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Submitted by
slimat99
a Cross Country Rider
from Evergreen CO
Date Reviewed: March 26, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | engagement, quality parts, looks, made in usa | | Weaknesses: | feewheel drag, needs service often, doesn't seal out contaminants well, have to buy CK ring drive lube | | Similar Products Used: | hope (very nice), shimano junk, wtb, azonic, atom lab, | | Bike Setup: | Nomad AM/FR build | | Bottom Line: | The engagement is super nice! If you like pedaling through technical terrain that requires you to ratchet your cranks you will love this hub. When you need to get on the gas your energy is transfered instantly. I really like this hub for that reason, but over all, I think there are better options out there for the price. I say this because CK hubs need too much attention; if you don't stay on top of servicing the rear hub drag becomes very pronounced, and if you get caught in a bad storm, or expose the hub to too much water/crud during a ride, freewheel drag can end your ride. I've owned cheap hubs that seal out the elements better than this. Very disappointing. With all the freewheel drag the hub has even when it's in perfect working order, you would think it would seal out everything, but that's not the case. For this reason I'm thinking about selling my hubs. Even after servicing my CK rear hub, there is still more freewheel drag than my cheapo atom lab DH hub on my other bike. I guess the ring drive system causes drag cheaper pawl systems don't? The best hub I've owned to date was a hope bulb with a 3 pawl design. Never had one issue with it over 2 years of hard riding, and getting caught in multiple storms. For the price, CK should be able to match that. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
RobertCShay
a Cross Country Rider
from Stamford, CT, USA
Date Reviewed: March 11, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Anything Iced over | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | Excelsports.com | | Strengths: | Ringdrive drive system
User serviceable and rebuildable
Well made
tight tolerances | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Similar Products Used: | XT, Duraace, Ultegra | | Bike Setup: | 2008 Stumpjumper comp | | Bottom Line: | I purchased the rear ISO hub for the Ringdrive system because I icebike through the winter. The Ringdrive system is superior, in my opinion, for icebiking. Forward motion on the pedals mechanically screw together the drive and driven gears to ensure engagement. The DTswiss 240 model comes closest to this secure engagement because it has two springs that push together the drive gears for engagement. Other model hubs I considered use Pawls - Shimano has two, others have more(and more moving parts).
The Chris King ISO hub has demonstrated superior engagement in the coldest temperatures I've ridden so far - 6 degrees F. I did winterize my Shimano Freehub, but with only two Pawls it didn't give me much confidence and I didn't want to get stuck in the cold.
I purchased the Chris King tool and took apart the hub and replaced the Proprietary grease with Pedro's Synlube. Works fantastic in the cold. Funny that the Synlube actually makes the hub quieter compared to the Proprietary grease. In temps above 30 degrees F I put the Proprietary grease back in.
Highly recommended hub for icebiking in below freezing temperatures. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
cormactooze
a Weekend Warrior
from Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA
Date Reviewed: October 2, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Pats Track | | Strengths: | Long term durabilty, service with a 2.5mm wrench on the trail, light weight, strength | | Weaknesses: | not compatable with straight pull spokes | | Bike Setup: | 29er HardTail, Wide tires, 5" Fork-20mm thru axle, King Headset & Hubs, Stans Flow Rims, Stans Kit, SRAM X-0, Carbon Post & Bars, Disk Brakes | | Bottom Line: | Long term durabilty, service with a 2.5mm wrench on the trail, light weight, strength | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
hardmtnbiker
a Cross Country Rider
from Pasadena
Date Reviewed: June 10, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | any technical single track | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$650.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | easy to service and precision looks and craftmanship | | Weaknesses: | Aluminum driveshell but can be replaced with steel.Pricy but worth it. | | Similar Products Used: | STX,LX,XT,and XTR. | | Bike Setup: | 5.5" trailbike and old hardtail with 3" fork. | | Bottom Line: | I have 2 sets. The first I bought over 10 years ago as the Bontrager Race-lite wheelset. These where converted to ISO disc and laced up to Mavic 717. The second set is over 4 years old and laced up to 819's. They both preform great and make climbing technical stuff easier and pedaling out of the turn faster. I like the buzz sound too. The thing to remember is to SERVICE them and send to to CK for a overhaul every couple of years. They need to be checked and tightened after hard rides but what doesn't? They roll better when warmed up so climb a little and you should not get backlash. The few parts that have been replaced are the springs,bearing seals and one driveshell. If they developed some type of axle conversion for the front hubs(they have "Fun Bolts" for the rear)then it would improve them for harder riding. I just don't think the old fashion QR skewers where made for 4 to 5.5" travel bikes of today. I have the the steel Salsa QR's but let's face it through axle is a better set up.If you are buying soon I would wait to see what they come out with or seriously consider upgrading your fork and getting a 20mmTA. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
wenisman
a Weekend Warrior
from london
Date Reviewed: March 6, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | the last one i rode | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | rbikes | | Strengths: | looks good, instant engagement, nice and light | | Weaknesses: | rattles apart after rocky terrain, these hubs hate mud | | Similar Products Used: | hope, dt swiss, bontrager... | | Bike Setup: | intense 6.6, fox 36 vans forks, hope brakes | | Bottom Line: | the hubs work well... but they certainly are not great. the almost instant engagement is fantastic, they come in very light and build up an extremely strong wheel.
however...
this may have been fixed in later models as mine are 2 years old and im constantly having to retighten the rear hub and the front hub constantly has play coming from it. this is more noticable if i have been doing extremely rocky trails or more downhill style riding. My LBS hasnt been able to fix this either... and its not because they werent tight enough, i bent the allen key they where so tight.
great product, but there are better out there. im currently running some hadleys and industry nine hubs on other bikes and personally both these products are a superior choice. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott Gaerte
a Cross Country Rider
from Castle Rock, Colorado, USA
Date Reviewed: November 18, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Indian Creek | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$499.00 | | Purchased At: | MIke Curiak | | Strengths: | Weight and performance. Can't beat having all those pawls on technical sections. American made and enduring. | | Similar Products Used: | Mavic Cross Ride | | Bike Setup: | Niner EMD, King Headset, Avid BB7, XT drivetrain, Easton Monkeylight bars, Kenda Nevegals, Maxxis Crossmark, LX Crank, Thompson Seatpost, SDG Ti saddle, REBA fork, DX pedals, Race Face stem, Incredibell for the Horses | | Bottom Line: | Classic, Strong, what I've always coveted. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Patrick Eggers
a Cross Country Rider
from Duluth, Georgia
Date Reviewed: November 12, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Bull Mountain | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$450.00 | | Purchased At: | SpeedDream Wheels | | Strengths: | Quality, reliability and engagement. Several times a year I ride Bull Mountain, one of IMBA's epic rides in northern Georgia. The first three miles is vertical over continous rocks and roots. The high engagement of the King rear hub makes this climb significantly more efficient and compared to the XT hubs I was previously riding, there is no comparison. I had the hubs laced to Velocity Aeroheat rims, and at 250 lbs, I stress most components to the max and break most drive train components within a few months. I have put around 500 miles on the wheels and hubs and have not had to touch them as they are still dead true. To me that issue alone is worth the price of the King hub. | | Weaknesses: | Haven't found any yet. Those who complain about the 'buzz' and about the chain wrap when pedaling backwards are just whiners. Where I come from we would ask these folks if they would like a little cheese with their whine. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano, DT. | | Bike Setup: | Iron Horse MKIII frame, Cane Creek Double Barrel shock, XTR components, BB7's. | | Bottom Line: | These hubs are amazing. They are exactly what they are advertised to be, a highly engineered piece of quality machinery. If you want the best hub that is rebuildable, with a high level of customer service, you must pay for those attributes. So the price should not be an issue when you want to ride you bike back to the trailhead and not worry about walking it back.
I had the King hubs laced to Velocity Aeroheat rims by Dave at SpeedDream. He did and awesome job. The wheels arrived perfect and have remained tight and true since and trust me when I say that I abuse parts. I have built the MKIII frame up with many high end components and recently my riding partner asked me what has made the most improvement in my riding ability. The answer was easy, the engagement of the King hub has by far made the most difference.
Spend the money, you won't regret it, but if you want the best wheelset, have them built by Dave at SpeedDream. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul Till
a Cross Country Rider
from South East, UK
Date Reviewed: November 8, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Easy to maintain with the right tool.
Customer service is second to none. | | Weaknesses: | Had a badly machined driven ring which has 144 teeth instead of 72 so it would not engage properly. | | Similar Products Used: | Hadley DH 108 | | Bike Setup: | Iron Horse Mk.III Expert. | | Bottom Line: | I purchased these hubs and had them built to DT Swiss 4.2D rims and thought they looked the nuts.
First ride and I found it clunked every time the freehub engaged, took it to my local king dealer 30 miles away,after speaking to them on the phone to have the problem looked at only to find they did not have the time when I got there. I had to purchase the Chris King Hub Service Tool for £99.00.I drove home the 30 miles striped the hub to find the driven ring had 144 teeth instead of 72. I then had to drive another 60 miles there and back to purchase a new driven ring for £25.00.
Since this has been fitted the hub has performed flawlessly.
So why have I given this hub 5 Flamin chilis?
I sent an e-mail to Chris King USA letting them know what I had to do in order to ride on a set of there hubs. The very next day I received a reply:
Hello Paul,
My name is Jeff Menand, I am the sales and service manager for Chris King Precision Components.
First of all, thank you for contacting us and please accept our apology for the performance problems resulting from the defective driven ring.
Secondly, you can expect a full refund for your parts and tool cost and inconveinece. These problems are not your cause and therefore not at your expense.
Third, you can expect to be contacted from your LBS in the next two days to resolve the financial part.
Lastly, can you provide me with the serial number on the rear hub shell. This will help us investigate the product dates.
Thank you and we look forward to solving this problem so that you can enjoy riding on your new wheels.
You will not get service like that from any other manufacturer.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Justin
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego
Date Reviewed: October 24, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | The one I am riding. | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | The Fix | | Strengths: | It is light. | | Weaknesses: | I have to say I am not impressed. I have been riding these for 3 or so years. They are fairly easy to work on but the buzzing is anoying and the freewheeling is very bad. My chain has always sagged just freewheeling. My hubs have also come loose several times. I have cone and race hubs that are 10 years old (serviced maybe one time) that spin better. Engagement is slow because you have to take the chain slack out first. I finally sent them to King. They did a full overhaul for $25 which seems damn reasonable and they were quick. If this fixes the freewheeling I will follow up but again I am not impressed. At this price they should be flawless. Their old hubs were bomb proof, these ISOs are weak. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XT, XTR, LX, DURA ACE, WTB, many others. | | Bike Setup: | 5.5 XTR Maverick fork. | | Bottom Line: | Bad value. I would get a regular XTR hub before this one. I think I covered it. I have been wrenching bikes for 20 years now. I know what is reasonable. This aint that. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cameron Bell
a Cross Country Rider
from Brighton
Date Reviewed: September 29, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Torn Shirt | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | Re-build | | Strengths: | 5 year warranty
Great looks
Hooks up quick
Easy maintenance | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Mavic Cross Max
Shimano XT and XTR | | Bike Setup: | Hairy Gary Bicycles Frame - Hardtail XC
Marozzochi Fork
King Headset, Hubs
Velocity rims
Easton Carbon riser bars | | Bottom Line: | These hubs are awesome. I called Chris King to switch over from Universal rear to an ISO shell. They quoted me the price and labor and sent me an RA number. When I recieved my hub they had also added a heavy duty axle, new bearing and new free hub body. Chris King not only has great equipment they take care of you when your require service as well. Oh yeah, they did it all for the original quoted price!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
VThogtronic
a
from VT
Date Reviewed: May 23, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Everything except cost, if it fits your bike. | | Weaknesses: | High Cost. Got to pay to play. Beware the
QR dropout, mine didn't fit in my frame on
the rear hub, had to press it into the frame
using the skewer, cracked the QR dropout that
screws into the hub, made of aluminum, will not
take any force on it whatsoever, other than what
it was designed to do. Drill out excess 1/16"
material on frame if you encounter the same
problem, as long as your warranty has expired on
your frame. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano disc | | Bike Setup: | 2005 Kona Dawg | | Bottom Line: | Awesome product, very happy, stupid move
to not drill out 1/16" of material keeping
the hub from sitting correctly in frame.
$25 to replace. I had a simple problem, w/
a simple solution, if you take the time to
fix it first. Doh! Can't give 5 chili's
w/ out a price drop. $500+ OUCH!! But oh
so smooth. The angry bee is only to make
you pedal faster! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
feral
a Cross Country Rider
from boston, ma
Date Reviewed: February 20, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | plp | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | colorado cycles | | Strengths: | beautifully made, ride great, easy to maintain | | Weaknesses: | if you don't take the time to read about maintaining them you'll have trouble. | | Similar Products Used: | xt, dx, lx, others | | Bike Setup: | 05 blur, fully sram, thomsen, king | | Bottom Line: | i had a set of wheels built up with the iso discs two years ago and have been really pleased with these hubs. they're smooth, the rear has that crazy angry bee sound and the engagement is instantaneous.
if you want a product that will give you zero hassle and are also the type of person who can do the maintenance (or is good about using the lbs for this) these should be the last set of hubs you'll have to get.
these are so much easier to clean out and maintain than any other hub kit i've used. the rear hub internals are a thing of beauty.
the extra coin spent up front will become savings in years 3 and further. i also like the fact that it's a us company. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mate cser
a Downhiller
from budapest
Date Reviewed: October 14, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | very light and strong!!! easy adjustability | | Weaknesses: | nothing | | Bike Setup: | spec p3 manitou sherman saint brakes and crank mtx rims | | Bottom Line: | very good hub!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Carmel, IN
Date Reviewed: October 9, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | BCSP, Laurel -> Pilot Rock, Noble Canyon SD. | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | hammerheadbikes.com | | Strengths: | The design and machining of these hubs is in a class by itself. They're works of art, inside and out. They're both light and indestructable. But what really sets Chris King hubs apart, in my opinion, is the instant engagement. Not having however many degrees of free rotation followed by a clunk as you finally put power to the ground is the difference between right and wrong to me. With the Kings, you push the pedals and the bike goes forward. That's how it should be. | | Weaknesses: | It seems crazy to spend $500 on mountain bike hubs. But once you own them it may seem crazy to bother with anything else. | | Similar Products Used: | XT hubs. | | Bike Setup: | Hammerhead 100x. XTR cranks, Front Der, and cassette. SRAM XO Rear Der, chain and shifters. DT 4.1 rims, Champion spokes, King ISO Disc hubs. Marta SL's. | | Bottom Line: | I rode my XT hubs recently for the first time in over a year, after riding on the Kings for two seasons. The first difference I noticed was how much more aware I was of the XT sound than I normally am of the CK's. Not only is the XT hub louder than the King, but the sound it makes reminds me of the bike I had when I was about 10. The King is noticeably quieter Shimano, and it's sound is, in my opinion, what a hub should sound like. The other thing I noticed about the XT hub is those few extra degrees of rotation before the hub engages. After being used to the virtually instant engagement of the King hub, it now feels weird just how far you have to pedal before you "catch up" to the wheel with the XT. The XT feels loose and clanky by comparison. The bottom line is this. I think the Shimano XT hubs are great. If I'd have never owned the Chris Kings, I would have never noticed the XT drawbacks. But having ridden the Kings for two years, I could never go back to anything else. Chris King hubs are the real deal and everything else is less than that. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
turk
a Weekend Warrior
from mich
Date Reviewed: October 7, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | pisgah | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | lbs | | Strengths: | quality, precision, sound, rebuildable | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | shimano, white ind, coda | | Bike Setup: | cannondale F4000SL, sweet | | Bottom Line: | this is a piece of functional art. like most nondisposible, quality products, set up, and maintenence are important. follow the maintenence schedule and it will the be the last hub u will have to buy | | 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'd 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 bikes 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 the 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 it and other fake email pass.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rick
a Weekend Warrior
from Danbury, CT USA
Date Reviewed: August 19, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | All of 'em | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$560.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike Express | | Strengths: | Phenomenal Attention to detail. Incredible build quality. Awsome finish. Angry bee sound. | | Weaknesses: | Tight bearings out of the box. | | Similar Products Used: | Ringle, Shimano, Mavic | | Bike Setup: | 06 Epic Comp, CK Red ISO Hubs, CK Headset, DT DB Spokes, Mavic 317 Rims, XTR Der's, XT Hyd. Discs, SRAM Chain, SRAM Red Cassette, XT Cranks, FSA Bash Ring, Time ATAC Pedals, Hope Stem, Scott AT2-LF bars, Thompson Elite SP, WTB T-Railed Seat. | | Bottom Line: | I built these up myself, with DT DB spokes and alloy nipples. The spokes were a little noisy until they settled in and I went through two rounds of re-truing/tightening over about 5 hard rides. They were VERY tight out of the box, and had me a bit worried at first. Adusted the bearings twice over 6 months of hard use, which was really easily done with two 5mm allen keys, and they are rolling smoother and smoother as time goes on. The "Angry Bee Sound" is unique and a lot of fun, but not something you'd be able to sneak up on anybody with. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff
a Cross Country Rider
from Milford
Date Reviewed: July 26, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Poto | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$220.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Very Reliable. I had read all the positive reviews and they have lived up to all the hype. | | Weaknesses: | Frequent adjustability. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano,Real,Cannondale
Shimano, Real, Cannondale
| | Bike Setup: | Cannondale Scalpel 3000. Mavic 813 disc rims laced to 32 hole Chris King disc hub. | | Bottom Line: | I am clydesdale (225)lbs and I had wrecked and gone through about 3 different sets of hubs and wheels. I don't do much in terms of drops. Michigan has alot of rock gardens, roots, log jumps, but nothing outrageous. I had because of cost gone with lighter, cheaper, smaller (28 hole) rims in the past and always ended up taco'ing or destroying the setup even though I ride in less demanding environment.
I decided to spend the money on the King hubs and bite the bullet. I have rode almost three hard years on my king hub (rear only)King does not make a setup for the lefty or I would own it. I have done yearly adjustments and service for cleaning and relubrication and it has performed flawlessly. I saw another posting that said complainers of the frequent maintenance would also complain about changing the oil in their car as well. I believe if you bike, you should also invest in the time and knowledge to service certain aspects of your bike. You owe it to yourself and your bike. If your willing to do that and spend a little time and discipline to perform the maintenance at least 1 time a year, the manual says 6 months, then I feel they are more than worth the money. I also believe on my conversations Direct with the King company have been great, helpful and I am surprised that some previous posters have had problems with them honoring defective product. All in all a great product from my side of things. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nick
a
from Phoenix AZ
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | The hub is bombproof. I weigh 230 with gear and I've dropped 6 feet to flat concrete on my rigid trials bike many times on this hub. Never a single problem.
The engagement can't be beat. If it's important to you, this is the only way to go. | | Weaknesses: | It's over $400! Seriously! That's way, way out of proportion. Yes it's a good hub, but this is ridiculous.
The pinch bolt that holds the axle onto the hub on the through-axle seems very soft and is difficult to reach. I had to bend an allen wrench, which I now have to carry whenever I'm riding.
Requires frequent maintenance, in my experience. But it's a joy to take it apart and see how it works. Follow the instructions.
The "love-it-or-hate-it" King buzz. I wouldn't use this thing on an XC bike, I think it would shatter my peace of mind, but I don't mind it in the city. | | Bike Setup: | Planet X Zebdi built beefy for urban trials | | Bottom Line: | The hub I'm reviewing has the stronger engagement spring, steel drive shell, and bolt-on axle. The spring probably makes it noisier, but I want it to engage quickly more than I want it to be quiet.
If you want to spend half your mortgage on a hub, and but never have to buy another hub again, and if you value performance over silence, this is the way to go. It really is very high quality. They just charge too much for it.
That being said, given what I use it for, I don't believe there's anything better on the market.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
cmdrpiffle
a Cross Country Rider
from santa cruz ca.
Date Reviewed: March 7, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | tractor... | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | Universal Cycles | | Strengths: | Marketing hype | | Weaknesses: | Customer service | | Similar Products Used: | most all | | Bottom Line: | I purchased a rear hub new in Sept. 05. Attempting to do the initial routine perscribed lube, I attempted to crack the hub with the 2 5mm hex wrenches. I couldn't budge the thing. As the internals are aluminum, I purchased new wrenches so as not to gall out the axle. The hub still wouldn't crack. I applied a solvent and let sit for a few days. Attempting again, I succeded in rounding out one inside of the axle. Not wanting mar the outside finish, I contacted Chris King by e-mail. They offered to replace the axle for labor and parts, and shipping. Not wanting to spend $200.00 additional to have them 'fix' a 4 week old hub, I opted out. Their explanation that some hubs will seize was interesting, but not helpful. Especially frustrating was when they suggested I purchase a cone adjustment tool to help with the removal. No thanks.
I recently rented a hydraulic wrench to grasp the ends, to break the seize. It wouldn't budge. I could easily have snapped the axle with the power wrench, but didn't want to risk damaging the shell. The seize on a new hub was stronger than the actual aluminum axle. (and most folks have them coming loose as the main problem!)
No worries, I can saw the axle off past the threads and remove it without damaging the rest of the hub.
My concern is the lack of service. It's 5 year guarantee was worthless to myself and their company.
Otherwise, I just rode it for the last 5 months (albiet not being able to lube it) it was getting louder and obviously needed service. The tremendous drag described by others was always an issue. Backpedaling would often wrap the chain up due to the drag.
I'm well aware that I got 'one of the few bad ones', but it sucks that I paid full price for mediocre performance, and got a whopping 5 months out of it.
Trumping your 5 year guarantee and customer service was a moot point when you will not back it up. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Vince
a Cross Country Rider
from SacTown
Date Reviewed: December 3, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | various e-tailers | | Strengths: | Ease of set up, maintaining, & durability. | | Weaknesses: | None - All I can say is read the directions and all the documentation King provides its users | | Similar Products Used: | Cane Creek Cronos, King Classics, BMX, Road, & Disco Tech (Universal) | | Bike Setup: | XC & All Mountain | | Bottom Line: | If every user followed the King suggested break in and maintainace instructions half of all the complaints on this website, well, wouldn't be listed.
Now with that said, we don't live in a perfect world.....their is something called manufacturing tolerances. So the occasional "bad part" will somehow get into the user population but that King is so confident they offer a 5 year warranty.
I would like to see other manufactures stand by their products like King. Shimano doesn't they will tell you to pound sand. Mavic doesn't their drive mechanism will break twice a year. Their is a lot of product hype in the bike industry but very little real product development. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ken
a Cross Country Rider
from Bath
Date Reviewed: October 27, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Anything that keeps me moving | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$408.00 | | Purchased At: | Saucon Valley Bikes | | Strengths: | Reliability, Ring Drive, Strength, Engaugement
This is the Heavy Duty version with the Fun Bolts. | | Weaknesses: | Cost | | Similar Products Used: | Nothing, this is the only one I have not broken yet. | | Bike Setup: | Various moderately prices components that I have found to not break. | | Bottom Line: | Best hub I have ever owned. This is a follow up to my spring review of a day old hub.
Is there some drag when they are new? Yes, but it was not excessive. Let me put it this way, not enough to have my wheel not spin from the wind when it is on my rack behind the car. After 10 to 20 hours I didn't notice any back pedal chain drag.
Did the bearing loosen like CK said they would? Yes they did. Once I figured how to adjust it (the manual is a little fuzzy on the HD axel version) I can do it in about two, literally two minutes and that is while it is still on the bike. I only had to adjust them 3 times in about 750 miles.
The noise? Unfortunately mine are fairly quite and I believe that is because of the Stainless drive shell asorbing the noise. Everyone else I ride with that has them sing that sweet song.
Bottom line? I have been riding these hubs for 6 months and the freehub mech. has not givin me any trouble yet. I would go through a Shimano XT, LX, Deore, about every two weeks. The Hope lasted me about two months but I was consciously getting off in climbing technical sections to go easy on the hub.
They are expensive, but considering I have spent hundreds of dollars on hubs that left me without a freehub 5 miles from the nearest trailhead, the value is still 5 chillies.
Ken. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brandon White
a Downhiller
from Reno
Date Reviewed: October 16, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Flume | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Great look, design, how easy they are to maintain, great killer bee soun... | | Weaknesses: | Rear hub bearings tend to come loose. | | Similar Products Used: | Stout hubs | | Bike Setup: | 03 Bullit, Chris king disc hubs/321, 02 Hayes hydro disc, 5th element rear shock, Marzocchi 03 DJ II, XT/ Raceface drivetrain... | | Bottom Line: | I read some reviewers complaining about the drag and how the bearings tend to come loose. I thought if funny how one reviewer had to buy the special hub tool from Chris King so he could tighten them. If he had read all the maintenance can be done with two 5mm allen wrenches. I dont mind having to do small pre ride maintenance and it is fairly rare the I have to tighten them at all. I would bet that the complain that they have to change the oil in there car every 3000 miles too.
The drag does happen very very rarely, and is mostly credited to my shifting style. Over all these hubs are worth every penny I paid. The killer bee sound is awesome and unique and strikes up good conversations "Dude why do your wheels buzz?" | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a
from PA
Date Reviewed: October 14, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Reliable. Instant engagement. Great customer service. Servicable. Built to last. Lightweight. | | Weaknesses: | Cost.. but you get what you pay for.
Losening rear "QR bolts"... grease and torque a bit more than spec. Still loosening... wrap threads with teflon plumber's tape before threading. Still loosening... clean threads with thread prep then use blue Lock-tite. Still loosening... you must be doing something wrong! The thru axel bolt on "upgrade" solves this problem with a lock on clamp. | | Similar Products Used: | Many. | | Bike Setup: | Many | | Bottom Line: | Reposting after another year of use. I've got 3 set's of these hubs. Since my last review my experience with CK has only improved. The hubs continue to remain to be reliable, fairly easy to maintain, and extremely functional. Dealing with this company has been great. Every time I call CK I get an experienced person to speak to. Just last week I ordered a rear thru axel with fun bolts to change out the QR and "beef up" the rear end on one of my bikes. King's thur axel and fun bolt set up is very nice. Clean, strong. Much better than a QR setup; Even for a XC bike. The instant engagement with the rear hub is very noticeable if you ride technical terrain. I'll stick with King. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pascal C.
a
from Calgary
Date Reviewed: October 13, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Canada | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Strengths: | good engagement, weight, strength. Very good customer service. | | Weaknesses: | Free wheel drags a bit. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XT, Aerospoke | | Bike Setup: | I have a Chris King on my Megamo trials bike and my Ellsworth joker downhill bike. | | Bottom Line: | I have two ISO disk rear hubs and they both work awesome. They are both three years old and have needed rebuilding once by Chris King. THey are the best hubs on the market for trials. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dialed In
a Racer
from Laguna Niguel
Date Reviewed: September 20, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Jedi, Schultz Creek, Lost Burrito, Telonix, Stair Steps, Old Car | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | Adrenaline | | Strengths: | This review is only for the rear hub. I will pst a seperate review for the front hub: Light, strong freehub, quick engagement. | | Weaknesses: | Hub absolutely will not stay tight - See below. | | Similar Products Used: | XT, XTR, Hadley, Cannondale, DT/Hugi, Ringle | | Bike Setup: | Gemini, DHX 5.0, Vanilla 36, Hadley/Mavic 36x4, XTR, Hope Mono6Ti's, Diabolus, King Headset, Thompson Post, SDG Saddle... Upgraded the King hubs to Hadley's - Yippee, no more adjusting every 2 rides! | | Bottom Line: | Hub absolutely will not stay tight. Not even lock tight keeps the lame adjusting nut from backing off. Hell, I even tried green sleeve locker on the stupid thing and it came loose in 50 miles! The first few times that it came loose I had a King "authorized service center" tighten it because I didn't have the special tool required to work on this garbage but then I figured that the shop must be incompetent so I forked over the cash for the tool from King and now I get to tighten it myself after every couple of rides... so much fun. Is it possible that I am incompetent too? Of course that is possible but the problem in this instance is that the bearing preload adjusting nut design is just plain stupid. King did a good job of making the assembly simple in order to keep it light and strong but they overlooked keeping it functional. If King sould just add a 5 gram aluminum lock nut on the outside for a double lock the hub would be almost perfect. To make it completely perfect you would need to put a titanium freehub body on it like Hadley did so your cogs don't dig into the body and become a nightmare to remove. If King built hubs like Hadley can you imagine how overpriced it they would be? Save yourself the money and the frustration and just buy the Hadley's from day 1.
Who should buy these hubs: Anyone that finds them at a garage sale for $100 - then just use the front hub and put the rear up on ebay. Also anyone that want's to upgrade your Wally Mart bike. Did I mention that mine is going up on ebay?
Who should not buy these hubs: Anyone that rides hard and doesn't want to spend 20 minutes tightening their hub every couple of rides; anyone that takes their cogset off frequently to clean and doesn't want to use a chain whip to break the small cogs free from their newly gouged aluminum home; anyone that doesn't like to spend more to get less; pretty much anyone that doesn't fall into the category of "Who should buy these hubs" shown above.
Oh, for the record, I'm not writing this review because I am bitter that this hub is junk... It is my own fault that I didn't research this hub more thoroughly before I bought it. I have since run into many people on the trail that are either having or have had similar problems with this hub. Just thought you all should know! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter
a Cross Country Rider
from North Van, BC
Date Reviewed: September 18, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Espresso/Crippler | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$700.00 | | Purchased At: | Dizzy | | Strengths: | Front hub is as smooth as silk.
Prevented me from having too much extra money in the bank.
Good excuse to visit the lads at the LBS every 3 months | | Weaknesses: | Free hub drag. | | Similar Products Used: | Deore, XT, Formula, Dura Ace | | Bike Setup: | '05 RM ETSX-70 | | Bottom Line: | Same comments as Scott from Oregon. Beautifully finished product but what's with the rear free hub drag? Instant engagement is irrelevant if your chain bunches-up due to the drag. Three rebuilds since February.
Sure hope the thing "breaks-in" soon (is there a retrofit kit to make salt-and-pepper shakers?)
Five flaming turds for the front end - two for the rear.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott
a Cross Country Rider
from Central Oregon
Date Reviewed: August 23, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Little Basin Creek, Stanley, ID | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Part of wheelset built by Odds & Endos | | Strengths: | - Sure are pretty
- Easy to service | | Weaknesses: | - Ridiculously overpriced
- Need to service often
- Lots of drag | | Similar Products Used: | El cheapo LX and XT wheelsets | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight w/ mostly XT build kit | | Bottom Line: | Bottom line is simple... these are nice hubs, but if I could do it over again, I wouldn't buy them.
I bought King hubs because of all the hype about longevity and instant engagement, and light weight (at the time I was much more concerned about weight than I am now). When I got them, the first thing I noticed was that there was a significant amount of drag. Drag to the point that when on the repair stand and you back-pedal the cranks, that rear wheel would move just about as much as if you turned the cranks forward! I expected this based on the feedback that I had heard about a long break-in period. 2 years later, the suckers still show significant drag, although it has decreased a bit, but not nearly as much as I would have expected. I wock the King Ring Lube to it every other month ($12 big ones for a 4 oz bottle of this silly proprietary stuff) and still the same story. Does the drag effect performance? Sure does. Doesn't necissarily slow me down, but when it is clearly noticable is when riding rock gardens and having to back pedal. The drag in the hub causes the chain to fetch up on quick back pedal strokes, so when you go to put forward pressure back on, there is serious lag in the chain. What a PITA. Instant engagement doesn't help a whole lot if you can't keep chain tension. I will say that this has gotten a bit better as of late, but that's 2 years later. Also, these bad boys seem to loosen up quite frequently. For the first year I was adjusting/tightening once every few weeks. Now it seems to hold for at least 6 or 7 weeks. The front hub obviously has not presented near the fuss as the rear, but it does need to be tightened/adjusted quite frequently.
Now, these issues are more of annoyances than anything at this point. Overall performance of these hubs has been dissapointing, especially for the price I paid for "excellence". I ended up putting the CK hub-based wheelset on my wifes bike and put her cheapy XT wheelset on my ride (since she races and could use the weight advantage that CK offers) The XT wheelset is heavier, and might have a *slight* disadvantage from an engagement standpoint, but I tell ya what, they are bombproof. After 3 years of abuse, those cheap XT hubs are still going strong. How often have they been serviced? Never. I expect they'll provide another few years of single-trak rollin' love! I'll take the weight penalty any day for bomber, no hassle performance. For me, in the future I'll save myself 300 bucks (and that's *just* on the rear hub alone) and go w/ the cheap and reliable XT. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ken
a Cross Country Rider
from Bath, pa
Date Reviewed: April 29, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$408.00 | | Purchased At: | Saucon Valley Bikes | | Strengths: | Drive Ring engagement, not pawl type.
Warranty and hopefully Strength | | Weaknesses: | Price | | Similar Products Used: | Nothing | | Bike Setup: | Mostly lx/Xt except hub which is Chris King ISO Rear hub Heavy Duty. | | Bottom Line: | I purchased a Hope Bulb 3 years ago because of many recommendations on this board and price. I was thinking either Chris King or Hope, but price ultimately brought me to the Hope.
I break the Drive teeth in the hubs. The problem with the hope is that if all three teeth catch, you are good, but if you reset your cranks and push hard with only one of the pawls engaged it will shear the tooth right off.
Hope was great with warranty twice, but now I am selling it to a lighter rider.
The Chris King combats that single tooth issue by using a Ring Drive that can not possibly engage only one tooth. It is literally all or nothing (as I have heard people talk about).
I just picked it up last night and beat the cr@p out of it and it was flawless and had such a nice rapid engagement. Because of the fine engagement, upshifting was smoother and pops up over bridge and log crossing that required a pedal stroke were phenominal.
I bought the Heavy Duty with the Fun Bolts and also noticed how much stiffer the rear swingarm felt and how every pedal stroke really put power in to forward motion instead of flex.
As far as the noise? I couldn't really hear while riding and others couldn't either. I was actually a little dissapointed, because I wanted to hear that reminder of quality function going down the trail.
Yes, it has only been one day, but from what I read and how I break hubs, this should finally do the trick. So far I am very very impressed with this hub. I really thought I was only going to see the quicker engagement, but it just made everything so much more solid and seamless that is made me a stronger and more confident rider.
So far, all hail the King.
I will try to follow up in a month.
Ken. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Niklaus Hartmann
a Weekend Warrior
from Cochabamba, Bolivia
Date Reviewed: February 21, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Any | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$330.00 | | Strengths: | - Beautiful machining
- Amazing detail
- Extremely precise components | | Weaknesses: | n/a | | Similar Products Used: | none, first disc hub | | Bottom Line: | This hub is an amazing piece of work, not only beautiful, but fully functional. With extremely precise components, its no wonder why they work and "feel" so perfect you forget you have them. Did you know they care so much for your satisfaction (and their 5 year warranty) that they disard mispainted shells, and instead of disposing of these make really cool Salt n' Pepper Shakers, the perfect companion for dinner after a day long ride. As an added bonus the King Cycle Group company is an honest hard working company who cares for their customers satisfaction, and is enviormentally friendly. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
L W
a Cross Country Rider
from Stumptown, OR
Date Reviewed: February 18, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | local stash | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | sealed bearings are great
rachet mechanism is the best I've seen/ridden - durable & engages at earliest point in rotation compared to other cheap shimano hubs. | | Weaknesses: | KING REAR HUBS HAVE A SERIOUS DESIGN FLAW. It seems to be something that nobody wants to talk about after they shell out the big bucks for these hubs. I was in denial after my 1st one (non-disc 8spd) failed me back in 2000, bought the disc version too in 2001. Now its happened again and I'm convinced. Basically if you don't like your wheel built like a wet noodle (actually tighten your spokes so your rims will last more than a season) then the hubs "stretch out" and the bearing cartridges become loose in the hub. The result is a back wheel that wobbles side to side. It takes a couple years for this to happen, but its happened twice now. My opinion is that in their effort to make the hubs too light weight, they don't leave enough material to make the hubs durable/reliable. So if you want to fork out big bucks for a sweet hub that rides great for a year or so, they're ok. But if you want something to last when it costs that much you should definitely look elsewhere. This review has been stewing in my head for the last 5 years, its time the truth be told and the King-worshippers out there finally be told that the emperor has no clothes. | | Similar Products Used: | King 8spd rear hub (non-disc)-- same issue: crap
various vintage Shimano hubs, lx to xt, lately deore on another bike.
SPOT singlespeed rear hub | | Bike Setup: | ti hardtail w/ hayes hydros (6" rotors), king disco-tec front and rear, hubs purchased 2001. | | Bottom Line: | DON'T BUY A KING REAR HUB! THEY'RE CR*P. If you like a well built wheel with tight spokes these hubs are not for you. The industry has been brainwashing everyone that these are the "must have" hubs. They're not that great.
*yes* I'm aware that they sell replacement bearing cartridges in graduated sizes to address this problem. But why should we have to buy a bigger bearing cartidge every so often due to a flawed design? Please King, just fix the source of the problem. It will be a service to all your customers and maybe put some credibility back in your brand.
I expect some will find this hard to believe. Let me assure you I've been riding for 15 years, on King rear hubs (2 now) since 1998. I've run them on hardtails, I only weigh about 165 lbs, I've ridden these hubs mostly on local Oregon/SW Wash XC trails and many times on the 'shore. As any BC rider will tell you a loose sloppy wheel is going to fold quickly when riding the rocks/roots encountered and tight wheels w/ big rims are the way to go.
Interestingly enough my experience over the same time period w/ King front hubs has been stellar, no complaints at all. I run my front wheel equally "tight" as my rear wheel.
Bottom Line: BUYER BEWARE
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
all hail the mighty beefrod burford
a Cross Country Rider
from mobile, al, usa
Date Reviewed: January 15, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | seagull creek trail MT | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | eastern shore cyclery | | Strengths: | Beautiful, functional , simple, LIGHT, cool sound | | Weaknesses: | none yet | | Similar Products Used: | sh xtr, xt, lx, deore, stx, alevio, specialized | | Bike Setup: | 04 IF steel deluxe 15.5in frame top shelf xc freeride and urban gear | | Bottom Line: | THey make a different sound, you know why? because they have a 72 point interface...You know what that means? it means these hubs are better than yours. They are always enguaged...you dont really notice it untill you ride any other hubs after the chris king experience. I've put these through the ringer urban jumping to technical trail riding...they are light, stiff strong, beautiful...they are expensive, but if you have a love for bikes and quality you'll think they are worth it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: September 23, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | anything technical XC | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Looks great and has a good warranty | | Weaknesses: | Hub shells are too thin which can lend themselves to stretching and displacing the bearings (which have only so much adjustment).
I mailed Chris King and they said no more than 120kgf for the spoke tension which is fine for Xc rims but will need more attention from a teniometer than tighter wheels (which last longer).
Hub flanges are also too thin for most spoke ends (chris king use 2.6mm holes and 14/15db spokes are 2mm which allows for greater movement in the holes which can lead to failure (they match perfectly for tripple butt spokes thought) unless you put spoke washers from DT on them.
Expensive jewlery | | Similar Products Used: | shimano XT, Hope XC disc, Hope bulb disc | | Bike Setup: | bla bla xtr bla bla hope M4 mono stuff bla bla race face lots bla bla | | Bottom Line: | looks great
chi chi value
not everybody has one
but expensive | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a
from PA
Date Reviewed: September 18, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Durabable/reliable.
Well sealed.
Perform flawlessly.
Light weight.
Great customer service. | | Weaknesses: | A bit more involved than say an XT hub to do a complete overhaul.
Requires special tools to overhaul.
Initail cost is high but pays off in the long run. | | Similar Products Used: | Many. | | Bike Setup: | I have them on my trail bike, HT race bike, FR/DH bike. | | Bottom Line: | A fine example of high quality craftsmanship. King's products fly in the face of other mass produced, cheaply made, disposable parts. Too bad most people are interested in "cheap" and will throw dollars at poorly made products that need replacing ever 2 years. Buy a King product and not only will you save money in the long run but you will also be supporting your neighbor who is working at King.
I will continue to buy King Products.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
frank
a Cross Country Rider
from georgia
Date Reviewed: September 17, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | blankets creek | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Instant Engagement. Very easy to adjust and rebuild. Unreal quality. | | Weaknesses: | Will require an adjustment a couple of times a year at least | | Similar Products Used: | SRAM, Shimano, crap | | Bike Setup: | Turner Burner | | Bottom Line: | These hubs are the finest bike component in the industry. Nevermind how beautiful they are on the outside -- taking one apart reveals the brilliant design and machining of this product. It's really a testament to CK engineering when a hack like me can put one of these together without a hitch. Everything fits like clockwork -- it's almost fun.
It is not loud. If the hubs are that loud then it's time for maintenance. I've snuck up on countless deer and wild turkeys out on the trail while coasting along. It sounds different, that's all. Big deal. I think it sounds cool.
Yes the hubs are expensive -- but the level of quality here is commiserate with the price. I truly believe, after seeing one of these first hand, that these hubs are worth every penny. Try another hobby like Audiophile HiFi, where a simple power cord can cost $5000. Chris King is also a very cool company with excellent ideals and environmental track record.
Instant engagement means instant, seamless power. The net result is that the hubs truly disappear. I don't notice they exist and they don't get in the way with sloppy, jerky engagement.
These are the best hubs in the industry, completely end-user serviceable and will last forever. Unless these die (unlikely), I know that I will never have to buy another hubset again. That's a good feeling and that's worth the money.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brad
a Weekend Warrior
from Vancouver Island
Date Reviewed: August 23, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Boogie Man - North Vancouver | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike Shed | | Strengths: | Beautiful hub. Builds up a strong, light wheel. Of course the sound (like custom exhaust off "The Fast And The Furious". | | Weaknesses: | Be careful of which drive shell you get. Don't use a cheap cassette. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano of all sorts since the early 90s. | | Bike Setup: | GT Zaskar X. Dorado SC. Hayes Brakes. Etc. | | Bottom Line: | I am still turned on by the sound of this hub and it's been 4 months. I ordered the aluminum drive shell thinking to save a bit of weight. The only precautions that are on the CK web site is: Don't use the aluminum drive shell for high torque applications ie. trials, tandems, etc. I figured XC racing wouldn't be a problem. Turns out, when I put a cheap lx cassette on it, the individual splines of each gear in the cassette dug into the driveshell requiring me to pound the cassette off from the back with a screwdriver. My LBS never heard of this problem before. Since then I put a cassette that has its gears mounted on a carrier (XT). This would not have been an issue had I just used a good cassette to begin with. I suppose if I just shelled out the extra bucks for the steel drive shell, this wouldn't have been a problem at all. Moral of the story: DONT CHEAP OUT ON THE CASSETTE! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mark
a
from canada
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$275.00 | | Purchased At: | pink bike | | Strengths: | tough as nails
look amazing
super stiff | | Weaknesses: | i bought these because i though there were none!? | | Similar Products Used: | deore, cannondale fire | | Bike Setup: | c'dale chase, equiped with a sherman breakout 1.5, husselfelt crankset and oversized bars, fsa dh 300 stem, kings laced to single tracks. | | Bottom Line: | i bought these mainly to stiffen up my front end because i have a qr sherman. it did the job. i got such a good deal, from a guy on pink bike who bought them for a second wheelset and never used them, that i ended up getting front and rear when i had only planned getting the front. man, instant engagement, 20mm axel, and that rad buzzing, i am so impressed! i love these things! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kim
a Cross Country Rider
from Klamath Falls, OR
Date Reviewed: June 18, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Scratch | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$420.00 | | Purchased At: | Daves Speed Dream Wheels | | Strengths: | Strong, Light, COOL blue color. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Original Shimano Hubs on several bikes | | Bike Setup: | Kona Bear DeeLux. XTR. Fox Float RL front and back. Hayes Hydraulic Discs, Dave's Speed Dream Wheels!! | | Bottom Line: | So far, I love them. I wanted the best. Have only had to adjust the rear bearings twice. Once in about 50 feet and once at about 100 miles. I keep checking them often and just continue to be amazed. I now have 300+ miles on them. I can notice the dust guard drag when turning the axle by hand, but not when spinning the wheel while on the bike or riding. My prior experience was with Shimano Deore hubs. When I notice the buzz, it doesn't bother me. My kids think it is cool. It has definitely quieted down with break in. I, like previous posters, love to see wildlife while out on a ride. I am usually pedaling so the buzz doesn't affect this. When the hub is buzzing, my chain is usually slapping, brake levers rattling and teeth chattering, so the buzz isn't what the deer hear first. I wouldn't let this discourage me. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
RobC
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix, AZ - So Cal
Date Reviewed: June 12, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$520.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA | | Strengths: | The price reflects a complete build.
CNC construction, madcap drive design. Instant pedaling engagement. | | Weaknesses: | Chris King - Weakness... what are you.. NEW? | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano line. Top to bottom. They all break. | | Bike Setup: | Rhino Lite XLs on CK Disc hubs, hardtail | | Bottom Line: | Read the reviews, spend the money, forget about it. The whirring sound.... that's the sound of money as one trailmate put it. If you don't like the noise, pedal. You're not here to freewheel!
Being in the 200+ class, for whatever reason, I have always been able to put equipment through its paces. Rear hubs and me are notorious. Not a badge of honor, I have bent every rear axle on EVERY hub setup I have ever owned including my Ultegra equipped road ride (no curbs, I promise). To date, 2-3' rock to Arizona hardpack drops on my hardtail and it still spins fast amd true.
When purchasing, I was made aware that after about 20 miles I would have to adjust the bearing cone slightly to take up rear wheel play. Well, didn't happen until around 50 but with a quick half-flat on the allen wrench all was good again.
If you want quality, buy it. If you are cheap or want to ride in a vaccuum and want to whine about the price or the sound, go play with the other kids cause we don't have time for that here. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
TC
a Weekend Warrior
from Pasadena
Date Reviewed: May 26, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Red Box ---> JPL | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | dah dah dah dah dah... | | Weaknesses: | dah dah dah dah dah... | | Similar Products Used: | CrossRoc Disc UST | | Bike Setup: | Intense 5.5 , Firefly SPV, XM 819s, Mono Minis... and stuff | | Bottom Line: | It's probably the best upgrade on my bike so far. My bike accelerates faster, and the pedaling response is really crisp. The rear hub came loose after 2 rides. No biggie, 2 allen wrenches saved the ride. It stays tight after that. The only downside of that dah dah dah sound is that I got "what's wrong with your bike?" from my friends sometimes. So, um.. Just keep pedaling if the sound bothers you (or your buddies). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ken morgan
a Weekend Warrior
from Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Fujimi Panorama | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$450.00 | | Purchased At: | I forgot its been so long | | Strengths: | Bullet proof, no Make that Ken proof | | Weaknesses: | Some complain about cost, but this is questionable, (see below) | | Similar Products Used: | XT, Hugi | | Bike Setup: | Azonic Sabre all XT with king hubs, and headset + hayes brakes, Mavic D321 rims | | Bottom Line: | The Longest a set of XT's ever lasted me was about 8 months, so at over 4 years of use, and a little over 5600 miles of use, I am wondering when or if I will have to replace these hubs. I orignally had them on my Joshua, then my Sugar, and now this bike, I have personally cleaned and relubed these things exactly 5 times, and they really didn't need the attention the last time, I have dunked them several times, and the trails aroung here tend to be muddy 99 percent of the time and yet no damage. I found that slick honey diluted (slightly) with synthetic 20 wt motor oil works as well as hayes spunk, and is quieter, not that I mind. these are a work of art, and will work fine for all types of riding, if you can afford them, at what it would have cost me to replace XT every 8 months or so, I could have almost bought me a second set of King hubs, come to think of it, I probably will. (for my newest bike!) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
robotkiller
a Cross Country Rider
from valdosta, ga
Date Reviewed: May 21, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Light, strong, smooth, almost instant engagement, beautiful | | Weaknesses: | expensive. Will require at least one tightening after riding. Some slight drag. | | Similar Products Used: | SRAM 9.0sl | | Bike Setup: |
Heckler | | Bottom Line: | I cannot believe someone gave this 2 stars because of the sound! It's really not that bad and, in fact, I like it. Sounds like a fishing reel. It's different, but make no mistake it will announce to the world you are riding a King.In any event, it's certainly not a reason NOT to buy this hub. Lame.
After the first ride I had to tighten the hub. This involved loosening the hub with two 5mm allen wrenches, turning the conical adjuster 1/16 of a turn to the right, and retightening the bolts hand-tight. Takes all of 2 minutes. I haven't had to touch it again, but I'll reserve final judgment on that one, since I've only ridden it a couple of months (albeit almost every day).
The engagement is a really cool feature and makes trackstands a breeze, not to mention seamless acceleration out of corners. This feature alone is why I chose the Kings. No more sudden jerking of the chain when slamming the pedals coming out of a turn-- just smooth power.
The hubs are reasonably lightweight and the construction, frankly, is jewel like in its quality. Even better than the headsets, IMO. I'm a sucker for quality and these hubs may be the most refined machine of any kind that I own. It's nice to actually spend a crap load of money and have the product look like it's worth it. The hubs are beautiful.
On the negative, the hubs are pretty damn pricey (cost the same as my first bike). There is also more drag in the hub than others, but I cannot tell this when riding -- only when spinning the crank manually by hand. So if you plan on doing that alot, don't buy these hubs.
Highly recommended. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
clare
a Cross Country Rider
from AK
Date Reviewed: May 17, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | ??- they were a gift | | Strengths: | Good lord, they're light. Pretty colors too. | | Weaknesses: | None- I think the noise is cool, and it is like company on a lonely ride. I miss the sound when I ride my non-CK wheels. | | Bike Setup: | Heckler | | Bottom Line: | My boyfried got me these for my last birthday, and they're the nicest thing on my (very nice) bike. Even with the Hayes discs, the bike shop found them to weigh less than a pair of Bontrager road wheels. Very smooth. Easy break-in, I don't know what everyone else is complaining about. Customer service during the ordering was unreal. Great company. I can't wait till they come out with a BB. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alan
a Cross Country Rider
from Arizona
Date Reviewed: April 5, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$380.00 | | Strengths: | Smoothe. Great customer service. Quality product. | | Weaknesses: | NOISE! | | Similar Products Used: | XTR hubs | | Bike Setup: | Turner XCE, all the fix best components. | | Bottom Line: | These hubs are of the greatest quality, and will not let you down. King customer support is the best that you will find.
The problem with these hubs is the rear hub noise. It's totally embarrassing, as one other reviewer put it. If you're a kid who like loud cars, music and attention, then you'll love these hubs. But if you want a ride anything even remotely close to quiet, then you'll be disappointed with these hubs. The rear hub is so loud, don't expect to see any wildlife along the trail, they're long gone. I even ordered from King the "ring lube" to try to reduce the rear hub noise. It helped a little, but not much. Still a *LOUD* "buzzing" sound.
If you can live with the noise, you'll love these otherwise excellent hubs.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
erick
a Cross Country Rider
from Tacoma, WA USA
Date Reviewed: March 26, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$440.00 | | Purchased At: | eBay | | Strengths: | Bullet Proof design and durability. Testimony to what american engineers and fabricators can do if they put their minds to it!! Prefer cartridge bearings over cone & cup setups, so this is the best of the best of the best for my tastes. | | Weaknesses: | None so far! Rear hub does make some noise, sounds like a fishing reel with the drag let all the way out when coasting @ speed. But still quiet as compared to other systems, so to my thinking, not a weakness -just an observation. | | Similar Products Used: | WTB (cartridge bearings, good quality), XT (good quality until the cone & cup bearings got contaminated during a ride -almost completely seized up on the trail (trail failures are the worst of the bike part sins)) Considered True Precision Stealth Hubs (they have a 5 year warranty too), but they are still in development and unavailable for the 2004 model year, and I couldn't wait any longer. | | Bike Setup: | GSR Hooligan DH HT built for speed | | Bottom Line: | Didn't plan on upgrading to the Kings, but when my front XT became contaminated and seized during a ride last October, I didn't want to relace the wheel with parts that fail so quickly up here in the soggy NW. The Kings seem to be built with our liquid environment in mind as I have had no contamination problems, or any other problems thus far. I have had to adjust the hub/axle tension 3 times on the front and twice on the rear. I have these hubs mated to a heavy duty DH setup. I am running f/r Sun Double Wide rims with DH tubes and Kujo DH tires (I hate fixing flats on the trail). A heavy setup for sure, but according to Kings literature, these hubs are light enough for CC and sturdy enough for DH. Since I am running these hubs towards the DH end of the spectrum, we'll see how they do over the next five years!!
For me, these hubs appear to be properly broken in, and so I am not suffering from the chronic hub/axle loosening that a few others in these reviews are suffering from. So high marks to King for that!
Above average entrance cost, but if they last the five years the warranty is in force, then probably money well spent!! So far, I highly recommend the Kings! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Grant
a
from Anaheim Hills, CA
Date Reviewed: February 29, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | The Path Bike Shop | | Strengths: | Put 'em on and forget 'em. That bzzzzzzzzz is killer. Easy of adjustablilty. Durability. | | Weaknesses: | None. | | Similar Products Used: | Hugi 240's, XT, XTR, Paul, Dura Ace | | Bottom Line: | I've had these hubs on different bikes for 2.5 years and simply love them. The other frames are long since gone or broken, but these hubs are still here and rolling strong.
They are easy to maintain and work so well that you actually forget that you have them. This is truly an amazing product and I can spend my time riding and not worrying about another part on my bike to break.
Simply put, they won't. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kyle R. Johnson
a Cross Country Rider
from Anchorage, Alaska
Date Reviewed: December 2, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | - N/A - | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | Universal Cycles | | Strengths: | - Superior Drive Mechanism
- Nearly instantaneous engagement
- Durability, longevity, & performance
- Built with highest quality materials
- Ease of maintenance
- Simple robust design (very few moving parts)
- Lightweight
- Customer service cannot be ignored - best in the business | | Weaknesses: | - Seals (read below) could use some improvement | | Similar Products Used: | Bullseye, LX-XT-XTR, Bontrager products, Ringle, Phil Wood..... | | Bike Setup: | 99 Litespeed Ocoee, 01 XTR Drive-Train, Hope Mini Disks, 01 Marzocchi Atom Race, Kore Elite Stem, Thomson SP, CK headset, Bontrager ASYM Disc Rims | | Bottom Line: | In 20 years of MTBiking, my CK ISO's are the best hubs I've ever used. XTR's run a close second. In terms of performance, durability, and weight I would say XTRs are pretty much equal. What sets CK hubs apart for me are their superior design and the ease of maintenance.
These hubs are a testament to American design and engineering. They are well thought out and incredibly easy to work on. With the CK Hub Service Tool ($70), I can perform a complete disassembly and service (bearings & Ring-Drive) the rear hub in 30 min. If you don’t believe me, go to CK website and watch some of the service movies.
My attitude on maintenance is this: these hubs are not "fire and forget" as legend may have it. This can be either good or bad depending on your point of view. There is a level discipline that cannot be ignored concerning routine CK hub maintenance. Like any piece of high performance kit, routine maintenance is key if you want these hubs to last and perform at their best. At minimum, 3-6 months for bearings and 12-24 months for Ring-Drive service. If you like or enjoy doing your own bike maintenance, these hubs are definitely for you. CK hubs are not designed for those cock-rotters out there who neglect their equipment. Unfortunately, these are the same people that have problems with their CK hubs and complain about it on this website. This is sad, but true.
The seals work well, but I think they allow too much water in, but let it be known that they are designed to work with some water intrusion. This has never caused me problems because I routinely service my hubs, but for those of us that ride in very wet parts of the world you need to be aware of this. I'd like to see external seals that cover the adjusting cones...or something to that effect.
Seal break-in is a non-issue…just follow the instructions and all will be fine. Initially, you will notice some drag on the drivetrain, but this goes away within 50-100 hours of use. These hubs “seemingly” have more rotational drag than cup and cone type hubs because of the cartridge bearing design. But once you put the wheel on the bike and weight-load the axles this becomes a non-issue. These hubs roll with the same amount of efficiency as cup and cone type hubs when they’re on the bike.
Also, don’t worry about the buzz…and if you do, you have psychological problems. It is simply the result and sound of superior design and engineering. 5 chilies for value and 5 chilies for overall performance. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
bob
a Cross Country Rider
from vancouver
Date Reviewed: September 26, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | strong, light, look nice | | Weaknesses: | annoyingly loud, excessive play and drag still after well over 100 miles of break-in. have to readjust them nearly every ride (yes, i'm doing it right), not cheap | | Similar Products Used: | other hubs | | Bike Setup: | giant nrs air, loaded | | Bottom Line: | are we allowed to say that chris king hubs are anything but perfect? well, yes actually. these are not perfect, but they're pretty nice. hopefully they will decide to be "broken in" soon, whatever that means. they drag like crazy unless you adjust them out so much that there's excessive play. you just can't win. the rear hub noise is embarassing (no one cares that they're "chris king hubs"). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shane
a Weekend Warrior
from Motown
Date Reviewed: September 14, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Melones | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$600.00 | | Purchased At: | CycleMasters Turlock | | Strengths: | Sweet Thy are so cool looking that you dont wanna get em dirty | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | GT (hadley) Some other stuff | | Bike Setup: | 2 wheels and a horn | | Bottom Line: | Why do people complain about break in Its so tuogh to take 2 5mm wrenches and turn.Its you lazy schmoes that make these hubs look bad They perform flawlessly.Ive only had these for a month but all the fellas here rant about the perfection of these hubs They are expensive but they will last forever.Go buy your XTR and all the adapters if you dont like them and quit your whining Oh yeah when you want to sell your Kings at a discount price because they are so hard to maintain let me know Ill buy em | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
x-racer
a Racer
from boulder, co
Date Reviewed: August 9, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | wide variety of colors, nice maching, instant engagement (but stealth hubs are better...) | | Weaknesses: | Need more attention than other hubs, noisy | | Similar Products Used: | hugi, xtr, xt, stealth hubs, hadley, am classic, nuke proff, etc... | | Bottom Line: | NIce but not woth the asking price. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
michael
a Downhiller
from illinois
Date Reviewed: July 11, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Tech Support / Customer Service | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | There is nothing similar | | Bike Setup: | 03' Heckler: set up for swashbuckling adventure! | | Bottom Line: | Rather than reiterate what you already know about the mechanical superiority of these hubs- I would, instead, like to review King’s fantastic tech support / customer service department. I just returned from a fifteen-day road trip of the southwest. My bike was subjected to thirteen consecutive days of abuse that nearly destroyed the both of us. In spite of my best efforts; shoddy trail-maintenance was inevitable with the limited tools we had on hand. As a result, my rear hub was pushed to the max, and probably overtightend on more than a few occasions. I thought I had killed it. When I returned home; my local shops’ diagnosis was costly. However, one of the wrenches suggested I mail the wheel directly to King. Two weeks, and a mere $25 later my wheel arrived back on my doorstep… in perfect working condition. Not bad, considering this all took place just prior to the Fourth of July Holiday. If you ever wondered whether or not King components were worth the extra cash I can comfortably attest that this is in fact the case. I’ll be upgrading my headset in the near future, and it’ll surly be a King. Well Done! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
demonic
a
from wisconsin
Date Reviewed: June 26, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | solid and light | | Weaknesses: | 100 mile adjustment period | | Similar Products Used: | sh*tmano | | Bike Setup: | 03 Truth, 03 XTR, and some Chris King bits | | Bottom Line: | fabulous hub. lighter than XTR and IMHO spins better and the rear instant engagement is worth the little bit of noise (yes it does start loud, but it gets better)...especially in rock gardens. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
g love
a Cross Country Rider
from charleston, sc
Date Reviewed: June 11, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | ocoee | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$550.00 | | Purchased At: | 123bikes.com | | Strengths: | engineering, attention to detail, quality, warranty | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | cane creek, ringle, hugi, shimano xt, mavic 3.1 rims | | Bike Setup: | 2002 s-works fsr, xtr, avid discs, rs sid sl | | Bottom Line: | these hubs are awesome. very smooth and they add some stiffness to my sid. make sure to adjust the hubs for the first couple of rides. i like the whir that the hubs make. but, i have a 1994 hugi that makes lots of noise, so i'm used to it. these are worth the money. the attention that you must pay them at first is the tradeoff for having completely rebuildable hubs that will last a lifetime and not some assembly line throw away. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric
a Racer
from Michigan
Date Reviewed: April 16, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$245.00 | | Purchased At: | Jenson USA | | Strengths: | Instant engagement, light, fairly easy maintenance (without cone tool) | | Weaknesses: | Sounds like a fire engine during the break in period. More expensive | | Similar Products Used: | Disc - XT and Woodman Standard - XTR, American, Hope | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale Jekyll, Lefty fork, Race Face Next LP ISIS, XTR, Hayes, Easton | | Bottom Line: | My Cannondale came with Lefty so this is obviously a review just for the rear hub.
My bike came with a rear XT disc hub (which is by far the worst hub I've ever owned which exibited about a 1/10 crank rotation before engagement). The King is as close to instant engagement as I've ever experienced. When I need the power, it's there, and it's there now. After break in, the hub exibits virtually no drag and quiets down quite a bit.
I didn't receive an owners manual for the hub from Jenson when they built the wheel so I was unaware of what to experience during the break in period. At first the hub drags a little and makes a sound similar to a fire truck. The drag virtally disappears and the hub quiets down quite a bit after a few rides. This is all documented in the manual (except for the fire truck thing).
The only thing that I didn't care for was the re-adjustment and the "lube" to use. I had to re-adjust the hub a few times during break in, but it's been fine ever since. I would caution people to use the lube King suggests, or a good 10 weight oil since using grease will definetly dimish the performance of the hub.
Overall, I've been extremely happy with the hub expecially in contrast to the XT. My favorite is still my old non-disc XTR hubs, but I don't care for Shimano's tactic of requiring the integration of the hub, dics brakes, and brakes/shifters for the 2003 so I stayed away from them. If you don't want to spend the bucks, I also had good luck with Woodman and Hope which make a solid product. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nat
a Cross Country Rider
from GA
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Lightweight. really sturdy. Cool noise.(I'm still a kid and all the kids in the neighborhood are jealous of the noise and that I do not have to put leaves on my tires.) | | Weaknesses: | The break in time, but it is worth it after that. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano | | Bike Setup: | 2003 Trek 8500 XTR, King, Raceface, and Hayes | | Bottom Line: | Well worth my hard saved pennies. I like the cool noise. It was great after the break in time.(I read the manuel) If you are willing to put up with the break in time and have a great disc hub for a while then the King is great for you. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Zip
a Cross Country Rider
from Here and There
Date Reviewed: January 18, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Sounds pretty cool, looks spiffy, light as sin | | Weaknesses: | Well, Chris King drive system failed after 150 miles. Rebuilt/replaced, failed after 200, rebuilt/replaced, put on wifes bike and got real hubs that can take a manly punishment. | | Similar Products Used: | Hope (groovy), WTB Laserdisk lite (extra groovy), shimano -all (fair to middlin), hugi 240 (not so groovy) and onyx (very disapointing), | | Bike Setup: | The way i like it | | Bottom Line: | Not so good if you have legs of steel or wicked amounts of power.
Otherwise makes me think of letting a 4lb steelhead take some with that cool 'fishing reel drag' freehub sound. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
j h
a Cross Country Rider
from denver
Date Reviewed: November 6, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | any as long as i'm riding | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | west side cycling, lakewood, co | | Weaknesses: | none | | Bike Setup: | fast light and not yours | | Bottom Line: | How can anyone complain about these hubs? The owners manual explains clearly about the break-in cycle. If you have trouble try reading the instructions. If you can't or are afraid to do your own adjustments and maintenance then buy a disposable bike like a huffy from Wal-Mart and throw it away at the end of the season. Otherwise do what King asks and enjoy the best hubs you can buy. The FUNNY noise you all complain about is the 72 engagement teeth on each drive ring. It's the sound of quality compared to other hubs with 24 tooth pawl-type freehubs. LEARN ABOUT WHAT YOUR RIDING! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ozone
a Cross Country Rider
from san jose,ca
Date Reviewed: November 5, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | anything less than 3 ft. wide,steep,rocky and or rooty | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$330.00 | | Purchased At: | cambria | | Strengths: | Its chris king,what else is there to say. | | Weaknesses: | The noise is annoying when Im tuning the bike on the stand.I have too much fun when riding to notice. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano,hugi,wtb,mavic | | Bike Setup: | Turner 02 XT avid mechs marzocchi Chris King all around Hopey steering damper | | Bottom Line: | These hubs are typically CK.The seals start out being a little tight but they break in eventually.Ive used the Classic hubs now for about 4 years and they still work like new.Ive got 3 CK headsets(one has been on three bikes since 1985).CK stuff will last a lifetime if you take care of it and dont abuse it too much.As for bearing adjustments,ther sure is a lot of WHINERS here.Read the instructions or checkout CKs site.I can adjust these in less than 3 minutes out on the trail.After a few rides you wont have to do it any more.Dont overtighten the axle ends.Just snug them up.The QR clamping action will hold everything together just fine.If you dont like doing maintenance,either pay someone way too much or buy Shimano and replace it every couple of years. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
witch doctor
a Weekend Warrior
from bloomington il
Date Reviewed: October 16, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | (321/king wheelset) frankford cycle | | Strengths: | nice looking, light, easily servicable. | | Weaknesses: | price, sound? | | Bike Setup: | voodoo ti canzo- xt, avid disks, mavic 321/king, rockshox,fox. | | Bottom Line: | seem to be working well, no problems yet. i have had to do the nessesary adjustments as described in the owners manual. no problems mating avid disks to the hub. they are pricey but ill probably take better care of them due to the price.
ps. they do have an odd ball sound, kind of like a baseball card in the spokes. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lgkla
a
from Calabasas, Ca
Date Reviewed: October 14, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | King Cycle Group | | Strengths: | Smooth bearings, easy to service at home, customer support. | | Weaknesses: | Absolutely none. | | Similar Products Used: | Everything | | Bike Setup: | Yeti ARC-AS, XTR, XT disc, Fox Fork, King ISO hub, Monkeylight, Thompson. | | Bottom Line: | I rode my Classic hubs for five years without a problem before the disc upgrade. King has a great loyalty program-send them your old King hub and they overhaul it and put on an ISO shell. I recommend this !! It took them three days (one week with shipping to and from) and the hub is great. Jen at Tech Service rocks! The cost was about 70% of the price of a new hub and I don't have the old one laying around in a box with all my other old parts. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
heiko
a Cross Country Rider
from Switzerland
Date Reviewed: October 13, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | King rules! Every ride is like flying first class!
amazing quality, smart design
| | Weaknesses: | A king?
Only the price, which is also like flying first class... | | Similar Products Used: | shimano xt | | Bottom Line: | superb | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John
a
from Portland, OR
Date Reviewed: September 19, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Bottom Line: | Love 'em. The breakin was as advertised; I made three adjustments in the first 50 miles to the front, and two to the rear. 250 miles later and they're still perfect. Rolling resistance was a bit disconcerting right out of the box, but that's corrected itself as advertised as well. Other than trying to explain to my girlfriend why "the middle of your wheels cost more than my whole bike" (yep, a natural blonde) it's been a pretty painless experience. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
BLA BLA
a Downhiller
from Jerkville
Date Reviewed: August 16, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Bottom Line: | Lets put it this way guy's. Quality hubs should run verry well from the beginning WITHOUT GETTING PLAY DURING BREAK IN. When you have to wrench from the beginning, than something is really wrong over here. Nowaday's quality bearings don't even need any break in because of verry tight production techniques and tolerances!!
5 red hots for finish | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott Hampster
a
from Nevada
Date Reviewed: August 10, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Avalon | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | Direct | | Strengths: | Light, strong, and great quality. Made in USA | | Weaknesses: | Nono | | Similar Products Used: | King Headsets | | Bike Setup: | Fuel 100, XTR shift related items, XT disc, FSA carbon crank/Ti bottom brakcet, Easton bar/post, King headset and hubs on X317. Blah, blah, blah..... | | Bottom Line: | TO THE REVIEWER BELOW AND OTHER DOUBTERS.....if you read the Owners Manual that comes with the hubs, it clearly states that you probably will have to adjust the hubs for the first 100 miles or so. For me I had to adjust the hubs many times within the first 5 or 6 rides. It's incrediblly easy to adjust these hubs, and once they break in they are good for many, many years. So understand how your bike parts work or give them away and miss out. These are without question the nicest hubs out there. And if you ever have problems King will take care of you with no questions asked. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matthew Stenberg
a Cross Country Rider
from Hazelwood, MO
Date Reviewed: August 6, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Berryman | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | Colorado Cyclist | | Strengths: | Great looks, great performance, Chris King qualilty. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Coda, Shimao hubs. | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale SuperV 1000 with Chris King ISO Wheelset, XT disc brakes, Race Face cranks, XTR drivetrain. | | Bottom Line: | These are great hubs. You do have to adjust them a few times during the break in period.
Also, they make a distinctive noise if you have never owned any before. You get used to it after a while.
The bottom line is, they are quality hubs that should last you for many years.
I give them a 3 for value because they do cost a lot. They get a 5 for overall rating because they are great hubs. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
npeter
a Cross Country Rider
from so cal
Date Reviewed: July 25, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | see my chris king discotech review | | Bottom Line: | the poster below complaining about having to readjust these might be interested to know that my chris king hubs definitely DID require 2 or 3 readjustments of the bearing preload during the first 100 miles of hard riding; but they now appear to be perfect, and even superhard hammering on rocky downhills has not induced any slop. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe
a Weekend Warrior
from Concord
Date Reviewed: June 4, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | www.123bikes.com | | Strengths: | Light, color, easy to maintain, and 5 warranty. | | Weaknesses: | Price... | | Similar Products Used: | XT hubs | | Bike Setup: | full XTR, XT disc brakes w/ ISO disc hubs | | Bottom Line: | I only put about 250 miles on my new ISO disc hubs. The rear hub makes this noise like something (leaves) is brushing on your tire...No biggies. I'm more concern about the obsticles in front of me, then the noise.
In term of performance, I CAN'T tell the difference between these and the XT hubs. I guess it's Chris King, and something (don't know what that is yet) is implied.
Bottom line is, if you want a Chris King and willing to spend some major $$$ for them, go for it. If you think Chris King hubs will offer 2X (10X based on price) performance over the much-cheaper Shimano hubs, you'll surely be disappointed. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
poff
a Cross Country Rider
from Philly
Date Reviewed: May 25, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Wiss | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Have no problems. | | Weaknesses: | None. | | Similar Products Used: | everything. | | Bike Setup: | moots mootaineer, king discotec hubs, mustang rims, hope minis | | Bottom Line: | I like these hubs. They do need to be adjusted 4 or 5 times in a first month. Then they stay intact. You have to know how to adjust them. They hahe 2 cups. You have to use cone tool to adjust the first one that goes over the bearings and then fasten it with the second one using 2 wrenches. It is really easy. I just want to tell everyone that I am running these hubs with hope minis and it is the best setup possible. You have to use 6 bolt adaptors though. If you have problems with minis and king hubs you scrud up something when building your bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter
a Weekend Warrior
from Québec
Date Reviewed: May 13, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$485.00 | | Purchased At: | a shop | | Strengths: | These Hubs are the best they are¸very very solid and powerful. And they are not weight | | Weaknesses: | Perfect | | Similar Products Used: | -- | | Bike Setup: | Koxx Eject full XTR, Shiver SC, front brake magura Louise, rear brake HS-33, hubs Mavic CrossMax, tires kenda kinetic 2.6 , hubs Chris King | | Bottom Line: | These Hubs are the best | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andy Mudd
a Cross Country Rider
from Sequim, Wa
Date Reviewed: March 14, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Mad River Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$100000000.00 | | Purchased At: | Cambria | | Strengths: | The ease of maintenance on these things is incredible. Just spray WD 40 and use an air nozzle and these hubs are clean in ten minutes. Never have I had hubs that worked so flawlessly for so long a time. I've usually blown up a set of hubs about every 1.5 years. These hubs are now going on three years without a single problem. Well one time my rear hub loosened up during a ride after a bit of maintenance. no biggie I stopped and tightened it up end of story. Any other hub I've ever had that ran loose for a short period of time was subsequently on the road to ruin. Not so with Chris King. If you maintain CK hubs like you are supposed to they will outlast their warranty by many years. I have maintained other hubs but even then they did not last. About every three or four months I break into my CK hubs(and headset) and find that nothing needs to be done (quite clean) so since I've already got the hub open I go ahead and blast it out with WD 40 and high pressure air toss in some king lube or 10w30 mobil synthetic motor oil and slap them back together. Voila! Just incredible, always so smooth, so depenable so so Chris KIng!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! | | Weaknesses: | hmmmmmm, hmmmmm, ummmmmmm, wellllll......let's see ..... none that I know of personally | | Similar Products Used: | no other hub compares | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz SL, race face, CK disgtech,Sram | | Bottom Line: | The bottom line is that CK RRRRRRules. If there were more chillies I'd give it more !!!!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris Spencer
a Cross Country Rider
from Austin, TX
Date Reviewed: February 22, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | City Park | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Update:
I had to send the hub back to King to have it resized, the spokes were too tight and had stretched the hub shell out. King resized the hub, fitted new bearings, trued the wheel with proper tension(Is it too loose?) and shipped it back.
After a few rides I found that the Hope disk adapter was not on straight. I checked and rechecked to make sure it was not my rotor. I rode it for a while until I was finally ready to ship it back to king. I called and they gave me step by step instructions on what I could do to possibly fix the problem. Those steps didn't work. So I shipped it back to king and they replaced the disk adapter, ensured it was true, straightened my rotor which was out a bit, and shipped it back. I was without a wheel for 5 days. All of this was at no charge. Jen at King was very helpful and super fast with the return. The wheel rolls great, no scrubbing on the disk pads anymore, and I HAVE REAR BRAKES AGAIN!
Thanks King. | | Weaknesses: | Hubs stretch easily, need to use lower tension for the spokes. My wheels were built by certified builders at Speedgoat and they were still too tight. | | Similar Products Used: | shimano xt disk hubs | | Bike Setup: | NRS AIR, XTR, RF, EASTON, Z1, Thomson | | Bottom Line: | King hubs are great and will last forever, you just need to massage them properly for best use. Make sure the spokes are not too tight and check to make sure the hub is tight enough, no side to side movement.
The guys at King are very very helpful, I would reccomend these to anyone. I just worry about the low spoke tension, could that lead to bent rims??? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alan
a Racer
from Seattle, WA USA
Date Reviewed: January 8, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | Colorado Cyclist | | Strengths: | Durability - have not touched these hubs in 2+ years
Sound - I dig the noise! I need the attention! : ) | | Weaknesses: | None that I have found so far. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano, White Industries, Bontrager | | Bike Setup: | Too many to list | | Bottom Line: | I don't mind doing bike maintenance, but would rather ride. When I can spend a little bit more money and get a better product I will do it. These hubs fall into that catagory.
As with many products, I believe you get what you pay for. I'm pretty tough on stuff, and Seattle weather can be nasty. These hubs on my road bike have performed flawlessly, 2 years running. I have not had to mess with them. I might move them to my Cross bike and really give 'em a test.
I put the disc mountain bike version on my Klein when I wore out the stock Bontrager rims/hubs. We'll see how they are. My expectations are pretty high....
Going with 4 roasted turds, since I have had only 2 years..... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Javier
a
from Antelope, CA USA
Date Reviewed: November 11, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | all of them | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$450.00 | | Purchased At: | 123bikes | | Strengths: | They are Chris King's!! These hubs look good, great craftsmanship and they are cool. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Xt | | Bike Setup: | '01 Uzzi SL,Z.1 MCR, Race Face Next LP ISIS,XT cogs/shifters/frnt der,xtr rear der,hope mini discs,easton monkeylite,thompson stem/seatpost,sella italia saddle,sunrynolites,chrisking headset/hubs | | Bottom Line: | The Chris King hubs are the best you can buy. I didn't like the buzzing noise at first but after awhile it quieted down. It now sounds kinda cool. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris Spencer
a Weekend Warrior
from Austin, TX
Date Reviewed: October 26, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | City Park | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$240.00 | | Purchased At: | Speedgoat Bicycles | | Strengths: | Very cool setup, nice looking hubs that sound and perform great for my riding style of XC and hard technical trails. | | Weaknesses: | I had a similar problem as pottier(below) in that the hub came loose. I shipped the hub back to king and I was told that initially the spokes were installed to tightly relative to the king spec, which requires less pressure than normal hubs. The hub was stretched and they had to machine it so as to fit a larger bearing. This was covered at no cost to me which, compared to the alternative, was very nice. I have not put many miles on the wheel since I got it back, but no problems so far. The freewheel noise is not as loud as it once was though.
| | Bike Setup: | Giant NRS Air, thompson post/stem, XTR, Hope C2 disks, 317/king disk, RF Next, monkey lite, zoke z1 | | Bottom Line: | I am very surprised that even though the hub was stretched causing it too loosen, they were able to fit it to, I'm guessing, a larger bearing race and get it back out to me.
I think that is pretty cool. Other than that I have had no problems with the set whatsoever.
If the problem happens again then that may be too much, but for now I'm happy. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
BVBR
a Racer
from Ocomukowonawaukesha, WI
Date Reviewed: October 13, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | The Lab | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | King quality...need I say more
INSTANT engagement
Versatility due to disc adapter | | Weaknesses: | maybe not the lightest out there
$$ but you get what you pay for (Its only money, you'll make more tomorrow) | | Bike Setup: | SC Superlight | | Bottom Line: | If you want the best, then there's no choice but Chris King. I've had to tighten the rear hub a couple of times during initial break in, but that's to be expected.
The feature that drove me to these hubs more than anything else is the ring drive engagement mechanism. Simply Amazing, instant engagement and maximum power transfer. Right now I'm using these with rim brakes and they've been excellent. I bought the discotecs just in case I decide to go disc. (Thinking back, I probably should've just built up the classic hubs to save a few more grams, but oh well).
I've never been disappointed by anything Chris King has ever built. I wish everything could be this good. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Marc Peot
a Cross Country Rider
from Arvada, Colorado
Date Reviewed: September 27, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Colorado Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | Speed Dream Wheels | | Strengths: | Bombproof design, very lightweight, "Instant" engagement,
looks sexy -- yet, strong
Buzzing sound keeps insects away | | Weaknesses: | Have to wear sunglasses due to shiny, anodized finish | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XT, XTR | | Bike Setup: | Titus Racer-X, Avid mechanicals, Marzocchi Atom Race, etc, etc. Sun DS-XC1 rims, Wheelsmith spokes, Disco-tecs built by Dave Thomas (aka Speed Dream Wheels) | | Bottom Line: | I have put over 800 miles on these hubs, so far.
The only service they have needed is to be tightened up a couple times in the first 30 miles. Thats it.
Other than washing them off -- they are so purty when they are all clean and shiny like.
The buzz is not as loud as during the break-in period, if that is any consolation to those who dislike it.
As far as the added adapters -- oh, well.....dat's life, eh?
If you can afford these, you will not be disappointed.
Light, strong and oh, so, sexy!
Happy Trails!
Marc
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brent
a Cross Country Rider
from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 16, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Foreplay | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | Unchained Independant Cycles | | Strengths: | Best engineered hub you can get. Period.
Strong engagement, easy to service. | | Weaknesses: | None, really. Maybe the price is scary to some riders, but it is worth it! | | Similar Products Used: | LX,XT,XTR,Hugi,Phil,Sachs... | | Bike Setup: | 97 Dekerf Team FS. Hayes disc front/rear. CK rear hub. Phil front (would have a CK front, but I'm running a QR20 Z1. The Phil is VERY,VERY, nice) XT/XTR drive train. | | Bottom Line: | This is my 2.5th CK rear hub. You see, I bought a hub a number of years ago, but it was not disc-ready . Early this year I bought a pre-built wheel with a CK disc rear hub, as the price was amazing. I ordered a disc hub-shell (no internals) from my LBS, and pulled the innards from my FIRST hub and installed in the NEW shell. So, I own 2.5 CK hubs (3 shells, 2 sets of guts) All work perfectly. You need the CK hub tool to do this swap. (email me to know more about this tool.. it's made as nice as the hubs!)
Anyway, I digress...
The CK disc hub is running perfectly, no surprise. It is damn near bulletproof. Anyone who has troubles with it not engaging properly probably has not taken the 5 minutes to read the manual and another 5 minutes to adjust. It's easy. I do it 2-3 times a season. The disc adaptor has been getting bad press on this site. Chris King takes a long time to design something...they do it right the first time. So, when discs were becoming popular naturally CK was going to provide a disc hub. At this time, there were many disc standards, so CK made sure his hub would work. Now the world has (more or less) standardized on the Hayes pattern, which was NOT TRUE back then. I imagine CK will come out with a Hayes only hub, but why bother? I like knowing my hub can be adapted to any disc system that may come along in the next 20 years...I'll have my hub that long.
I'm 200+ lbs. I've been riding darn hard since 1986. I have broken lots of parts. The CK hub has never,ever, let me down.
email me at toolbox@magma.ca if you need more info.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeroen
a Cross Country Rider
from breda ,holland
Date Reviewed: July 17, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Houffalize ,Belgium | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | van Boxtel Gilze rijen. | | Strengths: | incredible strength,with a 20 mm axle,70 pins rotor/freewheel system ,called the Ringdrive System,which gives a sort of turbo in your rearwheel which keeps going and going better than al the other stuff which is onthe market,its makes a typical sound like the mill off a fishergear,as one of my friends sad.a sort of weeeeeee sound ,so they no you are coming ,and go aside .This is in one word a super hub/wheel with much more engagement than other wheels.so you will climb,and accelerate much faster,as well as keeping up the speed because off the RingDrive engagement system.Which you can service verry easy
by using two 5 mm allen wrenches. IN short terms .Chris King
RULES. | | Weaknesses: | Its cost,but then this is last wheel you ever buy.
5 year garanty,and fully self servicable.THAT comes in handy. | | Similar Products Used: | xt rear hub ,sachs/coda expert ,already thrassed in 3 months,twice in 6 months.HOPE disc hub.MAVIC CROSSMAX.ETC. | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale f900 sx 2000 model,lefty dlr 100 mm,coda diskbrakes,with ebc gold pads,xtr rapidrise,fizik xtrshifters,coda suspensionpost. | | Bottom Line: | ideal buyer is hardcore rider or guy/girl who wants to bike instead of mantaining the bike all the time.Or lightweight freak,who wants the most value for money.that it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Hunter
a Cross Country Rider
from Baton Rouge
Date Reviewed: June 19, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Hooper | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$525.00 | | Purchased At: | The Bicycle Shop-LSU | | Strengths: | High speed, low drag. Quality from the work go. The free-hub makes an Oh-so-cool buzz. | | Weaknesses: | You've got to be kidding! | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized hubs | | Bike Setup: | FSRxc, Sid XC, Fox float, CK hubs laced to Mavic 317 rims, XTR/XT mix, Avid mechanical disks, ATAC pedals, Thomson post, & Specialized seat. | | Bottom Line: | What's up with the free-riders and DHer's knocking these hubs? These are XC hubs! They are not made for the high-impact hits. Read the manual, you have to tighten them 1-3 times before they seal...it's not that complicated.
That said, these are simply the best hubs available. A bit pricey, but you get what you pay for. Smooth, sealed tight, and the buzz strikes fear in the hearts of lessor hubs. Simply the best! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ja
a Weekend Warrior
from UK
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | SID's in NY | | Strengths: | simply quality | | Weaknesses: | cost, and the noise of the freewheel if that kinda thing bugs you - i personally like it ! | | Similar Products Used: | XT hubs | | Bike Setup: | Marin FRS, Raceface, King, Z1-XFly, Cane Creek, XT, Hope discs | | Bottom Line: | excellent hubs, however if you're going to use discs beware of the offset required for the front wheel so that the disc calliper misses the spokes. I use Hope 2 pot discs, and even with a 185mm disc i still needed about 5mm offset !!! This makes the bike handle appalingly.
I worked around it by asking Hope to skim 2mm off the calliper housing (where it bolts to the fork leg) and to coutersink and supple countersunk allen key head bolts, also i used a 2mm spacer between disc and hub again supplied by Hope. With this mod it all works fine with no offset laced into the wheel | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nic Pottier
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle
Date Reviewed: May 29, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | -Instant Engagement
-Cool Chris King look | | Weaknesses: | -Not as durable as they say
-Constatly needing adjustment. When new and after rebuilds they need to be tightened after every ride. This is apparently 'normal' according to Mr King, but gets very old, you'd think they could do this kind of breaking in at the factory instead of passing the buck to the consumer.
- After a year, my rear hub is completely shot. The above adjustment has to be made after every ride, and the hub is always either too tight, or loose. This after I shared the axle off 3 months earlier and had them completely rebuilt by King. Not impressed. | | Similar Products Used: | XTR hubs - lasted forever and much cheaper | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Bullit and all the goodies. | | Bottom Line: | Admitedly, I'm hard on equipment. At 200 lbs and with a 'freeriding' streak in me, I often find myself jumping off of structures and bombing down some narly courses. But Chris King markets these as strong enough for downhill, and that is a lie. Maybe for XC riding these will hold up, but twice now I've knocked these out badly enough that they have had to be sent back to King for rebuilding. That's not acceptable, a 5 year warranty is nice, but still a pain if you have to use it every 6 months.
So if you're looking for a bomb proof hub, look elsewhere, Chris King is all talk about being strong. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
George
a Racer
from Dublin,CA
Date Reviewed: May 4, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | any trail with dirt | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | Kalo MTB | | Strengths: | Almost immediate engagement, smooth cartridge bearings, extremely reliable, great customer service, the King rear hub sound. King Hubs are easy to take apart and service. | | Weaknesses: | No real weaknesses, except that you must use the correct "King Disc Rotor Adaptor". I can understand the reasoning behind the use of disk adaptors but would prefer the hubs without them. | | Similar Products Used: | Hadley Hubs (very smooth and bullit-proof), World Class, Most Shimanos, Hugi. | | Bike Setup: | Uzzi SL, Shimano, Eason, Avid Mechanicals. | | Bottom Line: | Great Hubs even though they are expensive, built to last, Chris King customer service is excellent. These hubs can take alot of punishment. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jay
a Cross Country Rider
from CNMI
Date Reviewed: May 4, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$330.00 | | Purchased At: | Jenson | | Strengths: | Reputation,appearance | | Weaknesses: | Performance (rear), value, sound (sorry guys - I dont care for it. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano, Mavic | | Bike Setup: | 2001 Ellsworth Truth. CK Disc/Mavic 519. | | Bottom Line: | I was excited about having my first wheelset with CK hubs. This excitement was quickly tempered after realizing that Jenson built me the wheels and mailed them out without ever telling me that I needed to buy $60 disk adapters to even use my DISK wheelset. I could swear that King markets these as DISK hubs. $330 Disk hubs that you cant attach disks to - thats a new one. It would be one thing if almost every disk brake maker didnt use the same 6 hole pattern - not including the adpaters is bullsh1t. If Jenson would have mentioned that I needed the $60 adapters I would have immediately bought Hugi instead - you should too.
If this wasnt enough, after 1 ride I had to send the rear wheel back to Jenson for repair. The rear hub was having severe engagement problems. Felt almost like the teeth on the cassette were sheered off and the chain was just spinning around on the nubs. They sent the wheel to CK and they sent it back after a week. Seems to be OK so far - time will tell. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
shamn waggener
a Weekend Warrior
from bloomington, IN USA
Date Reviewed: February 15, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Rattlesnake Canyon, Santa Barbara | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | Universal Cycles | | Strengths: | Light enough for XC hubs, buff enough for DH. Made in USA. excellent function. | | Weaknesses: | Contrary to al., they are not too pricey. However the rotor adaptors @ $33 each are! Why can't they machine them for the most popular brakes (Hayes, Shimano, et al.) instead of making me buy the rediculously priced adaptors? | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano LX, XT, Mavic, Bontrager (crap) | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale CAAD4, Fatty Headshok, ESP 9.0, Titec carbon post, Titec Ti bar, Bebop pedals, Kooka Cranks, XTR etc., Conti Double Fighters - (22 lb. bike!) | | Bottom Line: | Get them, if you dare! Muuaaaahaahahahahah! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dusk
a Weekend Warrior
from cowlumbus, oh, usa
Date Reviewed: January 11, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | anything going down | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | bomb proof, Rear engages nearly instantly, it's a chris king | | Weaknesses: | Front hub doesn’t get along with the hope xc4 caliper very well. I had to place several mm worth of shims between the rotor adapter and the rotor so the caliper doesn’t get wacked by the spokes. | | Similar Products Used: | sh*tmano lx and xt | | Bike Setup: | conejo ap5/at, zocci z1 bam, mavic 317 disk rims, dt spokes alloy nipples, hpoe xc4 | | Bottom Line: | If I was to do it again I would have gotten a hope front hub to solve the compatibly problem but would not hesitate to get another rear hub But I have gotten around it with only a little setup hassle | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Fox Salem
a
from Melbourne, Australia
Date Reviewed: January 6, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | lorne | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Their weight and strengh is unsurpassed. Engagment and that sssooouuunnnddd. | | Weaknesses: | Considering the price, I don't think so. (AUD $1000.00 f/r) | | Similar Products Used: | DT Swiss Onyx, Specialized Stout, Shimano Deore, XT, Formula | | Bike Setup: | Tazer and S-Works DS, Full XTR XT and Hope discs, 521 rims Competition black 2.0 spokes and spline nipples, X-Vert DC and Super | | Bottom Line: | You get what you paid for, and in terms of thses hubs it can not be more truthful. I mainly use them on the trails, which include some medium level DH sections and sessions at the local BMX track. These hubs hold up exceptionally well no matter what the conditions are. The best thing probably is the fact that they have done well ove 1000 km (approx. 500 miles) and have not had need to be serviced. Quality with a capital Q!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Wayne
a Racer
from Ca
Date Reviewed: October 28, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Warped loggers road | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Moo Bikes | | Strengths: | Every thing you can think of | | Weaknesses: | Only wish it was made out of Kryptinite..... | | Similar Products Used: | None can hold a candel to this | | Bike Setup: | A Steel carage / Xtr train / Sram shifters & Brake levers 9.0) King hubby up front paired with Bontager Ceramic and nice blue Nippelagers | | Bottom Line: | If you have the money spend it one this gem and you will never be let DOWN.
thanks Chris | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bulent
a Cross Country Rider
from venray/holland
Date Reviewed: October 28, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | whole Turky | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$700.00 | | Purchased At: | velodome/venlo | | Strengths: | the Quality,the sound,it's like ahnoter dimension when i'm biking now. | | Weaknesses: | tried to find,but no could not find. | | Similar Products Used: | Bontrager disck hubs - on the Kings you fly and on the Bontragers you die | | Bike Setup: | Trek - vrx400 , Pace rc37, Kings Discotech and real seal, XTR, Raceface stem and seatpost,Hope Prodisck | | Bottom Line: | There can be only one the best,that is i think King,why?
when i'm biking on the same trail i need les time and energy(tels my hart rate comp.of ciclo sport,very good)
as what i neded with the bontrager hubs on my bike,
so i can use les energy for the same trail thats for me the prove that they are the best.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Justin
a
from Ventura, CA
Date Reviewed: October 21, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | BEST!! Hands down! | | Weaknesses: | NONE
| | Similar Products Used: | Shimano, Hope, Hugi | | Bottom Line: | They take a little time to break in but by far these are the best hubs made on the market. These things are super easy to adjust and rebuild and last forever. Enough said!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Dalton
a Cross Country Rider
from Wellington
Date Reviewed: September 17, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Big Rock MTB Park, Tokoroa, NZ | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Quality, quality, quality | | Weaknesses: | Not really a weakness but they are expensive | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano | | Bike Setup: | Marin East Peak, Girvin forks, Stratos XC Pro, XT/XTR, Magura HS33's | | Bottom Line: | These hubs are absolutely fantastic. After the initial running in period they have required no maintenance. I guess I should take them in to see if any is required. Thats the problem with stuff this good, regular maintenance gets neglected as they run so smoothly all the time.
The noise from the free hub is very distinctive. You certainly can't stealth ride and sneak up on anyone.
Hopefully these hubs will be the last hubs I ever have to buy. Now all I need are the disk brakes. Unfortunately the Girvin front suspension doesn't have disk brake mounts. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nick West
a Cross Country Rider
from Bloomington, MN,
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Light, look great, very high quality | | Weaknesses: | Hard as hell to get | | Similar Products Used: | LX,XT | | Bottom Line: | The best hubs out there by far. But check to see if they have them in stock first. If they dont you a going to be waiting for a long time. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
sak igarashi
a Weekend Warrior
from whistler
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | light weight, adaptable to any disc system, | | Weaknesses: | cost, | | Bike Setup: | bow ti with hope xc4 | | Bottom Line: | The spoke to caliper clearance is very small to nil with the hope disc brake and an white bros at3...I understand that the hope, discotech hub combination can have this problem from various shops so be careful when selecting this hub with the hope brakes. Otherwise if you have the $$$$ the chris king stuff is the nicest, lightest, and most durable. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ole Blokhus
a Cross Country Rider
from Oslo, Norway
Date Reviewed: July 17, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Extremely high precision, light weight, instant engagement. Bolt-on axle now available for the rear hub. Super easy to maintain and super durable and dirt resistant. Freehub engagement mechanism more than three times stronger than Shimano. | | Weaknesses: | Cost a lot of money. Bolt-on axle not yet available for the front hub. | | Similar Products Used: | Chris King Classic rear/Syncros front (2 years) Hope Ti-Glide Splined (for 2 years), XTR rear/Synros front (2 years) | | Bike Setup: | I've got the hubs on two bikes:
Funbike: Intense Tracer, Marzocchi Z1, King headset, Sweet Wings cranks with RaceFace chainrings, Hope O2 Pro brakes, Easton MonkeyLite handlebar, Titec Fathead Ti stem, Thompson seatpost, Girvin MagT pedals, XTR Mega9 drivetrain, Gore RideOn Cables, Continental Survival Pro/Vertical Pro 2.3 tires, WTB DuraLite 96g tubes, Flite Alps saddle. 27.5lbs
Racebike: Amp B4 with Risse Astro 5 rear shock and 1/2" longer carbon chainstays from a B5, '99 SID XC 80mm fork, Sweet Wings crank with Real chainrings, Girvin MagT pedals, Hope XC4 brakes, XTR Mega9 drivetrain, Syncros Ti seatpost, Flite EvoltionII saddle, Titec fathead Ti stem, LP DH carbon riserbar, Maxxis Minotaur front tire and Kenda Kozmic Lite rear tire. 22.6lb | | Bottom Line: | The King hubs are by no means inexpensive, but they are by far the best hubs out there. Take one apart, and you'll understand. I have always loved Hope stuff, but my Hope hubs look like toys compared to the Kings. I just got the new bolt-on axles for my rear hubs, and the axles are so incredibly well made. The Hope axles, which are nice by themselves, suddenly look like they're made by Tonka. All King stuff I've seen so far is just in a different division than all the other stuff.
If you use King hubs on a full suspension bike, do get the bolt-on axles. They are super-beefy, and will make your bike so laterally stiff you won't believe it. My B4, which was so noodely that it decended poorly even on the road, became as stiff as my Tracer, and my Tracer rear end became otherworldly. The axles plus bolts weigh 2 grams more than the old axles and XTR QRs
Both the DiscGoTech and the Classic hubs can be retrofitted with the bolt-on axles. BUY NOW!
If you're in the market for new hubs, the King will give you more value for money than anything except maybe LX. But they weigh close to half of the LX, will outlast them many times, and are a heck of a lot sexier. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bob
a Weekend Warrior
from Fall City, WA
Date Reviewed: June 9, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | minnow ridge | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | work of art, instant engagement | | Weaknesses: | expensive | | Similar Products Used: | XTR, White Industries, Hugi | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight, Marzocchi Z-1 X-Fly, Hope Pro discs, King headset and hubs | | Bottom Line: | Chris King rules. I've owned their headsets and hubs on four different bikes I've built over the years. The disc hubs are the same as their other stuff. The things are just works of art. They are beautiful, work great and are easily adjustable. You can overhaul them very easily and don't need to be a brain surgeon or Barnett mechanic to do it. Their web site has downloads of all their manuals, so keeping these babies up to speed is no problems. Now, if King would finally come out with their bottom bracket. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
-
a
from WA
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Weight, Performance, Looks, rebuildable, easily serviced | | Weaknesses: | 1)Free-wheel sound is annoying as hell, solution: keep pedaling
2)a lot of $$$, but well worth it.
3)need adapters, more $$$$, but also a good thing b/c you can always change the type of brakes you use w/out buying new hubs | | Bike Setup: | Mountain Cycle San Andreas, Marzocchi Jr.T, Sun Rhyno Lite Rims, Hayes Hydraulic disks | | Bottom Line: | As for the guy who said it took 200km for them to break-in, you need to adjust them after about the inital 20-30km, this should have prevented any of the "binding" (read your owners manual).
Great set of hubs if you want to part with the cash. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
a Weekend Warrior
from Honolulu HI
Date Reviewed: February 15, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Anything Dirt | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | lightweight,superior quality. | | Weaknesses: | HA HA HA THAT'S FUNNY. | | Similar Products Used: | White Industries TI Phantom(fr. & r.) | | Bike Setup: | Haro ultralite(Easton 6061 Airlite Alu.),King headset & hubs,Manitou SX TI,Kore lite 3, Monkey Bar, XT-XTR,GT cranks, Mavic D 521's, Mythos. | | Bottom Line: | These hubs are by far the best I've ever seen. Not enough can be said about this product! I give them 10 flaming spliffs. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Laurence Khong
a Weekend Warrior
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: December 5, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
1) strong and durable
2) good engagement
3) smooth freewheel rolling | | Weaknesses: |
1) sound can nuisance to other rider | | Similar Products Used: |
XTR hubs | | Bike Setup: |
Giant 890 frame
Full XTR
517 wheel with Chris king hub | | Bottom Line: | 1)The starting run-in period is longer than I expected, even after 200km of run-in, the hub still have bit of resistance.
2)Hub is not slow speed rider, as the speed increases to 35-40km/hr( that the fastest I have did so far), the hubs goes alive and resistance is almost zero! very smooth rolling than XTR hub.
3)Engagement is super, instant action not like XTR that c/w some backlash problem.If you are those rider that like to go fast, this is the hub for you! run it at 35-40km/hr, you can feel it asking you to go even faster. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sean
a Racer
from Fredericksburg
Date Reviewed: November 25, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Wakefield Park, Va | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | Strengths: |
Light wieght, servicable, Awsome sound that says get out of my way | | Weaknesses: |
none that i know of | | Similar Products Used: |
Coda expert, XTR, Crossmax, Crosslands | | Bike Setup: |
Cannondale F900, Fatty D air, Coda expert Disk, full XTR, Mavic 317 disk, DT revolution 14/17, DT Alloy nipples, Bike Weight 23.5 lbs, and fast | | Bottom Line: | The best money can buy..... | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rob
a Weekend Warrior
from md
Date Reviewed: October 21, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
patapsco, avalon area | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
its chris king | | Weaknesses: |
none | | Similar Products Used: |
xt, xtr, machine tech and spin | | Bike Setup: |
gt sts 1000, rock shox judy xl and super deluxe | | Bottom Line: | Chris King makes the coolest and best hubs. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jeff
a Cross-Country Rider
from mn
Date Reviewed: October 5, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
xc | | Duration Product Used: |
less than 1 month | | Strengths: |
everything | | Weaknesses: |
none | | Similar Products Used: |
things | | Bike Setup: |
trek | | Bottom Line: | they rule | | Overall Rating: |
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