The rear hubs are available in:
Road (130mm), Mountain (135mm), and 140mm spacing with either an aluminum or a stainless steel driveshell. All rear Classic hubs are 7/8/9 speed compatible (for 7 speed cassettes, use a 4.5mm spacer.)
Standard drillings are:
16, 18, 24, 28, 32, and 36 holes. (drillings of 24 or less are slotted unless otherwise requested.)
Submitted by
Tom-Q
a Weekend Warrior
from Houston, TX
Date Reviewed: July 9, 2010
Strengths: Solid! I had the XC version and i bought it used. It had been used for Trials (hopping on the back wheel and kicking with all your might and with really low gear ratios) and i used it for a while with no signs of wear at all. i loved my hub (until my bike got stolen).
Weaknesses: Price, i suppose.
Bottom Line:
I loved it and am looking for a rear wheel at a reasonable price now.
I just wanted to verify what the poster below stated. I work at the bike shop that Mike(poster below) brought his hub in to check out and help get warrantied. The people at Chris King have the worst customer service in the business. A couple key points. His hub was still under warranty. His hub was defective. The first person at Chris King we talked to admitted they had a problem with those hubs and that they had been discontinued for a different version. They took over a week to get back to us, to see what they would cover. They wanted him to pay shipping there and back. They then wanted him to pay have the work done on the hub and were not sure if they were going to charge for the repair parts and if they could even fix it.
Very disappointed with Chris King. Customers have had issues with their headsets as well.
Don't buy Chris King if you are expecting a good warranty.
Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Ashland,OR, USA
Date Reviewed: April 7, 2010
Strengths: very quick engagement, excellent performance when the bearings do not loosen.
Weaknesses: Water intrusion past seals, constant loosening of bearings, extremely poor customer service.
Bottom Line:
Hmmm... where to start? Without going into the myriad of negative descriptions, I will just say that after the continual problems that this hub has incurred coupled with the extremely poor customer service exhibited by the Chris King Cycling Group, I myself would not buy any of their products again. There are simply too many viable choices in hubs such as Phil Wood, Hadley, and Dt Swiss to mention just a few.
Submitted by
Ike Turner
a Cross Country Rider
from Irvine
Date Reviewed: October 15, 2009
Strengths: Light, pretty. Good engagement. never a problem building wheels up. Spoke tension
Weaknesses: Tight.
Bottom Line:
I just found that this rear hub constantly needed adjustment and overhaul. Freewheel just gets tighter and tighter and spins poorly over time. I have overhauled it and had it rebuilt over and over. I have had all the experts work on it. Rides fine for a month then tight and chain suck
Service reply was always the same reply. SOmething about high tech precision fittings ...... Did not seem to want to listen or even help. As in user error and poor maitainance IE dirt and mud. Hello it is a mtn bike and I live in so cal 10 rides in the dust does not equate poor exposure from the rider IMHO
High maintenance at a high cost
this is the first time I have ever considered any product overrated.
after all this time The shell is now a pepper shaker on the table.
Bike Setup: 5 Spot. XTR Mavic. Easton Thompson Fox
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Easy E
a Weekend Warrior
from Modesto, CA USA
Date Reviewed: August 20, 2009
Strengths: Light weight, servicable, instant engagement, Chris King quality!
Weaknesses: Aluminum drive shell gets marred even when using an XTR spider cassette. Stainless steel won't get marred, but you pay a weight penalty - an entire 48 grams.
Bottom Line:
If you've got the money, this is the best hub in the market in terms of performance and quality. Buy second hand and the pain on your wallet will be more bearable. My wife sports her Prada and Coach crap - I sport Chris Kings and lycra shorts.
I gave it 5 Flaming hard ons for Value, because I think it's worth it. 5 years of service and 1 overhaul, it runs even better than the first day I got it.
Similar Products Used: XT, XTR, Bontrager, and IRD
Bike Setup: All high end parts on hardtail
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jim Martell
a Weekend Warrior
from La mirada, ca
Date Reviewed: March 25, 2008
Strengths: quick engagement and light. easy to overhaul. with the chris king tool. Did my own overhaul and had no problem. Regreased my bearings as a recommended service interval.
Weaknesses: had some trouble with clamp adjustment. replaced the clamp with a new build and now works great. Has some dragging. still after 600 or so miles on it.
Submitted by
Tom Howard
a Downhiller
from Huddersfield, UK
Date Reviewed: July 8, 2007
Strengths: Where to start? The speed at which it engages is mindblowing. The finish is stunning, I can actually see my face in it! it makes a really light wheel, yet manages to stiffen up the rear of the bike no end. Also the noise, I found it irritating at first but now I actually look forward to it, the faster you go the louder it gets!
Weaknesses: I can't use any other rear hub now.....hey ho i'll get over it.
Bottom Line:
When I first got this home i was petrified, having just spent the price of a full bike on a hub, what if it didnt live up to the hype? What if the ringdrive wasn't that great? What if I scratched it or got it muddy?
Well I'm happy to say that my fears have gone now, about 2 seconds into my first run, its amazing just how quick the thing engages, and utimately give you more control as you know that the instant the pedal moves forward, you have drive. Ive found this especially useful on tighter, more techy stuff when 1/2 a pedal stroke is the difference between nailing the drop and nailing yourself.
As for the price, which many have said is an issue, if it lasts 5yrs (more if you look after it) it works out at £55ish ($110) a year, or half a Hope rear hub. I dont think that the end of the world really as my old hope buld didn't last 2 years.
As for the finish, after a very nervous cleaning due to a particularly muddy ride, its fine, I can still see my ugly mug!
So who shouldn't buy this? People that think that all hubs are created equal.
Who should buy this? Everyone else.
My final word comes from Dirt magazine here in the UK 'The Chris King ISO Disc rear hub is perfection' Amen.
Bike Setup: Demo 8, Boxxers, MRP, Saint, King, Hayes, Mavic, More racer than hucker
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Maxim
a Cross Country Rider
from Urawa
Date Reviewed: September 15, 2006
Strengths: 72pt
Weaknesses: Price If you tell something they'd like not to hear, chris king won't give you warranty Customer service 5-year kid level drilling job bearing rolling resistance
Bottom Line:
The one I purchased today was the worst hub. (king SS rear hub)
Spoke hole drilling was worse than chinese hub.
I mailed king and they rejected my mail address.
I've paid $400 and got the botch.
I complaint Ms Adrian Knapp about bearing price before and sounds like she put my address to black list.
You can try my e-mail address vengo_subito@hotmail.com and chris king rejected and other fake email passed.
Bike Setup: All of my bikes were equipped with king hubs and won't in the future
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Doug
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego, California
Date Reviewed: September 7, 2006
Strengths: Instant engagement. Works great--when it works. See below
Weaknesses: Free hub failed after 9 months. Had it rebuilt and and it has failed 3 more times since.
Bottom Line:
OK, I saved my $$ to buy this hub and it worked great for 9 months. As I mentioned above, the freehub failed after only 9 months of average, 3-5 times a week trail riding. No jumping or drops during that time at all.
It has since failed 3 more times in the last 3 months and the mechanic at my LBS is sick of messing with it, so he's sending the entire wheel back to Chris King to have it rebuilt. Everytime it failed in the past, he called Chris King and they told him to just rebuild it. Now he's fed up and wants them to warranty it.
He has assured me that this is the first problem he's ever seen with a King hub, but at $350, I expect perfection. I have lesser Deore and XT hubs on my other bikes that have been going strong for years. Maybe I just got a lemon, but a lemon does not deserve a high chili count.
Bike Setup: '04 Specialized Enduro Expert with handlaced Mavic 325 rims.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Garret Jacobs
a Downhiller
from millbrae, ca
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2005
Strengths: its stiff, strong and lite, smooth, easiest thing on the market to service, engages INSTANTLY(helps my track stand and quick starts)
Weaknesses: takes a while to order, noise? the angry bee sound kicks ass!!!
Bottom Line:
After seeing the "hop" that the drive shell in many hubs develop from jumping(my xt did it too) I went for kings stainless steel drive shell option, its still hop free after many cased landings. I got mine cheap working @ a bike shop but even @ full price it is worth every penny and the wait as well!!!
Bike Setup: Heckler w/ DHX AIR + talas fork xt int kit, salsa cainrings & bash guard. blue chris king hs blue blue salsa skewers blue king hubs on sun single track rims
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Eric
a Cross Country Rider
from Michigan
Date Reviewed: February 12, 2003
Strengths: INSTANT engagement, Light and Strong
Weaknesses: None except price and availability (but that's due to quality and demand)
Bottom Line:
Simply an AWESOME hub!! I had an XTR hubset on a previous bike and thought those were great, but the instant engagement on the King is phenominal.
The current bike I have came with an XT rear hub. The XT has a good 20 degrees of rotation before engagement but will make a good boat anchor this summer. I telling you it was a long 4 months waiting to get my wheel built due to the black Chris King hub being on back order.
Bottom line, buy the King if you have the bucks. I've had other King products in the past that have performed exceptionally well and I can now add this hub to that list! Well earned 5 Flamin'Chilis!
