Chris King NoThreadSet Headset - Tapered 1-1/8" to 1-1/2" EC34/EC44

The Chris King NoThreadSet Headset brings the brand's classic rounded-cup profile to tapered head tubes. This version is an EC34/28.6 upper and EC44/40 lower, built for a 1-1/8" to 1-1/2" tapered steerer. It is a threadless headset with external cups, so it suits frames that use those tapered dimensions, and it is worth checking your frame's specification before you order.

The bearings are the reason to buy a Chris King headset. The company designs and builds them in-house, using heat-treated bearings and surgical-grade steel races machined at the same time so the pair is matched. These are sealed angular-contact bearings, not common radial ones, and Chris King says they smooth out as the tracks burnish rather than wearing out. They are also user-serviceable without special tools: remove the snap ring and seal, clean the bearing, and re-grease it.

Chris King engineers, manufactures and assembles the NoThreadSet in Portland, Oregon, and it carries the company's King Lifetime Warranty. It comes in a range of anodized colors, so you can match it to a frame or pick a contrasting accent. For a build where the headset is meant to be installed once and left alone, this is the part Chris King designed for that job.