EB15: Chris King Adds Centerlock, Boost Hubs, Turquoise Components, Shorter Cielo Stems, More

Yeah, that ain’t turquoise. It’s light blue. Absolutely purty and I want some of those centerlock hubs with it, but it’s not turquoise.

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Noticed they got a new website. It is probably made by some employees son or some friend, cant believe a company in the high end segment does not invest in a proper professional website, it is not 1997 anymore.

Woohoo! No longer a reason to buy DTSwiss with their “summer only” bearing seals just to get centerlock for my road and gravel bikes. The rest of my 6 bolt ISO and R45 fleet will be jealous. And my 240s will be sad when they are replaced.

@Eric Hansen
The reason would be to save myself the cost/ trouble of lacing a new wheel when I buy a new fork.

In the 5+ years of owning Chris King hubs (R45 and Iso small diameter) it’s become pretty clear how much of a PITA it is to try and keep the hubs relevant with changing “standards”. IE. If I want to run an 11 speed cassette on the R45 I need to buy a new axle and free hub body, swap the bearing out of the old one and re-dish the wheel. And all that for the low low price of 300+ dollars!

Next time I’ll buy I9 or DT.

Damn it. Just built a brand new set of CK hubs and would have definitely gotten Centerlock versions had they been available. Those top end Shimano SRT99 rotors are the very nice!
The buzz dies down after you ride the wheels a while. I personally love it. Sort of like the dry clutch in a Ducati. Annoying at first , but it grows on you. Mechanical sounds like that sound like precision.

Ive had a couple of pairs of CK hubs and both times regretted it after riding for bit.

The R45 freehub can slip causing painful crashes.
The Classic freehub is sticky as and causes chain lag and is also dangerous.

CK headsets are legit but the hubs are really not worth the money. I have DT 240 and they cream all over the CK hub product.

I also have some 60$ wheels that came on a $500 bike that are stronger and safer hubs than my CK. They don’t have the cool anodizing color or nice buzz sound though.

Why don’t CK just copy DT swiss hubs? They obviously work best and don’t require such regular maintenance or have any danger issues.

Durianrider, you are doing something wrong. Or my 3 sets of king hubs are the exception. They are expensive, and they are noisy, and they work really really well and last forever.

@Bluefire: you could go 6mm out with the rotor and leave the cassette as it is. This would require redishing and some sort of a custom 6mm adapter for the rotor.

I 3rd that King rear hubs are not clearly “the best” as fanboys would have you believe. I don’t have any experience with the R45, and the slippage issue Durianrider mentioned, but I have seen the constant loosening, and draggy freehub that causes slack on the top run of chain on their MTB hubs. This was several years back, so maybe they have improved them since, but I’ll just say that I was disappointed, given my experience with their headsets and their reputation for not introducing product prematurely, that 3 experienced mechanics could collectively not remedy the situation.

And while I am in complaining mode, Kings old o-ring equipped aheadset top cone was crap. They should have sprung for the licensing fee for the dia-comp wedge like everyone else did.

Will the centerlock be available for the R45 hubs?
Chris King has only been showing it on there mountain hubs and they have not said if it will be for the R45 also.

@Msinformation- DT hubs now come with 36t ratchets. 36t ratchets are also available as a retrofit for older hubs. Durianrider exaggerated, though, and also did not back up his claims about slippage in rear hubs. I never experienced slippage with King rear hubs, and have not heard of anyone else having this problem until now. (Although I won’t count his “testimony”- he doesn’t say who experienced slippage, in fact he doesn’t even say HE has.) King- light, fast engagement, reliable, expensive, and… WOBBLY. That’s my take from years of experience.

My CK bearings were loose and my freehub tight at the beginning of last CX season so I pulled the freehub and bearing seals, cleaned, regreased, and set the bearing clearance. They run perfectly now after a full muddy NW race season.

Could anyone tell me when details of the 40th anniversary product will be revealed? Thanks in advance.

always wanted to back Kings and glad to see they finally paid for CL, but on 3 separate wheelsets over 15 years (classic, r45, ISO), ive decided they’re not for me. Too much drag, even after hundreds of hours and after you flush out the grease and use oil. I also cant get behind a product that requires a $180 toolset to rebuild it, and even worse, its not interchangeable between hubs (ISO and r45 need seperate $180 toolsets). BTW, if yours keep coming loose, just put a dab of 242 on the locking ring threads and the pinch bolt.

My 240s were buttery smooth on day 1 and have stayed that way for the last year. Sorry CK, I wanted to roll them, but at the end of the day if it doesnt work, it doesnt work.

@Will- but those are kind of heavy, right? Also, no Centerlock and no Boost so far. Apart from weight, those things might change, though, and they are intriguing…

I have had 3 set of kings and been very happy with them. Recently switched out the DT swiss on my rear for kings. The dtswiss pulled apart on themselves every 500 miles and i crushed the ring. Also the low tooth count is bs.

I have just noticed with my current rear hub it is getting some play after a few rides, tightening seems to take care of it, hope once i break it in i won’t have to mess with it much. I ride a lot and am not a mait guy.

@Ms. Information- Your name makes clear that you’re a troll. Either that or you’re a person who really does ignore what people actually write.

@Ms. Information- thanks for the info on the number of teeth in DT’s ratchets; I generally thought newer hubs included 36 or 54 tooth ones out of the box. I also never advocated DT products I simply (mis-)stated that they had 36t ratchets. In fact, I only mentioned DT once; I don’t know where you got the idea I am promoting them.
Saying that I am the guy who complains about all products is quite a big extrapolation, and quite incorrect, to boot. The Fox fork I’ve had since 2002, the Suntour XC Pro shifters I’ve ridden since 1995 or so, the boring XT stuff that’s all over my bike, the Time ATAC pedals. All good stuff.
If someone says their King rear hubs work fine and aren’t loose and don’t have any drag, I won’t discount their experience, you included. This is pretty much the opposite of what you said to Durianrider, who had issues with his King rear hubs and whom you subsequently accused of spreading “miss-information” (wrong spelling, and leading further credence to my theory you’re trolling here). But in my experience and that of several other posters, there is no way to get rid of drag and have no play at the same time. I’m talking not about occasional re-adjustments, I am talking about a chronic problem. At all times (before and after the break-in period, and with various lubes inside) either my hubs were too tight and had no play, or had some play and no drag. Several other commenters said the same thing. If you want to call someone’s experience mis(s-)information, it’s your prerogative.

What makes you an authority on King hubs? If you even remotely understood how the ring drive works you would understand how Durianrider is making it up. Kings CAN’T slip by design. If they do slip it’s because the teeth on the ring drive are destroyed. This doesn’t happen from them being slightly too loose or too tight.

You have no credence or authority on this issue because you too are spreading rumor and misinformation. You didn’t join this discussion for any reason but to bash king products. How is that anything BUT trolling?

The center lock is the only way to use the new XTR brake rotors so it just makes sense for CK to offer this again. It took them a while to make the 142×12 SS hub but it’s CK they take time to make it right.

King rear hubs suck. And the posters above who claimed the hubs either have drag and no play or roll smoothened have play are 100% spot on. You can babble the King marketing hype till the cows come home, and at the end of the day I’ll gladly ride any other number of hubs other than King including I9, DT, and White Industries 7 days a week. King = silly overpriced and the play/drag issues have never been resolved despite all the cheerleader hype.