[bikenut316]

I am about to order a wheelset from Dave's Wheels for my Flux. After speaking with Dave I decided to go with the Bontrager Mustang rims. I like the Hope Pro 2 hubs and they are in line with my budget. Am I making a mistake not going with the Kings for an extra $180? (Also posted on wheel forum).

 

[Whafe]

I am about to order a wheelset from Dave's Wheels for my Flux. After speaking with Dave I decided to go with the Bontrager Mustang rims. I like the Hope Pro 2 hubs and they are in line with my budget. Am I making a mistake not going with the Kings for an extra $180? (Also posted on wheel forum).

I have the Mustang Bonty rims, real good, had a great run with them... I myself think the extra money is worth getting the CK hubs. You know that.... .... I think they will last far better...But true if it is not in your budget, go with the Hope Pro 2, hear good things about them, but not as much as the CK hubs.................I am now running an I9 wheelset, too early to tell on them though

Good luck either way... A pic of the Bonty Stangs.....:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[tscheezy]

You can save some money by going with the King rear and Hope front. It is hard to screw up a front hub, but rear hubs are a lot more demanding. I have been buying Hope front hubs for a while now since I can convert them between 9mm QR, 20mm TA, and 24mm Mav. Can't do that with the Kings. The King rear hubs are amazing though.

 

[bikenut316]

You can save some money by going with the King rear and Hope front. It is hard to screw up a front hub, but rear hubs are a lot more demanding. I have been buying Hope front hubs for a while now since I can convert them between 9mm QR, 20mm TA, and 24mm Mav. Can't do that with the Kings. The King rear hubs are amazing though.

I now have mustangs with XT hubs. I may have a good local builder that will use my rims with new Hope front, King rear hubs and new spokes for about $470 or King F&R for $560. Regarding the Mustangs, the Dave's site advertises the "new" lighter Mustangs. Mine came on an 04 Klein and are tubeless. Are they the same rims?

 

[the Inbred]

$560 including the build? that's a damn good price.

 

[climr]

I just got back from a ride with a buddy riding kings. He was complaining about how his kings need to be adjusted but this requires a special $25 tool, and how when he needs to rebuild them he'll need a $160 tool and how he had to have his fork faced because the king disc mountin holes were off the iso spec ($25) and how he had to find some spacer because of compatibility issues with his XT cassette.

If I were rebuilding my wheels I'd go with the Hope Pro IIs. I'm running Hope XC's now laced to ZTR 355's and have been happy.. but would be even happier with the weights of the Pro IIs. I think King is good quality stuff and the only headset I'll run (been on the same one for almost 10 years) but I think everyone agrees the hubs are overpriced, not to mention all the extra expenses above. Of course, YMMV. good luck.

climr

 

[Bortis Yelltzen]

I just got back from a ride with a buddy riding kings. He was complaining about how his kings need to be adjusted but this requires a special $25 tool, and how when he needs to rebuild them he'll need a $160 tool and how he had to have his fork faced because the king disc mountin holes were off the iso spec ($25) and how he had to find some spacer because of compatibility issues with his XT cassette.

If I were rebuilding my wheels I'd go with the Hope Pro IIs. I'm running Hope XC's now laced to ZTR 355's and have been happy.. but would be even happier with the weights of the Pro IIs. I think King is good quality stuff and the only headset I'll run (been on the same one for almost 10 years) but I think everyone agrees the hubs are overpriced, not to mention all the extra expenses above. Of course, YMMV. good luck.

climr

Only tools I need to adjust my King hubs are two 5mm allen wrenches, $25 for two 5mm allen wrenches seems a little steep, I'll sell your buddy the "special tool" (two 5mm wrenches) for $15. :thumbsup: And I only needed to adjust them once after about 75 miles. Haven't had to adjust them since, and that was 2 years and probably a couple thousand miles ago.

Rebuilding them may be a different story and may require special tools, but I haven't had to do that either, they are still buttery smooth after a ton of use and abuse. Aside from the noisy rear freewheel I can't say a bad thing about the Kings, but that noise is the price you pay for instant and constant engagement. Kings are pricy but blingy and from my experience reliable and trouble free. Just like my King headset, the King hubs are something I never have to think about, they just work.

However I did just build a new front wheel with a Hadley 20mm to save a few bucks. Hearing what TSCheezy said though maybe I should have went with the Hope front hub.

My $0.02

B

 

[tscheezy]

Yeah, your buddy got fed a line by some bike shop trying to earn some cheddar. Like Boris said, all you need to totally take Kings apart is two 5mm allen wrenches. You insert one in each end of the axle, break them loose, and you can take the whole thing apart with your fingers. You can access all the bearings without pulling them. You can remove the seals (excellent seals, btw), flush the bearings, and repack them in place. You only need special tools to pull the bearings out of the hubs. You may have to do that in 10 years. I wouldn't sweat it.

 

[the Inbred]

that $160 tool becomes quite handy and a rider will really appreciate King quality when he completely pulls apart a King hub.

here's a thread going through part of a King hub overhaul. i did some for free in order to get more experience. hell, if you guys want, i'll do some more if you cover shipping both ways plus $10 for lubes and grease.

https://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156412&highlight=inside+king+hub

had a guy come into the shop to get his King overhauled. the helical spines on his driveshell were worn to the point that they needed replacement. $50 part + 30mins of labor got him a hub that runs as good as new. for a rear King overhaul, we charge $30, which, honestly, i think is a mistake, as it's not what i consider to be an overhaul. more of a flush.

also, after seeing what i have, i don't really think that "overhauling" simply using 2 5mm hexes and flushing the bearings is adequate. the Ring Drive really needs to get cleaned thoroughly, and the tool is needed to get the Ring Drive mechanism out. also, you don't have access to the drive shell bearing without the tool.

the hub cone adjusting tool is not needed to adjust a hub.

this is my little baby.

 

[wfl3]

Ditto Boris & tscheezy.

I've had my Kings for over 3 years and have used nothing but a pair of 5mm wrenches to disassemble and adjust them and a pick to pry the seal off the bearings to pack them with fresh grease.

They did take about 70-100 miles to break in and smooth out - had to adjust them twice in that period and none since.

 

[climr]

so this isn't needed?
http://www.speedgoat.com/product.asp?part=16438

 

[Bortis Yelltzen]

so this isn't needed?
http://www.speedgoat.com/product.asp?part=16438

Not unless your buddy has severe arthritus or is missing all his fingers, which if that's the case riding is the least of his worries.

B

 

[Bortis Yelltzen]

that $160 tool becomes quite handy and a rider will really appreciate King quality when he completely pulls apart a King hub.

had a guy come into the shop to get his King overhauled. the helical spines on his driveshell were worn to the point that they needed replacement. $50 part + 30mins of labor got him a hub that runs as good as new. for a rear King overhaul, we charge $30, which, honestly, i think is a mistake, as it's not what i consider to be an overhaul. more of a flush.

also, after seeing what i have, i don't really think that "overhauling" simply using 2 5mm hexes and flushing the bearings is adequate. the Ring Drive really needs to get cleaned thoroughly, and the tool is needed to get the Ring Drive mechanism out. also, you don't have access to the drive shell bearing without the tool.

What was the mileage on that hub? How old was it and how hard did the guy ride?

If that is a once every 5 year/20,000 mile thing I'll just pay the $30-50 when I finally need it.

B

 

[the Inbred]

the hub was 3 or 4yrs old with a lot of miles from a guy that pushes 190, i'd say.

 

[ignazjr]

that $160 tool becomes quite handy and a rider will really appreciate King quality when he completely pulls apart a King hub.

No kidding. Plus, the King hub tool is just about one of the coolest tools you can get your hand on. I like the way you boxed that up Inbred. Very sweet.

With respect to the hub being out of spec, I find that very difficult to believe, especially given King's penchant for quality control and precision.

On the other hand, I put a Marta SL on a new '07 Fox F100RLC the other day. I bet I milled at least a millimeter off the fork to get the brake to mount up straight and even. It's easier to control precision on a CNC'd hub bit than on a cast and painted fork leg.

 

[forceyoda]

I bought my first set of King hubs ten years ago and they are still working perfectly, never needed to have them serviced beyond the simple re-greasing.

 

[hamachi]

Chris King, enough said

 

[gogge]

I have been running Hopes for downhill and a little bit of trials for a few years. Good solid stuff!
Traditional construction with pawls and standard cartridge bearings.

Got my King hub set about a year ago. Nothing comes close in terms of build finish, engineering and function! Absolutely beautiful!
As mentioned, they are very easy to flush and readjust.

If you have the money and enjoy quality bikeparts, go for the Kings!

 

[RWGreen]

I had a hope ti-glide hub built by Dave 10+ years ago that only went out of service a year or so ago as I got into this turner thing and went to disc brakes.

King rear is probably nicer - but that is alot of coin...

I now have a bulb rear, and have had no issues.

Dave builds a nice set of wheels. I bought one of his first sets back around '90 using the hi-e hubs. Still have the radial front wheel that all the shops told me at the time would taco... stayed true for 8 years or so of use.
.

 

[lemmy999]

Not unless your buddy has severe arthritus or is missing all his fingers, which if that's the case riding is the least of his worries.

B

I think the tool is definitely needed for proper adjustment. With old adjustable cone hubs, you had to have 2 cone wrenches, one to hold the adjustable cone in place, and one to tighten the locknut. If you just set the cone where it needs to be and then tighten the locknut against it without holding the adjustable cone, the cone will tighten further resulting in a bearing that is too tight. The CK is a cartridge bearing, but the adjustment is similar. According to the Barnett manual you do need to hold the adjusting cone in place while tightening the locknut....and unless you have some really skinny fingers that can fit in the 4 small holes of the CK cone and hold it in place, then I think the tool is required (as the Barnett manual claims). I have seen some posts with people complaining about how they couldn't get the CK hubs adjusted correctly. They were either too tight, or there was play. This was likely due to the fact that he wasn't using the proper tool making precise adjustment difficult.