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Counterfeit King Headset?


Skoze

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Bought my King headset new from a certain someone on here fairly cheap, more than i'd usually spend on a headset, but a fair bit less than the rrp. I've never had trouble with said person before so i went for it. Seemed ok when it turned up, apart from the fact that the logos on one (maybe both) of the cups were in the wrong place (way too far down on the cup). Whacked it in, seemed fine and didn't think much of it.

I changed frames 2 weeks ago and swapped the headset over. As soon as i took the bearing cap off, there was loads of grease in there, previous headsets that i've had have been a little bit greasy/oily when i start taking bits off etc, but this had absolutely loads of it in there. Cleaned it up, put it in the new frame just wouldn't tighten up very well (which is something i'd had problems with before) I had a look and the crown race seems quite loose in the bottom cup.

Since day 1 i'd been sceptical about it, and yesterday i was talking to Mr hutley about it, and decided to have a look on the internets when i got home. Found out a bit about the counterfeits, which have the logos on one cup upside down, crap bearings etc... So took mine apart. And it seems that a few things could match up to that of the fake, others don't. Top cap and bearing cap seem to be fine, exactly the same as many of my friends', just the other stuff that i'm a bit concerned about...

A few pics:

P1010865.jpgP1010866.jpg

P1010867.jpgP1010869.jpg

P1010871.jpgP1010872.jpg

post-16436-1217344023_thumb.jpg post-16436-1217344035_thumb.jpg

Thanks for any help, i might be wrong but wanted more opinions before shouting my mouth off :)

Matt

Edited by Skoze
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i got accused of selling a counterfeit chris king headset (if you search for sale forum it might still be there) But having owned 2 of them previously i know for a fact it wasnt. The guy had taken apart the king i sent him and added in some random part from a fsa pig (yea.. wtf). Looking at those 2 pics Real/Fake.. to me.. they look exactly the same.. jsut one is taken apart and the other isnt.. All this shit about upside down logos etc is just because the 2nd pic has the cups turned up the other way lol..

Edited by Spacemunkee
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Look at the font. Both sets have an interesting bump in the top of the N. Looks real to me-but I can't say anything about the internals. Logo is spot on-that would be a pain in the ass to set up.

If someone is making fakes this good, I think we would have all heard about it by now. The investment required would dictate that they sell tons of headsets, and most likely other King components IMO.

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haha , think i've had too much time to think about things today :P

Some parts seem utterly fine, but a few don't quite seem so brilliant, and is a general pain in the metaphorical anus.

Pretty sure it's just me having too much spare time!!

Matt

Edited by Skoze
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The main difference that i can see between the fake an real ones are the red bearing races on the fake and white on the genuine. You've got white bearing race seals so I'm inclined to say that yours is real.

The white bit is a nylon washer that goes on last. It looks fake to me. Proper king bearings have black seals with stainless steel split rings.

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If the bottom race wont fit in the cup correctly then its more likely to be either your frame or your forks that aren't faced properly. I had the smae problem with my Leeson frame with a Specialities TA headset that Clive sent me. Instead of getting the fork crown and headtube faced i just sent the headset back and bought a Cane Creek £8 jobbie as i dont see there being any need for an expensive headset as trialsbikes rarely get muddy/exposed to harsh weather.

I wouldn't assume that your headset is fake, it really does look genuine, the problem that you have is more likely that fact that your headset is machined too accurately to allow a less than perfect fork and headtube surfaces.

Andrew

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Yeah most things seem fine on it, just the bottom racey thing is quite loose in the cup. The forks will either rock around like a beeatch, or if it's tight enough to stop rocking around, it's really stiff.

Meh, it works (just).

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Cool beans (Y)

Got a bit thrown by the way the logos are so off compared to any other i've seen, that and it being a general pain to get working right.

Any smart ideas on why it's intent on loosing quite so much grease?

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Yeah that's right, but as with all cartridge bearings, you can take the seals out.

Any smart ideas on why it's intent on loosing quite so much grease?

They are highly packed at first, with use the grease moves to the parts where it needs to be and the excess splurges out.

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