As far as Northern California conditions are concerned, you guys have it made! My friends down there have far less issues with frame pivots, bottom brackets, fork seals, and headsets than I could ever dream to have. Here in the Pacific North-wet, if you ride your bike in the rain, it gets ridden in mud. Mud=death of bearings, especially badly designed ones. It's the circle of life: raw materials from the Earth (and sometimes man-made materials, yes) create a headset, which is then gradually destroyed by the very Earth it came from.

@cyfa89: Well sure, I change headsets all the time in less than 15 minutes, but on my personal bikes I'd rather not have to do that every few months, which is a real possibility with my riding conditions. Realistically, every headset swap is another chance to ovalize a head tube, even when pressed one cup at a time with a pro Park Tool. I'd rather have something that works so well that I forget about it. Every biker's nirvana, I think.

Ha thanks for the tip. If I ever luck upon running into you guys in Seattle, I'll be sure to remember! I wonder if either you or Colin happened to snap my buddy at round 3 of the NW Cup the other weekend....Plate #572?

Meagerdude: My comment was based on the assumption that you took advantage of the homophone that is the word "meager" and your last name, lending to the creation of a clever screen name. Then again, perhaps it was truly coincidence. AMEN to the mud ruining many parts in short order. That being said, my Cane Creek S3 has survived 1.5 winters on my commuter without packing up, including adventures in our last snow-pocalypse. Hopefully my S8 and Directset combo doesn't fall prey to Duthie this fall...

@Circes, I killed an FSA Pig headset in less than a season, with proper maintenance including re-greasing bearings/seals/cups. What King does is truly amazing in the modern age, and this article has inspired me to make the trip from Seattle to Chris King, just to see what they do in person. Oh yeah, @meagerdude, I see what you did with your screen name after seeing your real name. Clever.