^ great post
I tend to agree.
I’m increasingly seeing builds featuring CK headsets, Phil hubs or Brooks saddles where each component is worth several times more than the rest of the bike… 
ritchey logic are pretty alright too… i find that its the conviction i have in tightening the locknut onto the top cap that determines its longevity. if i nancy-tight it, three or four rides off road and i am loosey goosey again, but if i give it heaps with the correct tools, it lasts until i want to repack.
get it right, lock it down with grip of steel.
I’ve been trying to find out if kings are good for rigid mtb riding, and havent really had a definitive answer. I’d like swap my ritchey out and raz a new colour king, but am a little afraid of the cartridge not being able to take the loose-balls can.
i’m all for having the headset of a bike as a/the feature. they do a lot of work, y’know…
That’s all cool too. I don’t give a **** how anyone spends their own money. F’rinstnace any non-cyclist that knows me thinks that I’m crazy spending the $'s I do on bikes but they know it’s makes me happy and I love not only riding them but tinkering as well.
But yeah, you’re right … there’s no point throwing crazy bling on a no name powdercoated frame that is never gonna be a prized possession. I think it’s a newbie trait … knows-no-better’s starting off with a cheap steel frame, then wanting to make the ultimate Fixie that ends up costing $1200+ that still rides like shit, when they could have bought something with history and provenance. But that’s another discussion and I figure that everybody who is on a bike and gets hooked eventually goes on to realize the difference between show and go.
Back in my day a fixed gear bike was about using old fashioned parts and saying fuck you to the bike industry that kept bringing out newer, faster, lighter bikes and the bullshit martketing/hype that came with that. Fixed gear was the hip hop of cycling - instead of using regurgitated beats we used mismatched parts and thrown away frames. I guess the bike industry is saying “fuck you” back in a grand and royal way by offering every imaginable candy colour-way for the cashed up non-conformists who are cueing up to prove they were born to co-ordinate and accessorize, just to show they are me, Me, ME !!! Orwellian, no?
Anyway, what do I know 
… it’s good to have a nice bike but it’s the roads ridden, and being out there riding it that count for far more. Riding a bike makes you feel good and is a nicer way to travel 
… that’s all that really counts
+1. hookers and blow are more important!
Spirito, summed it up completely right for me.
I’d rather spend a ‘modest’ amount of coin on a beautiful heritage bike that I’ve built up myself than $10k plus nonsense on a plastic wunderbike that will be superceded in 12months time…
While I agree that a wheelset is worth investing good money in, I think headsets (or headset care) can often be a little overlooked. Keep in mind that the headset is the only thing connecting your front wheel to your back wheel. Fairly important, right?
You could say the same thing about tyres, wheels, stems etc… :mrgreen:
it seems pretty pointless to me to spend a shit ton of cash on a headset if the bike just gets ridden to the pub and on short commutes. same with other parts, but whatever floats your boat. those 105 headsets look pretty good to me, i might grab one.
At the end of the day, a Shimano 105 headset will perform 99% as well as a CK.
Law of diminishing returns…
The CKs are very pretty and require no messing with once you got it installed
pretty nice…
same with my campy pista one and the unknown-brand one on my other bike and the shimano 600 one on my roadie. all set and forget. they just don’t have the chris king name on 'em and 2 of them are a lot cheaper than CK. not that there’s anything wrong with spending money on nice stuff, as has already been said. i’ve just never had a headset fail on me to require me to think about replacing it.
not really a valid justification. my headset is pieced together from about 4 different headsets, cost me nothing, and i haven’t adjusted it in months.
why’d you get a CK over a 105 or something? Is your bike really that used and abused that it requires something so high-end.
just curious, spend your money how you want, just curious on your logic.
Next time you’re in traffic ask the guy on the Mercedes Benz or the BMW why he’s not driving to work in a Hyundai Getz. Either will get him there.
We NEED food, shelter water. Nobody here NEEDS a restoed ‘ken’, phil wood hubs, or a colnago master olympic, but…)
nice stuff is nice to have.
(That said, I’ve been through 2 cane creek headsets in 3 years on my commuter pig, could have bought a King for what I’ve spent so far and not be needing to line up now for a third headset)
the CK’s from Aspire Velo arn’t really that expensive. A friend of mine told stories of some Melbourne stores stocking them with a retail of well over $200, so for under $150 to be able to buy one from the US with free shipping, doesnt seem that bad too me.
Its going on a new build, and yes, sometimes the line between fashion and function does get quite blurred, but i like nice things too 
But it’s about not over capitalising on a bike build.
For instance a $150.00 CK headset on a powdercoated conversion represents probably 50% of the entire value. Doesn’t make sense.
Very true.
cK headsets? i thought they made underwear? 
Because I can…
I have a bike made up of spare parts and one that is about as nice as you can get
one rides a whole lot nicer than the other…
I’m happy to spen $150 on dinner with some girl I hardly know so buying a CK head set for less than that is not a big deal…
And before we get into the whole bling this bling that bull shit that tends to go down here…
You have to remember that we are not all 20 year old hipsters
at uni or what ever some people round here are a bit older and have proper jobs and earn good money, buying nice things kinda comes with all that ( until the house and baby turn up anyways )
This is the best argument yet. What is a better trade? $150 for one ride (if you’re lucky) or $150 for a lifetime of riding (guaranteed)?
yea, some of us are 30 year old scenesters.
i have 2 CK headsets, from memory, paid 70 for one, 80 for the other.