Who Makes the Best Bottom Brackets and Headsets? (Video)

A few years back, a well-known framebuilder and friend told me something along the lines of, “A fancy headset is one of the dumbest things you can spend your money on,” and that sentiment is one I’ve occasionally mulled over since then. He builds impeccable bikes and typically specs inexpensive headsets on them, and they seem to go just fine. Still, boutique headsets have quite a strong cache in the bike world despite doing a relatively simple job, and many riders run them as a badge of honor.

Luke from Soma Fabrications makes the case for why he thinks Tange makes the best headsets (and bottom brackets) in the video above. Sure, best is a relative term, but having used dozens of their headsets over the years (including the IRD Double RollerDrive on my Brother Mr Wooden, pictured above), I can’t fault the logic of them being the best in terms of the price-to-getting-the-job-done ratio. Check out the five-minute video for Luke’s thoughts and a quick peek inside the Tange factory, then let us know your thoughts on headsets in the conversation below!

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