Chris King Rear Hub [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for. 

Without a doubt, a high engagement hub changes the way the bike rides when pedaling up technical climbs or pedaling hard out of a corner. One of the biggest names in the hub world is Chris King, all hand made in Oregon. Our friend, Daniel, just laced up a new hub. See what they think! 

Overview

I’ve been wanting to get Chris King hubs for about 20 years. A roommate in college had Chris King hubs and another riding buddy had them and I thought they looked good and sounded cool. I’ve been building quite a few wheels for people this last year and I finally decided to build up a new rear wheel for myself with a Chris King ISO boost rear hub.

Out of the box, the hub looks incredible! You can tell it’s a quality part. It’s not the lightest hub out there, but it’s only 40g heavier than my previous hub and I’m not concerned about a marginal bit of weight at the center of wheel. I thought a red hub would go well with my grey Santa Cruz Hightower LT. The dark red anodizing and polished finish on the Chris King hub is unmatched. I haven’t seen any other hub with quite the same color and finish. It built up nicely and seemed to hug the J bend spokes a little more snug in the hub flange than some of other hubs I’ve recently built with. The sound of the RingDrive is one of Chris King’s unique qualities. I like it, not loud and not quiet, although it is much quieter than the previous Novatec hub I had.

I look forward to riding this hub hard this next year with a mix of trail, dh, dirt jumps, and a little xc. I’ve read about the durability of Chris King hubs and that’s one of the main reasons I ended up getting the hub. I’ve had the wheel built for a week now, but it has been pretty snowy here in northern Utah so I haven’t used it on the trails yet. Pedaling it around the driveway, the engagement feels quick and precise.

Final Thoughts

I’ve had several different rear hubs in the past from Shimano, White Industries, Hope, and Novatec which have all been good hubs. Each of them have different strengths and none of them have left me hanging on the trail. This new Chris King hub oozes quality throughout and it'll be fun riding it for many years. Thanks Worldwide Cyclery!