Cane Creek provides two new ranges to their headset household – a brand new top-tier 110 Ceramic for while you need a headset that may outlast your bike, and the 50 for while you want high-quality bearings however don’t wish to spend a ton of money. But despite the fact that Cane Creek was the corporate that truly introduced us all of the threadless headset three a long time in the past, and their naming normal 15 years in the past, they nonetheless battle to make it straightforward to choose the proper headset to your bike. A brand new Headset Code-Breaking Information hopes to clear issues up a bit…
Cane Creek 110 Ceramic ultra-premium lifetime headsets
Cane Creek’s 110 line was already fairly premium. Till this week, they known as it “the best headset [they] make” and “the final headset you’ll ever have to purchase.” Properly, throw that out the window, trigger there’s a brand new most interesting headset on the block. And it will get ceramic bearings and a few even fancier ending.


The brand new 110 Ceramic (Cane Creek additionally calls it the 11O Ceramic, simply because they like the way in which that O seems) includes a new set of Hellbender Ceramic bearings inside to take “final smoothness and longevity” to the subsequent degree. These are hybrid ceramics, with coated 440C stainless-steel races and ceramic Silicon Nitride balls which might be “a number of instances tougher than metal and won’t corrode”. Plus, the headsets get further seals.
Similar to the earlier all-steel 110, these new headsets include Cane Creek’s lifetime unique proprietor 110 Assure. They’ll substitute any a part of it if you’re ever not glad with the way it performs, making these really lifetime headsets.


What’s new right here in addition to these ceramic balls, the 110 Ceramic includes a new look with 2-stage black & silver anodizing to indicate off some new machined grooves to the higher cup and prime caps. In addition they include matching machined-out, snap-together Interlok headset spacers (1×10 & 2x5mm) and a light-weight carbon-friendly compression ring for a tidy cockpit setup.
110 Ceramic Tech Particulars


machined 7075-T6 aluminum cups, prime cowl & prime cap
Hellbender Ceramic sealed cartridge bearings
sealing: steerer tube o-ring seal, dual-lip prime cowl lip seal, co-molded crown race dual-lip seal
options carbon-friendly compression ring retained in prime bearing cowl
obtainable in black-only, with dual-stage silver anodized cuts
options laser-etched graphics, together with its headset code for straightforward identification
consists of 3 matching machined-out Interlok spacers (2x5mm, 1x10mm)
features a light-weight preload meeting (instead of a standard metal star nut)
Headset IDs: IS41/IS52 | IS42/IS52 | ZS44/EC44 | ZS44/ZS56
Stack Heights: IS41 & IS42 higher : 9mm | EC34 higher: 15mm, decrease: 11mm | ZS44 & ZS56 higher : 8mm, decrease: 4mm | EC44 decrease: 11mm
110 Lifetime Guarante
New Cane Creek Fifty / 50 headsets for the extra budget-conscious bicycle owner


The brand new Fifty headsets mainly provide the similar trusted efficiency of Can Creek’s no-nonsense Forty headsets, however with a bit extra of a premium look. Inside, it’s the identical dependable however reasonably priced zinc-coated headset bearing tech – promising “corrosion resistance just like that of stainless-steel, however at a fraction of the associated fee“. However with just a little further outer machining, these are minutely lighter, however extra importantly, they give the impression of being cooler for only a few bucks extra.
Fifty / 50 tech particulars


machined 6061-T6 aluminum cups & prime cowl
ZN40 sealed cartridge bearings, zinc-coated for corrosion resistance
sealing: Steerer tube o-ring seal, low friction prime cowl lip seal, co-molded crown race lip seal
options carbon-friendly compression ring retained in prime bearing cowl
obtainable solely in black
options laser-etched graphics, together with its headset code for straightforward identification
Headset IDs: EC34/EC34 | IS41/IS52 | IS42/IS52 | ZS44/EC44 | ZS44/ZS56 | ZS56/ZS56
Stack Heights: IS41 & IS42 higher : 9mm | EC34 higher: 15mm, decrease: 11mm | ZS44 & ZS56 higher : 8mm, decrease: 4mm | EC44 decrease: 11mm
New Good – Higher – Greatest headset pricing & availability


So Cane Creek clearly places the brand new 110 Ceramic into their greatest class, and the brand new 50 is a second-tier of their good class. However how does their pricing examine to the usual 110, Hellbender 70 & 40?
The brand new Cane Creek 110 Ceramic headset ranges in worth from $200-$225 vs. the marginally extra reasonably priced 110 with stainless-steel bearings at $144-176.
The brand new Fifty at $74-95 is barely costlier than the $53-96 of the Forty, however nonetheless extra reasonably priced than the Hellbender 70s at $100-120.
Get all of them now, out of your native bike store or straight from Cane Creek.
New Code-Breaking Headset Information


Oh, how I lengthy for fewer requirements within the bike business. At the moment, even selecting the straightforward headset could be complicated, what with not less than 3 cup kinds, so many headset bores, and not less than three important steerer tube sizes. We’ve even been overlaying Cane Creek making an attempt to simplify issues with a headset finder for 15 years!
“Again in 2010, Cane Creek launched the Standardized Headset Identification System (SHIS) – a pioneering effort to ascertain a unified classification system by which we describe all fashionable headsets.”


That’s nonetheless how we measure and reference headsets, however the mannequin names get fairly lengthy. So Cane Creek is making an attempt to make it easier once more. This new streamlined Headset Code-Breaking Information is a straightforward poster made for bike retailers to hold on the wall. However it’s additionally a easy graphic to assist the DIY house mechanic you’ll want to get the fitting match, too. (Obtain the full-size picture from Cane Creek.)
CaneCreek.com



















