Cane Creek

40-Series ZS44/28.6 Short Top Assembly Headset - Bike Build

Tall stack headsets are great if you need some space below your stem and don't want unsightly spacer lines, but limits how far you can drop your stem. If you're looking for slammed stem positioning, you'll be better served with something like the Cane Creek 40-Series ZS44/28.6 Short Top Assembly Headset. You get all the storied lightweight and long-lasting utility of a 40-series headset with a low 8mm stack height that lets your stem hover cleanly just above your head tube.

The 40-Series Headset cups are crafted from a 6061 T6 alloy and contain Cane Creek's black oxide cartridge bearings. The races and balls start out as 52100 steel and are then given an acid bath to make them more corrosion resistant. They are angular contact bearings (ACB), which deflect both axial and radial loads equally well. The cartridges are sealed with what Cane Creek likes to call a Split Lip Seal, which features two contact seals per side to keep out contaminants and hold in grease.

To augment the seals on the cartridge bearings, Cane Creek adds face seals to the crown race and top assembly. The Clip-Seal in the upper assembly holds all the parts together, including the compression ring. This makes assembly a cinch, since there are no loose parts to misplace or install backwards.

The Cane Creek 40-Series ZS44/28.6 Short Top Assembly Headset is polished and anodized Black. Cane Creek adds laser etched graphics including its logo. This is an IS integrated headset that will mate a fork with a 44mm inner diameter head tube. The top bearing cover is compatible with Cane Creek Interlok spacers. The stack height for the top cup is 8mm.