I need a new mtb bottom bracket and am undecided what to go for? Was looking at either Chris King or Hope ceramic. Anyone used either or both?

Not in BB, but I have used their comparable products in headsets, from that I wouldn't consider Hope if I could afford a kING.

i have a two year old hope ceramic bb in my bike.im happy.

King are very cheap at Winstanleys at the moment.

It would be rude not to.

Went for the King greaseport BB as I was getting totally fed up with HT2 ones dying every 4 months or so. And it's running great after 8 months.

That said, I think I saw that Hope are now doing a BB which you can purge the grease from. I got a good deal on the King so it was about the same price as the Hope is, but normally there's about £20 difference, I think.

King are very cheap at Winstanleys at the moment.

£86.99? I think your definition of very cheap is quite different to mine!

I'd also consider the new Pace BB, can be regreased like the King but is cheaper.

I got a king from CRC last year when they were reduced to £80 for a bit. It only has to last for a year to pay for itself.

Over the wet part of the year before xmas, Its needed grease in the NDS side every month or so. I can't say I'm that impressed, but at least its easy to replace the grease. Perhaps its the grease I'm using (rock and roll superweb), but thats supposed to be pretty good.

Phil Wood now do one too I think.

i have a 4 year old XT on one bike and a two year old hope on another. they work fine.

Would i buy King? having seen the score mark left in the steel steerer of my Magura Ronins by a king headset, i would seriously question the design of their products. ( this is an 80mm fork so far from "long travel"

I was just considering the same question but in the end plumped for €45 for an XTR…
I have a ceramic Hope which has been faultless throughout for 12 months but didn't fancy coughing up that much cash.

i have a King BB on my mtb and hope BB on my commuter.

So far both have lasted well (around 8 months)and are running fine. Will see what they are like after this winters mud.

If you have the money go for a King

Got a King BB, no creaks, roughness, locking up, changing every 5 mins… smooth as a babies bottom still…

Highly recommend… big cost at first but will last for ages!

I've got used to getting through bb's at a rate of knots, first I thought it was that I was using truvativ crank set (3 mth average lifespan), splashed out on a new xtr cranks, the bb's lasted bit longer on average 4 – 6 months, so last april bought a CK bb and its been faultless so far so I think I'm just about in profit! 🙂

Got a hope ceramic from crc for about 65 quid 12 months ago. It is super smooth even after being used in loads of rain and mud, yes I would have another.

One of the bearings on my King hub had seized two weeks ago, I purge every 8 or so weeks. After another purge its running smooth again now.

I wouldn't hesitate in buying another one when the BB die on my other bikes.

Phil Wood from Sideways Tim

anyone tried the superstar ceramic bb's? v cheap

Dont go near a SS BB,
We use HOPE BB on 90% of the Salsa Team bikes and have no problems with them, the Shimano BBs did about 6 to 9 months before we needed to swap them out, we run SS Hope BBs, I dont think ceramic is worth the money.
I run King head sets in my own bikes and one is now 10 years old and still as good as the day I purchased it. so if the BBs are as good, its worth the money.

Hope ceramic 2yrs old+ – faultless.
Just bought another on the back of this experience to replace an XT that died rather early.
Riding partner went for King, looks quite similar, feel confident myself that Hope understand English riding conditions and design products accordingly.
Big thumbs up here for Hope.

anyone tried the superstar ceramic bb's? v cheap

I've been running one for nearly 12 months now. Had no attention at all, and still running nice and smooth.

I've seen the same problems as mrmo on a carbon steerer with CK headsets.
jd_boy, I think theres the catch, its not much use your 120 quid headset lasting ten years or more if it eats a 350 pound fork every year.
Having said that I have a bit more faith in the BB as it doesn't have a stupid feature in it so that CK can avoid paying licensing fees to Cane Creek. I may even buy one next time.

Bought two Hope ceramic BB's at the same time and fitted to two bikes – neither lasted more than a few weeks use before needing to be regreased. Also not impressed with the fact the bearings run on the axle so when (not if) they seize up on a long weekend away the axle will score slightly. So wouldn't go near one again (no pressure washer etc just ride a lot). Shimano XT lasted about 4 months on one of the bikes. Now got a King due to the ease of regreasing but not used the bike enough to know if it makes a difference.

IMO the bearings/material etc. are secondary to how good the seals are and then how easy it is to regrease them.

on the headset oring problem it occured to me that that score mark will not get any bigger really will it? yknow the oring can only do so much damage.
i know the engineers amongst us will be thinking about stress rizers etc but with the exception of george hincapies carbon road steerer i have not seen any break yet.

Nonk, that was an aluminium steerer on GHs bike.
And I think the important thing is that why should we have to put up with this issue when a £30 headset doesn't damage to anything like the same degree?

I've had Kings on every bike I've owned since 1998. They have never damaged the steerer. I ride/race XC rather than do big drops and jumps, so I guess it depends on the type of riding you do.

GB

The damage I had was on an Easton EC90 SLX road fork, on rough, well, grainy roads.

I ride/race XC rather than do big drops and jumps,

Me too and my CK headset scored the steerer on my Pikes. I took it off and fitted a Hope.

was it kipper? bloody hell thats got me scratchin me chin a bit.
might go check me steerer.

The problem is caused by King avoiding the dia-compe patent with that o-ring. I believe this patent runs out soon so King steerer scoring might be coming to an end. For the record I've had a King headset chew two fork steerers. I'm sure it's fine though.

Nonk, I'm fairly certain that is was a mid-range Trek touring fork, that GH thought would be more durable :oops:.
It did have an alloy steerer.

I've never had a CK headset score the steerer on any bikes, road or MTB, I've always assumed it's related to keeping the headset tight.

I had a Superstar ceramic BB, it didn't last any time at all, but it was cheap!

I've personally found XTR bottom brackets to last perfectly well! If I was buying one aftermarket I'd probably go for a King, they're not that much more than Hope and likely better made!

Why not get a basic Hope BB and fit some Enduro ceramic bearings?

Been running a Hope ceramic BB for over 18 months now and still running smooth. Just needs the face seal removed every once and a while to clean between that and the face of the bearing,as shown on the Hope website.

What about the new pace bb that comes with a grease port, anyone used one?

I have had the same headset scoring steerer issues – def not loose headsets casuing it – I run 80mm fox ( crap ) forks… replacing 'fab' rubber o ring stops it for a while then it wears and it eats the steerer and makes the imfamous 'chris (king) creak' when honking on the bar ends… see it aint just long travel forks that suffer this ' leerage' problem..

Still love the bearing quality but tbh i reckon king could do better… hope my alloy steeerer doesnt sheer off now…

paul

They reckon the reason Kings last so long is because of the give on a worn o-ring – saves the bearings. Downside is it eats my steerer too. Cane Creek S3 running on my bike, no issues.

Removed a Chris King headset after it scored a set of Vanillas. The headset was properly installed and tightened, poor design. Would hope they're bottom brackets are better made. Phil Wood BB looks the business!

Could be a flexy steerer issue as well, I had a set of manitou minutes that managed to score the inside of the headtube!

My 'spare' BB is a standard superstar, apparently they have normal bearings so when the original seize they can be replaced and still run the plastic spacers.

Ive been running a Hope SS BB for just over two years now, thats through two winters to, I pop the seals off from time to time, to give the bearings the once over, the bearings are still in mint condition, well worth the money

Chris King headset eating steerers……
What you doing to them…?

Had several bikes with CK headset's and never had this scoring several have mentioned about?