Do you face headtubes?

Just got a Chris King headset and is says:
Quote: "In order for this headset to work properly you must ream and face the headtube before installation."

Has anyone actually had any kind of problems (especially with CK's) having not done this? I was going to fit it tomorrow morning and normally wouldn't worry but I've heared a lot about how accurate the tolerances are on these headsets.

The frame has a long headtube if that makes any difference.

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Same here. I think its just to cover their backs. I took my Yeti into the LBS and asked them to face the head and BB, but they said on new bikes its just not worth it. Just go ahead and fit it.

If you are spending that much on a headset then I would go get it reamed/faced if converting from Quill to Ahead and the interface looks a bit shabby, though it also shouldn't be needed as bearing have always had to be pretty acurate and they are external, if it is a cheap bike you're putting it on then what the hell are you doing that for

Not sure if tolerances for headsets are any more stricked now than it would have been BiTD

Facing

With a head tube it depends what the material is really. I tend to run a very fine but wide flat fine over the faces, just to remove any high spots, but as a headset is not subjected to any real rotational stress, its not that important.
HOWEVER
With King headsets, they do work differently to every other headset and there are a few things you need to know!!! The main difference is they do not use a steerer wedge, but the top race ring has an internal O ring and 45 degree "wedge ring" that centres the steerer in the set. for this to be effective, you need a lot of torque on the tension cap, if the headset faces are not true, then the bearings may stiffen part way through turning and loosen the upper race clamp ring. Also to achieve the higher torque, you must use either a starfangled insert of bolt through headlock, that goes right through the steerer, DO NOT use a Hope Head doctor or any similar device, as these tend to creep up the tube allowing the top race clamp to cut into the steerer tube, if left unattended, this can cause the steerer to snap! I've seen this happen on several occasions!!! U are warned!
Also do not use more than 10mm of spacers, preferably none, as this can also have the same effect, allowing flex in the race clamp and marking the steerer.
There is an after market wedge adapter kit you can get from the US, that converts a King to a wedge style, but it involves some careful work with a file on the race clamp.
Always face BB shell faces with a proper tool with modern HT2 X type external bearing cups, or they will not last, this is partially why they have a bad name as 99 percent of folks don't bother. The old Shimano BB's sq, octalink and all the ISIS, didn't need a face up as they were one piece self contained units.

Oh and don't ream the head tube, face yes, but don't ream, just check for any roughness and relieve with a little fine emery, Chris King cups are always a little undersize anyway and reaming can result in them being literally a hand push fit (NOT GOOD!) which could effectively right off our frame!

dont file a headtube :roll: its all well and good making it look flat but it needs to be parallel to the other end to work . by all means use a stanley blade to remove excess paint but dont hack away at the metal

you dont need to buy a "kit" its just an FSA pig wedge

theres nothing wrong with being able to insert a cup by hand , it only needs an interference fit , if its too tight itl only stress the tube . you fit cups with loctite , same goes for cartridge bearings into their cups

i sold mine and am glad i did

have a pic

Cheers guys, I'll just go ahead and fit it. It's a threaded one so the ahead issues don't really affect me, good to know though.

Frame is an old P7 so maybe it's over the top but I've been looking for a decent headset with a spare corwn race that can stand to have the fork swapped on a fairly regular basis (between rigid and sus).

I did get hold of a pair of DX headsets but to be honest the non-sealed bearing races put me off using them so I decided to bite the bullet and splash out.

Right! Off to fit it!