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Home > Product Reviews > MTB Headsets > FSA Orbit XL II Headset Reviews

FSA Orbit XL II Headset

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FSA Orbit XL II Headset
More about FSA

Average Rating: 4 out of 5
No. of Reviews: 16
RRP: £34.95
Year: 2004 - 2006

Description:
Smooth and virtually maintenance free with replaceable cartridges, this new version features improved cartridges, better seals, and an all new exterior design that keeps more dirt, water, and mud out than ever before.

REVIEWS

1 to 10 of 16 reviews, to post a review you need to be a member - Join now.Page: 1 2

martin long.

Posted: 08/07/01
Updated: 04/12/06

Strengths:
very smooth
resistant
nice price

Weaknesses:
nothing

Overall:
a good headset at a good price that will give you the performance you whant

Performance		100%
Reliability		100%
Value		100%

Overall Rating

100%

Ali James

Posted: 28/10/06

'STILL GOING STRONG'

Strengths:
Now 6 months old, just removed the cups from the frame to fit into the new one when it comes.
Bearings are looking pretty tidy still.
Smooth and feels pretty good.
Easy enough to open up cartridges to grease bearings.
Very good price, £25 @ crc etc.
Easy enough to diy fit (with the aid of a massive g clamp :) )

Weaknesses:
Looks as though the main seals aren't too good, rusty marks on the cartridges themselves.

Overall:
Really the choice for headsets is either, one like this for sub £30, or a quality Chris King which will last forever. This will wear out maybe every year to two years, but it'll cost a fraction of the price of a ck, maybe more over the course of the 5 to 10 years a top of the range product would last.
Easy to fit, pretty good quality. Not bad at all

Performance		80%
Reliability		80%
Value		80%

Overall Rating

80%

David Brown

Posted: 13/02/01

'My head is set !'

Strengths:
Sealing, price, guarantee, cartridge bearings, strength

Weaknesses:
Conix nut, if you don't like that kind of thing...

Overall:
I stuck one of these on my Slalom bike and then one my Specialized when I killed the Tange headset that came with it....They're on, don't need adjusting are well sealed...I can forget about them.

Performance		100%
Reliability		100%
Value		80%

Overall Rating

93%

bob macdonald

Posted: 05/03/01

'maybe it's me?'

Strengths:
look ok and easy to fit,not badly priced

Weaknesses:
these ok in dry but after some use in the rain/snow/mud and s__t,i'm afraid they arentupto the task,nead regular strip and clean and re-grease.

Overall:
would'nt buy another one!

Performance		40%
Reliability		40%
Value		40%

Overall Rating

40%

Adam Russon

Posted: 26/07/01

'Smooth Running'

Strengths:
cartridge bearings, sealed, It's an FSA gadget, what more can i say!

Weaknesses:
Conix lock - doesn't work, too weak.

Overall:
1 pretty piece of metal!

Performance		100%
Reliability		100%
Value		60%

Overall Rating

87%

priss pringle

Posted: 08/09/01

'smoother than butter'

Strengths:
sealed strong looks good

Weaknesses:
conix is a waste of time didn't even try to fit it

Overall:
top bollox

Performance		100%
Reliability		100%
Value		100%

Overall Rating

100%

asif kuddus

Posted: 19/04/02

'SWEET'

Strengths:
seals are strong and smooth

Weaknesses:
conix, didn't fit it

Overall:
A sweet and affordable part

Performance		80%
Reliability		60%
Value		100%

Overall Rating

80%

Robert Ellison

Posted: 31/07/02

'STRONG'

Strengths:
Strong, cartridge bearings, strong, looks good on a bike, strong, smooth, strong, split crown race, strong

Weaknesses:
bit expensive

Overall:
Very good and strong, true fit + forget, stronger than a logic for jumping

Performance		100%
Reliability		100%
Value		80%

Overall Rating

93%

Alister Goldsmith

Posted: 11/11/02

'VALUE CARTRIDGE BEARINGS'

Strengths:
Price & split crown race, why doesn't everyone do this?

Weaknesses:
That f*cking Conix! FSA, For God's sake make them out of metal, not lard! I'd rather have the old star fangled nut than this P.O.S.

Overall:
Just got one but the grips on the Conix will not tighten enough against the steel steerer tube of my forks. Also the inner hex set screw that tightens the grip is very soft and has chewed up on the first fit.

I wouldn't normally review a product after a few rides but the Conix is so poor it makes me sceptical of the whole thing. Giving a score is a bit unfair because I haven't ridden enough with it on - the poor showing is a reflection of the Conix, not the whole headset.

Performance		40%
Reliability		40%
Value		60%

Overall Rating

47%

Ian Henderson-Londono

Posted: 22/11/02

'PRETTY DAMN AVERAGE'

Strengths:
cheap(ish), split crown race

Weaknesses:
sealing quality, bearing quality, race quality! (oops!)

Overall:
I believe there are two real schools of headset use, having riden for around 15 years now. One - buy the cheapest, crapest headset for £6-10 from Halfords that has any kind of seal to it at all. It will cook in a few months, then you bin it and fit a new one. It's a pain to do, but hey, twice a year maybe. The other school is to buy a Chris King. And pretty much only a Chris King is good enough. This, you fit, never ever goes wrong and your bike will be nicked long before you need to even regrease the headset.

I got the FSA as I cooked my last cheapie headset and was in a rush. This was the only one that they had in stock and I needed one that day. I thought perhaps for £30 not £10 you could perhaps nowadays get something that would at least last a year....

Took 8 weeks for me to send the lower bearing back for warranty. Not good. There is just no decent sealing in there at all. The lower bearing was leaking rust after 4 weeks when the weather wasn't dry.....I even had to boil the bearing in grease once as I didn't have time to replace before a ride...(this is a good tip BTW for any bearing. Boil a pan full of grease (cheap car grease, and drop your freehub body, cartridge bearings et al in it, and then let them cool down. It does them a treat.).

When they sent me a new bearing under warranty they said that in future, I could buy these for £10 each!!!! I think not!!!

So, I have completely sealed the lower crown race this time with a rubber tube as I used to on the £10 jobs....joke!

I only ever bought one Chris King, they are the only "high ground" in headsets, buddies and me have cooked every other one out there. Buy one for a tenner and seal with an inner tube!