Submitted by
Goody
a Weekend Warrior
from Newburyport, ma Date Reviewed: October 18, 2009
Favorite Trail:
United States
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$380.00
Purchased At:
Wheelpower
Strengths:
Engagement is awesome. These hubs are the best.
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
Shimano XTR, DTS Swiss
Bike Setup:
Niner S.I.R King front and back on Stans ZTR, XTR crank, King Ti headset, Salsa carbon bar, Thompson Masterpiece and Thompson Stem, HOpe X2 brakes...sweet
Bottom Line:
I have King Hubs on my SS, Nomad and Blur LT. They are amazing. I had an issue with my older hub and my LBS sent the hub back to King and they rebuilt it and added the new style hub tightening for next to nothing...$20 is what is cost me. I do have the hub wrench for tightening the hub if it get's loose but that's rare. In the beginning break in period it was a half a dozen times. On the Singlespeed hub, haven't touched it and it's been perfect. King rocks. You get what you pay for
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Widebody
a Cross Country Rider
from KCMO Date Reviewed: September 20, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Tasty Goodness
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$300.00
Strengths:
Great engagement
Weaknesses:
Requires constant maintenance
Similar Products Used:
Hugi/DT Swiss/Shimano/Phil Wood/American Classic
Bottom Line:
Well, I love the engagement. But I have two sets of Kings and have to say they are a constant maintenance nightmare. I have both a singlespeed hub and one for my geared bike and both rear hubs are always coming loose. I've had the shop fix them a number of times (by several different mechanics), have done it myself and they last about three or four rides before they come loose.
People say Chris King has great customer service but I can't get them to answer polite emails asking what their suggestions are for fixing these problems.
I'm not sure there's another answer out there for this quick engagement that I love so much, but the maintenance hassles I've endured make me wish for something else.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
freeride is fun
a Downhiller
from The Ranch, CA, USA Date Reviewed: September 18, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Velocity, Telonics
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$150.00
Purchased At:
friend
Strengths:
Awesome hub! with 72 points of engagement this hub maximizes pedalling efficiency. very smooth. hooks up as soon as you pedal. not to mention it sounds cool too!
Weaknesses:
none so far. plus its backed by a 5 year product warranty!
Similar Products Used:
stock hubs on a variety of bikes
Bike Setup:
2007 Specialized P1 Chris King-Mavic EX717, Avid Juicy 7s, Crank Bros 5050x, Kenda Blue Groove front, Kenda Small block rear
Bottom Line:
if you can get ade4al on this hub, definitely buy it!! i would recomend getting it if your are sick of stock hubs
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mike
a
from PA Date Reviewed: April 26, 2008
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Strengths:
Pretty much everything a hub does, this does extremely well. Engagement, durability, customer service, very solid bolt on option, get better with age...
Weaknesses:
None. Some say price, but I've been riding King hubs for over 5 years now. Spread that cost out over time and they are not expensive at all.
Similar Products Used:
Tried or owned Hadleys, I9s, Paul Words w/ ENOs. All were nice but I liked the Kings the best.
Bottom Line:
I have 3 sets of King hubs. One SS, and 2 geared. The 2 geared I bought used of this site quite a few years now.
No other bike product has given me more reliable, top notch performance than my Kings. Would buy again in a minute if needed.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from WB, MI, USA Date Reviewed: April 26, 2008
Favorite Trail:
PLRA-Highland
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
Durability and performance.
Weaknesses:
Rear seems to loosen up, both on my brand new SS and on my older geared. SS right away. geared after about a 3/4 of a year.
Similar Products Used:
None comparable
Bike Setup:
Ventana El Toro, CK Hubs/HS, DT Swiss, Thompson stem/post, Fox, BB7's, FSA, Easton carbon bar.
Bottom Line:
Great product, but have developed some slop in the rear hub/cog after 8 rides. Is it common for this to loosen up so fast? My other bike (geared) also has F/R CK hubs and they are well worth the money if you have it and live by "you get what you pay for."
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
D
a Cross Country Rider
from new york Date Reviewed: October 1, 2007
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$400.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Light. Solid. Instant engagement. Looks.
Weaknesses:
Price. Special Tools needed for full service.
Similar Products Used:
Shimano hubs. Mavic wheels.
Bike Setup:
Kona Unit SS.
Bottom Line:
Not much of a techie. These hubs last. Ride all year long: East Coast US weather. Used the two 5mm allens to tighten them twice and that's it. The sound annoys most, but I love it when they scream! Gonna try building them up to some Stan's rims...right now they're laced to Sun Rhyno Lights (ouch!), and I'm craving weightlessness. Can't get LBS to stock them b/c they are so damn expensive.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Eddie Jones
a Weekend Warrior
from Gardendale, AL Date Reviewed: February 21, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Lake Leatherwood, Eureka Springs, AR
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$500.00
Purchased At:
Cahaba Cycles
Strengths:
Strong, smooth, loud, instant engagement
Weaknesses:
None, don't even think about suggesting any weaknesses. (Err, maybe the fact that they are so expensive, but you get what you pay for)
Similar Products Used:
Just XT hubs, Spinergy (good tight hubs)
Bike Setup:
Indy Fab 29er SS with all the good stuff
Bottom Line:
These hubs are the best. No problems, and the sound is absolutely wicked. Sounds like an old WWII dive bomber when coasting.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Maxim
a Cross Country Rider
from Urawa Date Reviewed: September 15, 2006
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$400.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
72pt
Weaknesses:
Price If you tell something they' like not to hear, chris king won't give you warranty Customer service 5 year kid level drilling job bearing rolling resistance
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
All of my bike were equipped with king hubs and won't in the future
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 rejects as malinformed address and other fake email pass.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Who cares
a Cross Country Rider
from CA Date Reviewed: August 6, 2006
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$400.00
Strengths:
Great looking Quick engagement
Weaknesses:
Bearings: one inside driveshell is even not sealed , easily eats mud and collapses. Bearing Price: Just one bearing costs $37 or $40 and it's not worth it. Drive lube run out quickly
Bike Setup:
Ti hardtail
Bottom Line:
It's all about bearings. If you have hub tool, check the bearing within drive shell and it must be eating lots of debris or almost dying. I'm not happy with other bearings too:NTN LLB type bearing has by far the better rolling ability and very well sealed. The price of the Japanese made NTN bearing is MRSP of about $6 and you could purchase about$3 each if you live in Japan. DT hugi 240 hub has weak hub flange but uses Japanese NTN too and rolls better than king.(cheap DT hub uses NTN of other country, such as taiwan etc)
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Obionespeedonly
a
from S.F. Bay Area Date Reviewed: March 23, 2006
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
SS Hub with Disc Adapter:Typical Chris King Quality. This review is overdue, and I hope they're serving the friend I sold them to just as well. Never a problem with them. Used for EVERYTHING-DH/XC/SS, you name it. I love the sound, and the looks you get as other riders shout out: "Kkkkkiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggg!".
Weaknesses:
I was a bit nervous about the adapter at first, but never had to worry about it. I incessantly cheched it, but it stayed put. The only reason I put them aside was to pot a set of ISo's I have back into use as my goto set. I do wish they'd go ahead and come out with the ISO-SS hub though.
Similar Products Used:
Chris King Classic hubs-road and mountain, ISO hubset.
pics of a set: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=175818
They work. If you don't like the beehive sound, keep spinning.The quality is there. Your money's well spent.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Chuck Cypert
a Cross Country Rider
from Dallas, the metromess Date Reviewed: March 17, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Rowlett Creep
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$500.00
Purchased At:
Mean Todd
Strengths:
Beautiful finish, chi-chi color selection, reputation, easily adjusted, cogs easily swapped, weight, instant ON engagement.
Weaknesses:
Cost, availability, warnings about not lacing the front radial.
Similar Products Used:
XT 7sp conversion, Phil Wood
Bike Setup:
High end SS 29er.
Bottom Line:
They sound like a bee in a bucket but they are smooth and beautiful. You need to keep an eye on how much side-to-side play develops as they break in and keep them adjusted properly. I built two sets of wheels for this bike, the other is Phil Wood. Both are beautiful wheelsets but the Kings win on the issue of light weight but the durability remains to be seen, though I have no reason so far to expect any issues here. I don't see how you can go wrong, if you can afford these expensive SOBs.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jon
a
from Wichita Date Reviewed: November 8, 2005
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Wow. where do I start? Everything good you could want in a hub, well here it is. But I'll tell you know anyway. It's light, strong, sounds wicked, spins like nothing else, stays put (both the bearings and in the dropout), looks totally sick, and is the best design out there. Oh yeah, you also get the best warranty and customer service I've seen yet. And I'm a bike shop mechanic.
Weaknesses:
You kidding?
Bike Setup:
Specialized 05 P.3, Fox Vanilla R fork set to 100mm, Easton Monkeybar, EA70 post, Vice Stem, Holzfeller cranks, Specialized 06 Lo' Pro Mag pedals, Specialized SL BMX seat, ODI lock-ons, Avid 06 Juicy Seven 8" rear brake, cheap front wheel, Chris King Rear SS Disk rear hub with DT spokes, nipples and DT Swiss FR 6.1d rim, Maxxis Holy Rollers 2.4
Bottom Line:
I originally wanted just to get away from having to space out my cheap 8-speed hub, and get something that would easily handle hardcore urban assault and skatepark riding. But after looking at Spot, Atomlab, Surly, DMR, Phil Wood, Paul Components, Hadley, and DT Swiss SS hubs, I couldn't settle for anything less then a Chris King. Man am I happy. This thing is amazing just to hold in your hand. So I built it up and took it easy for a while, then rode it hard. It started to skip, and wouldn't stay adjusted right, the bearing adjustment clamp kept coming loose, creating play, which led to skipping. So after about a month, I sent it in to the awesome peeps at CK. They gave it the works. Overhaul with new main bearing and a new adjusting clamp. It came back sooner then I expected. I haven't had one problem since. Seriously, you're not just buying the best hub out there, you're paying for a top-dog company that cares for it's customers. I ride hard and break stuff (I just snapped my front axle), but this hub has held up good for about 4 months of solid abuse. Still doubt me? Email me and I'll show you.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
M
a
from Near forest Date Reviewed: November 7, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Forest
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$300.00
Strengths:
72pt engageent Looking good Internal
Weaknesses:
bearing seal, especially drive side bearing spec is king's own and couldn't purchase from@any other manufacturer Price sound? I waited 6 month after order.
Similar Products Used:
Stealth, Hadley
Bike Setup:
Trek STP, Trek 5500, KOXX
Bottom Line:
I just write what to think about before you purchase King hub.(I put 3 king hubs on XC, road, trials bike.)
If you use King hub, you'd better better off 1.Don't ride in mud Drive side bearing eats mud easily; it's exposed and rubber seal is not labyrinth sealed like NTN bearing in Hugi hub. If you do, change wheels with Hugi hub or cheap shimano hub. After one winter season,I noticed drive side bearing got little rough for mud when servicing the hub.
2.Buy hub tool, drive lube and Dive side bearing. non drive side is OK.
I'd give this great hub 5 if they use SKF,NSK or NTN bearing, quick delivery and little reasonable price.
I'll try hadley in the recent future since hadley seems to use NTN bearing and 108pt engagement and $100 cheaper.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Park City, UT Date Reviewed: May 31, 2005
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$325.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Strengths:
All the above. Great hubs all around. If you've got the money you can't go wrong.
Weaknesses:
I recently broke one of the axle bolts (fun bolts).
Similar Products Used:
Variety of Shimano and Bontrager hubs. I've destroyed all of them.
Bike Setup:
Strong Frames 29'er steel hardtail single speed.
Bottom Line:
Great hub and so far has outlasted every Shimano or Bontrager hub I've ever owned. Virtually maintenance free and rock solid. Only problem is I recently broke one of the axle bolts (fun bolts) while cranking on it with an allen wrench. I think it just fatigued after a year of swapping out cogs. King took the bolts back immediately for warranty inspection. Excellent customer service.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jason Mitchell
a Weekend Warrior
from Geogretown,Co.USA Date Reviewed: May 26, 2004
Favorite Trail:
silvercreek/
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$330.00
Purchased At:
The Fixx
Strengths:
Light wieght,design,machining,color,fat nuts,
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
surly 1x1,other standard hubs
Bike Setup:
Dean Ionic Johny Rotten
Bottom Line:
This hub is great it gives you power when you need it,those fat nuts keep the hub secure in the dropouts.the color is superb and maintence is very easy.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Matt Berg
a Racer
from Madison Date Reviewed: June 18, 2003
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$350.00
Purchased At:
L.B.S.!!! Breakaway Bicycles
Strengths:
Dishless Cassette Design Finish and Color Choice Bearing Quality If you use King Cog You can Flip'em over when they get used worn(the reason way the cassette body has equal splines)
Weaknesses:
Availability(Was not able to get on line, had to go to LBS which did not let me down. It was only $20 more and had it in a week direct from King!) THANK YOU LBS..they rarely let you down.
Equally splined Aluminum hub body(if you want to run something other than King Kogs)Aluminum(6061 T6 or 7074?) is soft for this application if you want to put something else other than King kogs on.
Similar Products Used:
Paul Word(see review)
Bike Setup:
Bike: Mogoose Pro Ti Softail with vertical dropouts WHEEL: Ti DT spokes Mavic 3.1 UST disc rim Chopped up custom XT cassette 24-22-19 x 44 (Macro Drive°-Read below) Singlator w/DuraAce ball bearing pulley (11t) Xt disc brakes
Bottom Line:
Awesome hub!!! Design intent spot on! One small problem which is no really a problem...King Kogs BOO! With a little custom work I chopped a used XT cassette up and filed one of the splines down to fit it on the hub. The cassette body has equal splines, which is different than the Shimano(ISO?) standard. I filled down the big internal spline on the inside of the cassette. I cut of the 32,30 and 28 cogs off leaving 18,21 &24 I was careful not to cut the pins that hold the cogs that I wanted to keep. At this point I had beer and basked in greatness that it might work. Some SS Purists may scof at me...this was cheaper for me than buying the King Cog at 30 bucks a pop. Chain drives are also more efficient when chains wrap around larger circumferences not to mention the gain in chain & ring wear life. The ratio is ~2:1 and can be changed out on the trail and raceday relatively easy, affecting chainline little. For you roadies out there the Ultegra 19-21-23 cassette with Al Splines can also be used with a little filling...no chopping required, but beer is for this kind of project.
To you guys and gals at KING...offer the hub body out of Ti or steel...Tooling cost would nothing, Process time will change a little, and material cost would be greater(for ti at least) we will absorb it as consumers, after all this hub costs as much as GDP of Fiji and 20-30 dollars more is nothing at the MSRP. You offer steel hub bodies for the other hubs...us SS'ers want steel also!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Moishe Lettvin
a Racer
from Seattle, WA Date Reviewed: March 25, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Capitol Forest
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$400.00
Purchased At:
The Bike Stand, Olympia WA
Strengths:
Light weight, very smooth rolling, easy cog switching, reliable.
Weaknesses:
Hard to find larger (19 & 20t) cogs. Shimano cogs will gouge freehub. Price. Not readily available (I waited about 3 months for mine)
Similar Products Used:
Paul WORD with ACS freewheel
Bike Setup:
Bianchi BASS with Race Face bottom bracket & cranks, Chris King headset, Easton MonkeyLight bars, Magura HS33 Hydraulic rim brakes, Shimano 959's.
Bottom Line:
This hub is beautiful both aesthetically and functionally. It's incredibly well engineered, very lightweight and very reliable. Corey at the Bike Stand built this hub onto a Mavic 517 rim with DT 15/16 spokes (tied and soldered) and it's a work of art.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Font9a
a Cross Country Rider
from Bay Area Date Reviewed: September 5, 2002
Favorite Trail:
sprinkles
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$400.00
Strengths:
perfect craftsmanship, light weight, best singlespeed hub ever made
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
bullseye, TNT, shimano XTR, shimano DX
Bike Setup:
singlespeed
Bottom Line:
these hubs are perfect. you cannot buy a better hub. they come in disc versions, too.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mark
a Weekend Warrior
from San Dimas, Ca Date Reviewed: June 20, 2001
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$270.00
Strengths:
Rock solid construction, superior engineering, well thought out design, roller bearings!!, ease of maintenance. Love their hub tool also.
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
Pauls and Surley
Bike Setup:
Bianchi BuSS, with King front disk hub, rear SS hub, and headset. Thomson seat post and stem. Matching SDG Bel Air seat, XTR cranks with spot chainring protector.
Bottom Line:
Highly recommend. It is a little pricey, but you get what you pay for. You only complain about high price once, but poor quality can make you complain every time you ride.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Brian Mrazek
a Racer
from Aurora, IL. USA Date Reviewed: April 10, 2001
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$360.00
Purchased At:
PEDAL and SPOKE Bicycles
Strengths:
Work great, nice sound, well built, look good.
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
GT mohawk 2(always came loose). all kinds I work at a bike shop.
Bike Setup:
Custom robinson patriot frame, profile 3 pc. cranks, Chris King headset, profile chainring, sram pc-58 chain, GT piston stem, GT fork, Araya super 7x rims.....
Bottom Line:
Best hub out there for BMX. nothing else compares. get what you pay for, they are worth it. If you are a avid BMX rider these are the hubs for you.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Hamilton
a Cross Country Rider
from Bloomington, IN Date Reviewed: February 17, 2001
Independent Fabrications Deluxe singlespeed; Marzoochi Z2 X-Fly fork; King headset and disc-Go-Tec front hub; Avid mechanical disc brake (f), 2.5 side-pull (r); Syncros seatpost; flite saddle; Race Face handlebar, cranks, stem; Time Alium HP pedals; Spot chainring, ring guard; etc.
Bottom Line:
The engagement of the ring drive mechanism is instant. With the BMX freewheels there is always a partial revolution before the engagement kicks in, which can be problematic. The KingKog system is excellent--easy removal and replacement of sprockets. You can't beat a Chris King hub and this is the ultimate singlespeed rear hub and personally, I love the buzz! Worth every penny. I think the significance of this upgrade to my singlespeed is the equivalent of switching to clipless pedals, front suspension, or hydraulic disc brakes for the first time, it's that remarkable.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
mike pailliotet
a Cross Country Rider
from santa cruz Date Reviewed: May 6, 2000
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
perfect chainline, smooth as silk, "direct drive multi pawls thingymobob" kicks @$$ for SS, hub will not slip with those killer bolts!great looks as well!
Weaknesses:
I wish they were not so loud when coasting.
Similar Products Used:
Bullseyes Bullseye Bullseye,Shimano
Bike Setup:
Rock Lobster, ridged fork and all the trimmings Custom Rock Lobter W/ ridged fork and all the trimmings
Bottom Line:
the only way to go if you are commited(or should be)!!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
brent
a Cross-Country Rider
from Arlington,Virginia Date Reviewed: December 6, 1999
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Durability, Buzz, Easy maintenance
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
Paul Single Speed Hub
Bike Setup:
Salsa Single Speed Alacarte frame
Bottom Line:
This hub is absoluley awesome. Continues the tradition of great Chris King products. Have ridden mine for about two months and I am having a blast with them. If you have a single speed bike, invest in a pair of these, they are worth every cent.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Brent
a Cross-Country Rider
from Arlington, VA Date Reviewed: October 22, 1999
Duration Product Used:
less than 1 month
Strengths:
Chris King Name and realiability.
Weaknesses:
Absolutley none
Similar Products Used:
Paul Single Speed Hub
Bike Setup:
Salsa Alacarte
Bottom Line:
I have yet to get these hubs built on some rims, but just by looking at them and knowing how well my Classic Chris King Hubs ride, I am absolutley stoked.
Overall Rating:
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