If you have a threadless headset on your bike, you have John Rader and Dia Compe Japan to thank. After meeting at the 1990 Mountain Bike World Championship held in Durango, CO, Dia Compe became the exclusive licensee of the threadless headset system known as the Aheadset. A few years later, Dia Compe USA became a separate entity. In 1996, the North Carolina based company launched the Cane Creek brand alongside with the Dia Compe USA name. Most of the Cane Creek threadless headsets are manufactured overseas, but the top of the line model has been and is currently manufactured in America.
The 110-series headset is their best model headset currently manufactured by Cane Creek. The aluminum bearing cups and top cap are “Cut in Fletcher, NC” using the machining facility and from U.S. made aluminum. The bearings are split-lip sealed, stainless-steel bearings and the crown race utilizes a “dual-seal” to keep out muck and grime. Cane Creek is so confident in this headset that they are standing behind it with a 110-year, no-questions asked warranty – hence the “110-Series” name.
The Cane Creek 110-Series headsets range in price from $115 to $170, and can be purchased directly from their website complete or as separate top or bottom assembly to fit tapered head tubes. Ordering a headset from Cane Creek can be a little confusing, but this is only due to them being a leading member of another bicycle industry initiative. The Standardized Headset Identification System (S.H.I.S.) has a single goal of standardizing how the bicycle frame head tube is measured and described. “The system provides comprehensive and scalable headset fitment information in a standard format; making it easier to communicate headset requirements based on frame and fork interfaces.” In other words, a traditional 1-1/8inch headset is now described as this:
It might be quite possible to outlive the 110-year warranty from Cane Creek, but based on the experience that I have had with their top of the line American made headsets, I am not betting on those odds.
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