Chris King Classic hubs are the ultimate
lightweight, high performance hubs. And, at only 268g for the rear and 112g for the front, it's hard to believe that they are also the toughest hubs out there.
Chris King Classic hubs are available for all types of road and off-road riding. The front hubs are offered with two different hub shells and a choice of bolt-on or quick-release axles.
The rear hubs are available in:
Road (130mm), Mountain (135mm), and 140mm spacing with either an aluminum or a stainless steel driveshell. All rear Classic hubs are 7/8/9 speed compatible (for 7 speed cassettes, use a 4.5mm spacer - 10spd is pending final compatibility tests).
Standard drillings are:
16, 18, 24, 28, 32, and 36 holes.
Drillings of 24 or less are slotted unless otherwise requested.
Nonstandard or custom drillings may be available by special request.
New heavy duty option:
For those doing trials, riding tandems , or who just want the additional stiffness and holding power of a bolt on axle - the rear classic hub is now available with the FunBoltsô. Just as with the single speed, the new bolt on axle allows the use of either the FunBoltsô or the QR adaptors for maximum versatility. The bolt on axle with QR adaptors adds only 26g; the bolt on axle with FunBoltsô adds only 62g over our standard classic hub.
Strengths: Light for proper hubs that'll last. Can be rebuilt. Use many common parts to my CK mountain bike hubs
Weaknesses: Bearings are not off the shelf (like the DT240 hub bearings etc).
Bottom Line:
These are my 'race' wheel hubs, laced to Mavic Open Pro's with DT double butted spokes and brass nipples. I believe they weigh aroud the 1750 gram mark.
They havent seen that much use, as they're mainly used for races.
Strengths: Durability, warranty, exceptional machining and easy maintenence.
Weaknesses: Other than the break in period, none.
Bottom Line:
I became tired of breaking wheel sets so I discussed with my LBS about building a wheel set. They recommended Chris King Hubs. Being an engineer, I wanted to research and look at the details. I had the set built with 32 hole, Mavic CPX33 Rims, Wheelsmith Spokes and Brass Nipples in Black.
From most of the other reviews, the "Breakin Period" was the major complaint. I can attest to this as after about 20 hours of riding, the hubs loosened up. While not fully broke in, it will be a matter of time.
I found similar breaking periods, although not as long with Dura Ace WH-7850 wheels.
For a reference, I always rode low count spoke wheels. The rides were stiff and you feel non-smooth road vibration. However, the 32 spoke and Mavic rim made a remarkable difference in smoothing the ride.
I would recommend the King Classic hubs to anyone who wants a custom built wheel set. Just be prepared for the drag to last several hundred miles as they did for me.
And the really cool feature is the BUZZZZZ!
Strengths: perfect, light weight, color choice, easy adjust, everything is perfect.
Weaknesses: that there is no weakness
Bottom Line:
These hubs are great! I am 190 pounds and I seem to be able to break anything, but can't seem to damage these. It does take a little time for the hubs to break in, but when they do they are awesome. They are super easy to adjust and make a the cool "buzzzzz" noise. They are so good I bought a second set for my other bike, need I say more?
Similar Products Used: D/A open pro, all mavic wheels, bontrager race, race lites, x lites, xxx lites, reynolds dv 46, mv 32, and kom
Bike Setup: 2009 Specialized tarmac pro sl, sram force, Chris king hubs with dt swiss r 1.1 and 14/15 gauge spokes
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
peugeotguy87
a Recreational Rider
from
Date Reviewed: July 21, 2008
Strengths: Build quality, readily available parts, really cool sound
Weaknesses: None that I have found so far including price - they're an excellent value for the money.
Bottom Line:
Being an engineer, I'm always skeptical when a product comes along that everyone says its the greatest ever. I must say this time my I'm proven wrong. These Chris King hubs are really nice. Two things really strike me at first sight - 1. these hubs are really light given their complexity. 2. the quality of the product. When I first heard about these hubs everyone was talking about how much they needed to be broke in because they're so tight. When I first started them I thought it was going to be like towing a boat anchor - it wasn't. The only perceivable drag I've noticed is when coasting on a level surface. This will deminish once the hubs are btoken in (like all hubs do). Overall I'm very pleased with them and the buzz they make is incredible.
I just bought the following items:
American Classic CR420 wheels with Shimano compatible hub
SRAM Rival groupset with 12-25 cassette - 10 speed.
Question 1
There was no space Read More »
Have an American Classic Micro 68 hub, the original style hub with pressed in bearing caps. The hub uses R4 bearings, suppose to take pliers and pull the bearing caps outs. Spent t Read More »
Does anyone have the hub dimensions for the 15mm American Classic rear road hub? This is the older model (recall) hub but is 9/10 spd. I need to calculate spoke lengths and I wou Read More »
Does anyone know if the American Classic 205 17mm rear hub is suppose to have a 1.5mm spacer between the endcap and freehub bearing similar to what they show for the 15mm hub? The Read More »
Hi,
Can anyone tell me when the American classic road 205 hub went from 15mm axle 10 speed compatible, to the 17mm axle and is 11 speed compatible.
The AC website doesn't say Read More »
