets, we needed to make headsets that worked in these newer frames. From the beginning we understood that integrated headsets posed a unique challenge in that the bearings are not pressed into a cup and sit loosely in the frame. When bearings are not pressed securely into a cup they shift and move, rapidly losing preload. As preload drops, the bearings are more susceptible to creaking, damage, and failure. That's a problem we know how to solve. Why You Want It Enter, our patented GripLock™ bearing cap. The GripLock™ preloads the headset independently of clamping onto the steerer, so it retains preload far better than the competition and is impervious to the ill effects of load spikes from large hits and heavy braking. This means smoother steering, no more creaking, and a longer lasting headset. Our GripLock™ design also takes the guesswork out of preloading a headset, because the bearing preload force is independent of the clamping force. Our headsets can be preloaded to a torque spec. Compatible with many Specialized mountain bike frames, see headtube specifications here. Not compatible with the 21'-22' Stumpjumper EVO. - Engineered, manufactured and assembled in Portland, Oregon USA - King Lifetime Warranty - Legendary made-in-house bearings - Patented GripLock® retention design for dependable headset adjustment (US Patent 8662517) - 42mm 45x45 upper bearing for 6.85-7.05mm bearing ream depth. - 52mm 45x45 lower bearing - Compatible with our included baseplate and 45 degree integrated crown races

These baseplates are the foundation that keeps Chris King headsets turning with legendary smoothness. Manufactured from high-quality stainless steel or titanium, Chris King makes replacement baseplates for all standard sizes and a number of ingenious solutions for those that need something a little special to make their headset work. - Engineered and manufactured in Portland, Oregon USA - Devolution baseplates are a stainless steel solution that allow Chris King headsets to adapt to a wide variety of steerer tube sizes - 30.0mm for 1.5 lower bearing and 1 1/8" steerer