[ccaddy]

Here in Ontario ?
Time for some TLC .

 

[saturnine]

ontario's a big place. if you're in the GTA, i'm sure cycle solutions will take care of it.

 

[jmoote]

Most medium size shops and bigger will have the tool, I would think. Don't be surprised if you are quoted 3-4 hours at the shop rate, though if they are familiar with King hubs they'll get it through quicker and the charge should reflect that.

It's not a bad job to do at all, with the King service tools.

 

[jsquid]

If you are coming by Waterloo, I'm pretty sure King Street Cycles can hook you up. Good people with great quality service there.

 

[nspace]

< hijack >

jmoote: How have your hubs been holding up on the TN mtb? Did they develop any play during the initial work-in? Just curious as I have been planning to purchase a SS hubset from them for a new build. You can read a million praises and knocks from people all over mtbr, but its always better to hear it from someone you know!

I know Cheers on here, had nothing buy great things to say about them based on his and a close friends experience.

< /hijack >

Let us know where you end up going! I'd be curious to see how much and who can do the service.

 

[veteran_youth]

I can definitely do the work (Solutions, Kingston Rd). There are basically two ways to do it, one more and one less involved.

option 1) Remove axle, cassette, pull off FH body, clean and lube helical splines, clean/lube ring drive best possible (a little difficult to get at)

option 2) do all of the above, PLUS completely remove large drive side bearing and complete ring drive assembly, clean, relube, re-press, reassemble.

Will probably cost in the neighbourhood of $25/60 respectively.

Andrew

 

[jmoote]

< hijack >

jmoote: How have your hubs been holding up on the TN mtb? Did they develop any play during the initial work-in? Just curious as I have been planning to purchase a SS hubset from them for a new build. You can read a million praises and knocks from people all over mtbr, but its always better to hear it from someone you know!

I know Cheers on here, had nothing buy great things to say about them based on his and a close friends experience.

< /hijack >

No problems. I lubed the ringdrive in situ a couple times and regreased the bearings at about 8 months (since last year was a wet season). I fully serviced them after 1-1.5 years (last week); they were dirty and one of the bearings was a bit dry but they are good as new now.

During break in you may have to readjust the bearings but this is easy to do in about 30 seconds.

 

[jmoote]

Just curious Andrew, do either of those methods and corresponding rates include flushing and repacking all 6 bearings (4 driveshell bearings and the 2 in the freehub)? To me that is part of the full servicing (like you'd do when doing option 2) and I am very surprised if you only charge $60 when doing that as well. If so, everyone run to CS and get your hubs serviced!

 

[veteran_youth]

Just curious Andrew, do either of those methods and corresponding rates include flushing and repacking all 6 bearings (4 driveshell bearings and the 2 in the freehub)? To me that is part of the full servicing (like you'd do when doing option 2) and I am very surprised if you only charge $60 when doing that as well. If so, everyone run to CS and get your hubs serviced!

No, I that would not include the bearing repacks, or removal of the bearings from the FH body period, but as I would be removing the outer FH bearing I would probably repack that for not a whole lotta extra dough. The quoted price would be for the ring-drive maintenance only.

 

[jmoote]

Got it, that's cool. Not a bad option for someone who doesn't have the King tools since you can re-pack the bearings yourself without removing them (though it's easier with them out and you can clean the hub shell better).

 

[saturnine]

i've owned at least 3 king wheelsets and i always meant to buy the tool but i never got around to it. now i have none and i'm glad i do not have the tool.

 

[ccaddy]

Andrew , how long would the $60 service take ?

 

[veteran_youth]

In real time, 60-90 minutes mostly dependent on variables like phone calls for me and how jammed your cassette is on your freehub body. Lead times are not too bad right now so with a little bit of notice your wait shouldn't be a whole lot longer than that. (we have seen a bit of an increase in repairs with the non-freezing temps, though)

 

[Biff Pedachenko]

I'd definitely recommend going to a shop that regularly does King service, or you trust. I know a guy who sent a King hub to a smaller shop twice - paid $100 twice - and still had to send it to a larger shop to be done correctly, where they discovered that some parts had been missed on reassembly.

The bigger shop that helped him out was Cycle Solutions and that's who I'd recommend - but I'm a little biased

 

[Enduramil]

A cold malt beverage can help make things go smoothly. Guinness is well received at Cycle Solutions Beaches.

 

[veteran_youth]

Thanks Chris, but I would like to point out the the general public that beer bribes are always appreciated but certainly not required to get quality service.

 

[nspace]

I hope you guys don't see a lot of King hubs needing to be serviced!

I am choosing them over the I9 classic hubs for a new build. My one knock against them is their use of proprietary tools for basic servicing, so I am hoping I won't be needing work on them on a regular basis.

 

[veteran_youth]

Don't worry Tom, I see a decent amount of hubs for service, but the term NEED is relative. A King R hub is a big investment so a lot of folks are a bit more inclined to have them serviced regularly as a preventative measure, not because they are malfunctioning.

And as I pointed out (well, implied) above, you can do a cursory cleaning and lubrication without removing the bearings or ring drive assembly. All this requires is an allen key set (2 5mms or I think a 2mm depending on your hub model), cassette and disc rotor removal tools.

 

[nspace]

Awesome. I have all of that in the toolbox

Thx Andrew!

 

[Circlip]

Awesome. I have all of that in the toolbox

Thx Andrew!

Only going from my personal experience, but the value King hub isn't because it requires less maintenance than other performance hubs, but instead that if it's adjusted properly and given a general once-over at appropriate service cycles, then I trust it more than any other hub mech to get me from A-B. The hubs are well-sealed, and the drive mech is a no-brainer to maintain integrity. The only weakness - in the context of standard XC riding - to a properly adjusted King hub is that in very cold weather conditions it's sometimes necessary to wipe down the ring drive and reapply a ligher oil instead, otherwise thicker lube can lead to issues with engagement with the small teeth/splines in the ring drive.