Im considering Chris King hubs, are they actually good, or just expensive enough to convince you they are good ? I dont want to have to do maintenance after each winter ride, and dont want a noisy hub like my Hope, which is also wearing out far to fast.

Im also after some brakes, the most powerfull ones I can get – I seem to recall a test that compared the braking force of several but cant remember where it was or find it on google. Can anyone help – or suggest the current best brakes out there ?

Cheers.

SLX and XT brakes are both very powerful and relatively affordable.

I've used Avid Juicy, Formula Oro and RX and Hayes as well – but prefer Shimano brakes.

Bike Radar have tested brake power. IIRC Saint are the most powerful, followed by Avid XX. To be honest, go for anything with big rotors, you won't find them inadequate.

King hubs are expensive, heavier (heavier than Hope) have terrible seal drag, and require regular maintanence to keep them running nicely. DT would get the nod from me, lighter, cheaper and less maintanence.

dont listen to njee20 they are trouble free and roll better than the Hope pro SP3's i had before them and you can adjust the preload on the bearings if they develope a little play

they are trouble free and roll better than the Hope pro SP3's

They also sound like a whole nest of angry hornets chasing you down the trail. There're plenty of people with too much time on their hands have put videos on youtube of different freehub noises. Have a look.

I'd back Njee on the chris king hub point. The front one is like any other hub, a bearing in a can, and mine has remained smooth and play free for over four years now. Bear in mind it was on my DH bike for two of those years.
The rear however was a pain in the harris; it wouldn't stay tight, always developing play, I cracked the axle and had to replace it with a heavy duty one and to keep it running smoothly it needed a full strip and lube with special Chris King grease every six months. To make matters worse, to do the job properly you need the special tools to get at all the bearings. These tools cost about £150 or you can pay around £50 for a shop to do it.

dont listen to njee20 they are trouble free and roll better than the Hope pro SP3's

I didn't say they didn't roll better than Hope, I said Hope were lighter, DT roll better. And Kings are known for needing regular TLC and having terrible seal drag, it's the penalty you pay for decent sealing. Sadly, they're not all that well sealed either! I had a bearing seize in mine. Admittedly you can pop the seals out, clean and regrease the bearing and you're away, but considering the price it's not great!

I wouldn't even consider another set personally, although I know there's a lot of die hard fans who will tell you they're the best bike part ever and they cured world hunger and they now go 349mph quicker up every climb because of the instant engagement.

In what way are your hopes "wearing out". ive got 3 sets and ran them for years without having to change the bearings. If your bearings are worn they are easy to replace and don't chris kings make a fairly loud bumble bee type buzz?

Well my Whyte 46 came with an original Hope almost six years ago – that finally wore out less than an year ago and got replaced with the latest Hope pro 2. But its needed greasing already, has some play in it and dosent have much in the way of a seal. Plus I cant stand the noise. I think I will have a look at DT hubs then.