Pretty, Strong: Chris King NoThreadset

Choosing a headset was not a very tough decision. I had already been wanting to get matching Chris King hubs and headset. Even though I decided to forgo the hubs for another brand I still had designs on the NoThreadSet. This headset has a solid reputation and a great selection of colors, perhaps the only manufacturer of headsets to offer pink. The bike is going to be white with black and chrome or alloy components. Having a little something colorful on it will be a nice touch.

This 2008 "Pretty and Strong" set was made in a darker shade than previous models. A change I see as an improvement. I prefer it over its lighter, pastel predecessor. It will be hard to match any other components in the same pink though. It might just have to be the only pink component on the bike, which could actually turn out to be a good thing. In design color is a good tool to individualize or assign significance. In a correspondence with a staffer at Chris King I inquired about the difference in shades. What I learned is that the variety is due sometimes to a conscientious choice and sometimes to "the nature of the science behind anodization." The current production was a decision to go with a bolder, "copper salmon" shade. Coincidently, or maybe not such a coincidence, the new copper salmon pink reflects the importance of its fishy namesake in the culture of Portland, Oregon (home of Chris King Precision Components) and the Pacific Northwest (home of me).