Investing in a headset from Chris King means you won't be buying another for your bike anytime soon, but that's a good thing. We're also pretty sure you'll have a hard time reverting to any headset that isn't built with the careful precision and craftsmanship that the Portland-based brand gives to all of its designs. If your lithe new carbon road machine comes with a burly headtube to dissipate road noise, you'll want to be running the InSet 8 Headset to complement it. Built with the bombproof construction echoed across the rest of the InSet line, the InSet 8 was created for frames with 44mm straight head tubes and 1-1/8 to 1-1/4in steerer tubes. The InSet 8 includes Chris King's GripLink upper bearing cap, which uses a split compression ring to center the steerer tube in the upper bearing to provide a more secure interface, especially for carbon frames. It features a semi-integrated upper cup and external lower cup with Chris King's renowned bearings. Chris King introduced the entire InSet line to accommodate changing standards across frame geometry, and the InSet 8 is specified as ideal for road or 'cross measurements, though you can use it on a mountain frame with appropriate dimensions.
