Sea Otter 2022: Cane Creek drops new headsets, preloader

At Sea Otter 2022, Cane Creek rolled out new versions of their Hellbender 70 headsets as well as a new alloy pre-loader for cranksets.

Hellbender 70 Slam

For those looking to slam their stems as low as possible, Cane Creek has created the Hellbender 70 Slam. Featuring some of the lowest stack height bearing cover options available, their premium stainless steel Hellbender bearing, 6061 T-6 Aluminum cups and covers, the Hellbender 70 Slam can lower your stem as much as 5-6mm over existing Hellbender headsets.

Specs:

• Cups & Covers – 6061 T-6 Aluminum. Internally contoured and relieved to minimize weight and maximize strength.
• Top Cover – Designed with the lowest stack height possible for both IS and ZS
• Crown Race – Alloy Dual-Seal crown race provides excellent seal efficiency with low friction.
• Compression Ring – Carbon friendly captured compression ring.
• Bearings – Premium, sealed stainless-steel HELLBENDER bearings.
  • ZS44 will take a 41mm bearing
  • ZS56 will take a 52mm bearing
  • IS41 will take a 41mm bearing
  • IS42 will take a 42mm bearing
  • IS52 will take a 52mm bearing
• Stack Height – ZeroStack (ZS) — 2mm top (vs 8mm top for standard ZS Hellbender70)

Hellbender 70 Lite

The Hellbender 70 Lite is a headset that packs durability, weight savings, and value into one product. Equipped with 6000 series aluminum and 35 percent lighter over comparable models. The Hellbender 70 Lite is an ideal headset choice for any bike where weight savings is a priority – a lightweight headset that doesn’t lack durability or performance.

Hellbender LITE Sealed Cartridge Bearings provide an optimal balance between weight savings and durability.

Specs:

• Cups & Covers – 6061 T-6 Aluminum. Internally contoured and relieved to minimize weight and maximize strength.
• Top Cover – Low-friction upper bearing seal completely seals cup from contaminants and is fully captured by the top cover with no loose parts.
• Crown Race – Alloy Dual-Seal crown race provides excellent seal efficiency with low friction.
• Compression Ring – Carbon friendly captured compression ring.
• Bearings – Lightweight aluminum/w steel hybrid Hellbender LITE sealed cartridge bearing.
  • ZS44 will take a 41mm bearing
  • ZS56 will take a 52mm bearing
  • IS41 will take a 41mm bearing
  • IS42 will take a 42mm bearing
  • IS47/33 will take a 47mm bearing
  • IS52 will take a 52mm bearing
• All complete Cane Creek headset assemblies (top or bottom) will use a 36×45 degree contact angle bearing, with the exception of our IS47/33 headset assemblies. IS47/33 will use a 45×45 degree contact angle bearing.
• Weight
  • ZeroStack (ZS) — 90g (vs 117g for standard ZS Hellbender70)
  • Integrated (IS) — 54g (vs 81g for standard IS Hellbender70)

Crank Preloader

With the conception of their Cane Creek eeWings Titanium crankset, they cut no corners, and their CNC-machined preload assembly is no exception. The Cane Creek Crank Preloader is equipped with an aluminum preload ring, an aluminum inner thread ring, and a titanium 2.5mm hex fastening bolt.

And it’s not just for eeWings. It will fit onto other 30mm crank spindles from SRAM and Raceface, and 28.99mm SRAM Dub Crank spindles. Lose the plastic preload on your crankset, add peace of mind.