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FSA Orbit DL

Average Rating 2.25/5
# of Reviews 12
MSRP $ 27.00
Weight
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Description:
  • Forged and CNC machined 6061/T6 aluminum cups
  • Sealed 5/32" caged ball bearings
  • Upper and Lower water seals
  • Where To Buy


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    Submitted by BJBucheron a Weekend Warrior from Montreal
    Date Reviewed: July 26, 2003
    Duration Product Used:3 months
    Price Paid: $30.00
    Purchased At:Gianella
    Strengths:didn't find any... laser etched graphics?
    Weaknesses:-lots, lots,lots of play
    -fills with mud
    -rusts
    -creaking
    Similar Products Used:cheapo aheadset which came stock on my bike
    Bike Setup:Specialized Rockhopper, xtr brakes, raceface cranks, the rest is stock
    Bottom Line:the Aheadset which came stock on my bike was better than this FSA headset. It had not play at all and after one year and a half of use the grease inside of it was still white. Whith this Fsa headset, after 2 months of use, it started creaking. The mecanic said it was full of dust and rust. I didnt liked that headset from the begining so i've decided to changed it for a pig dh pro, should be better than this orbit dl.

    Get yourself a better haedset than this POS.
    Value Rating:2Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by Nathan a Cross Country Rider from Salt Lake CIty
    Date Reviewed: May 6, 2003
    Favorite Trail:Bobsled
    Duration Product Used:3 months
    Purchased At:Came with bike
    Strengths:Umm...It's a head set and it helps me steer...sometimes.
    Weaknesses:Everything? Crappy bearings, difficult to adjust, can't find the exact spot, heavy for you weight weenies.
    Similar Products Used:Something Aheadset, test rode a Trek with a Chris King...
    Bike Setup:KHS Alite 1000, XT drivetrain, Strongarm II cranks, Manitou Six Deluxe fork
    Bottom Line:Crappiest headset possibly ever built. If you want a low end headset, don't buy FSA...Buy Cane Creek or Aheadset or something...Or just spend the extra 20 bucks and get a decent midrange headset, I know I will be soon. As that one guy said, it doesn't do any good if it's low cost but it doesn't work...
    Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by LOUIS URFER a Cross Country Rider from PORTOLA HILLS, CA USA
    Date Reviewed: December 29, 2002
    Favorite Trail:SANTA ANA MTNS
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Price Paid: $25.00
    Purchased At:SUPERGO
    Strengths:low price
    Weaknesses:Quite a few weaknesses. You can feel the bearings, the dirt skirt is made of cheap rubber, it mis-aligns which causes the bearings and bearing holders to get crushed. Hard to dial-in so that it turns smooth.

    There are better headsets out there, spend a little more and get those.
    Bike Setup:Hardtail, Manitou's XC setup.
    Bottom Line:Crappy product. Spend a little more and get a higher end model. Cheap/Low prices don't mean much if the product doesnt work right.

    Value Rating:2Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by Stenchy a Cross Country Rider from Florida
    Date Reviewed: November 9, 2002
    Duration Product Used:3 months
    Price Paid: $20.00
    Purchased At:supergo
    Strengths:strong, goodlooking
    Weaknesses:none thus far
    Similar Products Used:aheadset
    Bike Setup:2002 Specialized Rockhopper, modified abit
    Bottom Line:This headset is just fine. It gets the job done and I have had no problems with it what so ever. Who wants to pay 100 bucks for a Chris King that does the same exact job. The FSA might weigh abit more but who can really tell. Function over form please. I see many cyclists out there with all the right gear and setup, but they cant ride for poop. Riding comes down to the rider not the machine he payed to much for.
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by mech mech a Weekend Warrior from GA
    Date Reviewed: November 22, 2001
    Duration Product Used:Tested or demo'ed only
    Strengths:works
    Weaknesses:not for poser. perhaps the concept of aheadset and threadless stem is too complicated for some.
    Bottom Line:i can't believe one of the guys below is saying this. TOP CAP IS OFF AND YOU CAN'T USE YOUR BIKE??? what the hell do you think your stem is there for? the stem is held in place not by teh topcap but by the friction between the stem and the steerer tube!

    oh yeah, the conix thing may bot work, that's probably why your headset is loose--because your top cap cannot hold when you try to adjust the headset. but once it's adjusted, you can basically lose the topcap (until you need to adjust it again).
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Mathew a Cross Country Rider from Oxford, England
    Date Reviewed: July 15, 2001
    Favorite Trail:Cant remember
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Price Paid: $24.00
    Purchased At:SuperGo.com
    Strengths:+Strong and smoth. Dont give a toss on what the others say.
    +Hasnt given me a problem. Youll simply forget about it!
    +Great value. A perfect place to save money without sacrificing performance.
    +Great look on my bike.
    Weaknesses:-Slightly hevier than some other headsets.
    -Probably wont last as much as other sealed bearings headset do.
    Similar Products Used:Another FSA Orbit (im not sure if its DL or XL) my friend has. Its worked for him fine for a time now.
    Bike Setup:GT Arrowhead. '01 RockShox Psylo XC. Kore B-52 stem. XTR v-brakes. SRAM chain, cassette and rear derailleur. And my Orbit DL headset of course.
    Bottom Line:First of all, im not going to talk the bullsh¡t the other reviews said.
    I bought this stem because after riding for a few years with my GT block stem I decided to buy a kore B-52 stem I bought this headset with it because its probably the best place to save money without sacrificing performance.
    And guess what? it turned out to be the perfect complement to my B-52. They are kinda best friends now.
    Ive been riding with my Orbit DL for more than 6 months now and apart from looking great and strong it hasnt given me a problem. I dont think ill be changing headset for a while.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Petro T a Downhiller from Chatham
    Date Reviewed: July 6, 2001
    Favorite Trail:My backyard!
    Duration Product Used:6 months
    Price Paid: $18.00
    Purchased At:eBay
    Strengths:Not strong!
    Weaknesses:The Product itself is weak!
    Similar Products Used:Nothing similar, this headset seems to, well, kind of suck!
    Bike Setup:Oryx Equipe Gold, XTR, Marzocchi Z3 QR20.
    Bottom Line:Well, I have ridden with this headset becuase.... Well, I was not smart enough to buy a good one! Do not get me wrong, it's a good product, if you don't ride hard and never get muddy! Broke after about 4.5months, just got gritty, and wasn't smooth at all near end!
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by Brandon a Racer from Garland, Tx.
    Date Reviewed: June 29, 2001
    Favorite Trail:Cameron Park (Waco)
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Price Paid: $30.00
    Purchased At:pricepoint
    Strengths:cheap, black and shiny
    Weaknesses:caged bearings, gets loose
    Similar Products Used:really old Aheadset
    Bike Setup:Trek 9.9, Manitou, XT
    Bottom Line:This thing lasted me a year with no problems, which is long enough I guess for something I should have paid more attention to when spec'ing my bike. After installing a new Mars, my friend at the shop couldn't get it to be loose enough to turn freely or tight enough to keep the fork from rocking. I may have overtightened it at some point, but then again all the cheap tiny little rings and seals and bearings didn't exactly help. If you're going to buy a headset, buy an expensive one that is sealed or a cheaper Aheadset that is heavy and durable like my old one.
    Value Rating:2Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by A.S> a Downhiller from manlius, ny
    Date Reviewed: June 19, 2001
    Favorite Trail:skytop
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Price Paid: $69.00
    Purchased At:supergo
    Strengths:Cheap, like the top cap
    Weaknesses:low quality
    Similar Products Used:wtb, aheadset
    Bike Setup:schwinn 6, z1, hayes
    Bottom Line:tooooooo cheap. Buy something else. I changed my fork and now the headset creaks. It's scary. I need a new one. Go sealed if you can. FSA MAKES CRAP. I own a BB too and it's garbage. Never buying FSA again. Late....
    Value Rating:2Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by tamas boros a Cross Country Rider from Cortlandt Manor Ny USA
    Date Reviewed: June 8, 2001
    Favorite Trail:blue mountain
    Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
    Price Paid: $20.00
    Purchased At:supergo.com
    Strengths:looks good, cheap..
    Weaknesses:poor top..
    Similar Products Used:non
    Bike Setup:jamis dakar '98 frame ,marzocchi z2x-fly , race-face chanks,and mixed shimano xt-xtr,sram 9.0.
    Bottom Line:I knew its not ganna be the best part of my bike,but after 200 miles ..????ahhhhh...

    Top cap just sux.Every 10 miles i had to readjust.Can't stayed tight !!And after a few readjust ,this conix top just broken .I really can't use anymore .I can buy an extra cap,but I think i going to go for a new headset.

    ... If u think about use this for rocky stuff .......FORGET IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by Raymond a Cross Country Rider from State College, PA
    Date Reviewed: May 31, 2001
    Duration Product Used:3 months
    Price Paid: $38.00
    Purchased At:SuperGo
    Strengths:none
    Weaknesses:poor bearings
    poor cups
    poor top cap
    Similar Products Used:1997 FSA Orbit DL
    Bike Setup:Gunnar Rockhound with a SX-R
    Bottom Line:I bought this headset based on the great experience I had with a FSA headset I purchased in 1997. (see review below) Well this one was a disappointment. All of the parts are of a lower quality than the 1997 one I have. The bearings are extremely poor. The bearing races are flimsily and poorly constructed they are practically worthless. Even after replacing the bearings with better ones purchased locally the headset still was junk. I gave up and am having a new one installed. Do not buy a Orbit DL unless it is NOS from 1997 or so.
    Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by ed a Cross Country Rider from buffalo grove
    Date Reviewed: May 29, 2001
    Favorite Trail:george wythe
    Duration Product Used:3 months
    Price Paid: $25.00
    Purchased At:pricepoint
    Strengths:Cheap. Good looking. So far it stands up to the use, not abuse.
    Good customer service.
    Weaknesses:Directions. Online directions and directions sent with headset were contradictory.
    Bike Setup:95 Rockhopper frame, cheap green jett fork, spacers, topo stem. Single Speed drivetrain
    Bottom Line:I had some qualms about this headset. There used to be horrible reviews of FSAproducts on this board. I had never done much bike work and I didn't want to spend a forture only to screw things up.

    Pricepoint had these really cheap and it was red. Figured it would be cool on my red/green/yellow color scheme. Didn't come with the conix but a starnut, which is good. I hear those are aweful.

    The directions didnt seem to make sense when it came to the bearing install, so i looked online. The online stuff gave 2 different explanations to install. I emailed the company and got nothing back. So I emailed again. I waited a while and got pretty pi$$ed off. About 2 weeks later i finally got an email apologizing for the tardiness of the reply. They said they were moving offices and got backed up.

    It is now on the bike and i can turn, bounce and stop fine. I don't ride hard, so i don't know about the ruggedness of this component. But I do know it is probably good for your average rider.

    I will probably buy another FSA headset, but will get sealed bearings instead of the caged. Easier install.
    Value Rating:4Overall Rating:4






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