What were you expecting it to do that it so disappointed you? Make tea?

bloody hell, how'd you get one for £212.50??? even with 15% off they're currently £306... or did you get yours before the price hike?

Yes but you are now among the people who are able to look down on people who don't ride CK parts

you've gotta love the instant engagement though right? and the CK buzz is a nice unique noise that screams 'I have expensive wheels' 🙂

well that would have been nice if it made tea. (1 sugar please)

It did a great job but the hope XC I had also did a good job too and I can't see the difference was that great between the two. Certainly not 200.00 better though.

Flog it while it's still so new (you'll make a profit) and buy a Hope?

i just bought a new xt rear hub £40.
one that died i have used for 5 years.
i like to spend i like bling, but it does put things in perspective.

but when its still going without a service after 7 years then you will be thinking, what a great hub..

That noise drives me mad

Can I have your old Hope XC hub please?

Just hoping you all appreciate honesty of an opinion. Sure its lovely but I'd not be happy if I'd paid RRP for it. Still think I paid abour 30.00 too much for it in fact.

Time will tell though.

XT hub, 4 days in the Alps and needed a new axle.

Can I have your old Hope XC hub please?

Rude boy, email me, they are on ebay at the moment

coolhandluke11 AT googlemail DOT com

Oh, Stiff aren't flogging them for 212.50 any more.

Feeling kind of happy ( and a bit smug) now I must say. Blooming glad I bought it last week then.

Mavic mavic mavic mavic!!!!! That's all I gotta say!

They're ~£230 from Aspire Velotech
Still way over priced but if you've money to burn ......

"XT hub, 4 days in the Alps and needed a new axle."

Bad luck or poor maintenance. I've run shimano for 20 years without a ride ending issue.

Have seen Ck hubs die on rides though.

I rarely even notice the noise when I'm riding, I've never paid full price for one (the UK RRP's are an absolute rip off), they're very well made and pretty easy to service.
I can afford it so I'll be sticking with CK thank you.

they do make a lovely noise, but I run Pro2's, only because they are louder 😀

(I didn't do the pro2 tag btw!)

Good on you Dibbs. Seems the mention of CK gets some peoples backs right up for some reason. (see the tags)

My opinion is that is is lovely, really nice but not worth the RRP, that's it really.

I love Hope stuff but the noise from Pro Hope 2's does my head in. Worst than Hope Mini brake squeal.

They do need regular servicing

Steve-Austin - Member

but when its still going without a service after 7 years then you will be thinking, what a great hub..

Not likely if you're talking about the Chris King!
They need lots of constant TLC to keep them running sweet...

hmm, mine have never needed TLC and are still working faultlessly. Personally I think that's a myth spread by those who haven't owned them - I have them F&R on 3 bikes - because I can.

when was the last time you changed bearings in a King?

Mine came loose, I had bearings seize, it needed constant adjustment. The pick up is excellent, but they're not light and no way in hell are they worth the money. Sooner have DT 240s or Tune King/Kong.

I've got a few, the 1 i most use is about 5 years old shit load of miles and washes done the ring drive service 3 times NEVER changed a bearing or part. had a headset the same time/useage not touched that.Any other brands you can say that of ? that alone makes it worth the money spent. Other brands that dont last no where near as long you got to pay or carry ouy wheel builds or pay labour of pressing headsets into frames

At least you can adjust the bearing on a King. Most develop play and then it's hammer and socket time. Dt stainless bearings aren't cheap either.

I have them F&R on 3 bikes - because I can.

Wow. Do you have a rolex and sh1t?

I have them F&R on 3 bikes - because I can.

Mij, I'll give you that, when I had bearings seize you popped off the cover, cleaned it out, bit of grease, and you're ready to go again, but still, I had to do that more often than I have to change bearings in my DT or Tune hubs, both of which weigh less too.

They always be people that they think they deserved the [s]most expensive[/s] the best.

Brits are very lucky to have hope. They make amazing brake and even more amazing hubs. They are priced just right if you ask me, but then you are on a forum where people buy new bits to get better skills.

I I was going to spend a lot of money on hubs, and believe me I'd like to, It certainly wouldn't be King ones.

Cheaper (£159/£219)
Possibly better
Almost certainly higher quality
Definately better looking
And British

Royce

[img] [/img]

Ditto PP. As ever there's a diminishing returns aspect to mtb components. I'm sure that it'd be easy to make better quality hubs than CK ones just use even tighter tolerances, more expensive anodising/coatings/etc but it'd be very debateable whether there would actually be any real world advantage. In fact, that's actually my view between Hope and CK - King are beautifully made (though, again, not as nice as Royce) but I don't believe that they actually have any real world advantage over Hope.

YMMV

I wish Royce would do a HT2 BB or a headset. I'd be at the front of the queue.

If I could afford them, I'd buy the hubs just besause they look soooooo beautiful. No fashionable colours, no trendy big name, no marketing jargon. Just pure class and superb eningeering. Mmmmmmm.

I agree the CK hubs are Yowsers!. I've had mine over 5years- Ive really only ever run one bike and the wheel around it has been rebuilt twice. Recently I gave it its first service. Shocking, expensive terrible things.

Oh and I bought my front and rear built up for £400 posted. If I was looking to replace I'd buy the same again. Hope are probably great (I run a Hope 20mm up front) but if something works for you- why fix it?!

Good to see you on normal form Hora.

King are great. Indestructable, servicable and look great. A load of tremendous colours to stand out as if teh noise wasn't enough. They need care, but reward it with a lifetimes use.

If you don't like them, that's fine. I do. I also rate Hope, though. They do need care less often, but more than just a clean and lube. They need new parts and a big hammer.

I've got the same hubs that came with my bike as new (and it's a 2001 model). They are WTB somethings and have never been apart.
They still run fine with no graunchiness or any other nasty.
I am not sure I would pay that much for a hub, as I don't think I would see the benefits - £300 is the sort of money I spend on a new set of forks!

Same with headsets....I replaced the original that came with my bike last yr for a Cane Creek S-3 (or maybe S-8?). It was about £22 and is still going perfectly strong. I would rather pay an annual fee of £22 for a new headset, than however much CK charges for theirs.

I don't have a problem with people spending that kinda money on components, but in my case I really can't justify an expensive part like that over something that does the job perfectly well but it less erm, bling.
£300 would get me a whole wheelset, nevermind one hub!!!

right there with you. i buy stuff that works for reasonable money. sometimes i splash out 'a bit', but i buy at the point where i think i'm getting the bulk of the performance for a fraction of the price. i have the cash to buy the really s****y bits, but i'd be forever worried about them, and i just want to ride my bike and stick it back in the garage until next time, not obsess about it ( though i probably do my fair share! ).
a bit like watches. you can spend a couple of grand on a watch that requires yearly servicing at 100 quid or whatever. fine, if you want a watch that looks nice, they can be considered a form of jewellery after all, if that's what you want, go for it. my g-shock tells the time. it's solar powered, it sets itself for time daily from the time signal, it does what it was bought to do perfectly. better than a lot of watches that are 10x the price.
whatever floats your boat though eh?

king headsets have a 10 year warranty. Buy one for £100 and it's actually a better investment than buying cheap. Just a big outlay.

king headsets have a 10 year warranty. Buy one for £100 and it's actually a better investment than buying cheap. Just a big outlay.

it may destroy your forks but hey, 10 years warranty

I bought my King rear hub 10 years ago. I bought it because, at the time, I was getting through an LX freehub every 6 months so figured in the long run the Ck would be cheaper.

I was right: it's still going strong after stupid amount of abuse. It's just outlasted its 3rd rim. Sevriced every couple of years, but only had bearing replacement once. It has also outlasted my Pro2, on which the bearings and freehub have both died.

Conclusion? If you possibly can buy King or similar. it's cheaper in the long run and you get to ride some nice bling kit as a bonus.

But if you can remove a crown race properly...

king headsets have a 10 year warranty. Buy one for £100 and it's actually a better investment than buying cheap. Just a big outlay

Not really. If I buy a FSA Orbit II for £20 and it lasts 3-5 years with no problems (as they have...)

Conclusion? If you possibly can buy King or similar. it's cheaper in the long run

Not true in general, sorry. Even two brand new Hope hubs with a couple of sets of bearings is cheaper. In reality, it's unlikely you'd go through two of them anyway. Though you're right they do look nice 🙂

But if you can remove a crown race properly...

He's talking about the compromised design of CK headsets top section which relies on an o-ring to fit instead of a compression washer type arrangement (IIRC because the either won't pay to licence it or because Cane Creek won't licence it to King) and can cause wearing to the steerer tube.

boybiskit - Member
I bought it because, at the time, I was getting through an LX freehub every 6 months

Do you jetwash your bike after every ride?