You know a Chris King hub when you hear one. The RingDrive system makes a distinctive sound when coasting, like a hive of angry bees in the hub. They are considered some of the top hub on the market, but as new standards were released from SRAM and Shimano to handle 12 speed drivetrains, the axle designs ended up being unique and costly to create conversion kits to swap between standards. With the new Gen 4 hubs, Chris King went back to the drawing board to standardize as much as possible to make it easier to swap between standards, and even retrofit back to previous models.
With Gen 4, we aren’t seeing any of the performance enhancements, but the change in design will make it easier and cheaper to swap or upgrade your hubs. With the Gen 3, Chris King paired needle bearings with the RingDrive system, which was effective, but complex to manufacture, heavy, and had more drag on the system. The design was phased out in 2019 and changed to a twin-bearing system, which reduced drag by 20% over the needle bearings, but also required multiple axles and internal driver body variations. This makes it more expensive to change from one standard to another, and also required CK to hold more parts on hand.
Gen 4 has streamlined this approach, offering universal compatibility and enhanced efficiency without compromising the precision and durability the brand is known for.
“Previous iterations of our hubs needed to balance compatibility with evolving external technologies, like the SRAM and Shimano drive systems, with our patented internals and bearings,” explains King Sales Manager Greg Hudson. “With those core systems having stabilized, it gave us an opportunity to rethink what was going on inside our hubs, and so we took the chance to simplify things for our riders and streamline manufacturing.”
Beyond the new driver and axle system, Gen 4 also offers a better experience for XDR users with an threaded Driveshell end cap, easier assembly and disassembly with no axle wedge needed, simpler preload adjustment with no spacer spring to compress, and for R45D hubs, the ability to adjust the clamp that allows you to remove the disc without the need to remove the adjusting clamp on the hub.
If you want to swap standards, or even update your old hubs to the new standard, Gen 4 makes it easier and cheaper. The kits are backwards compatible with previous generations. There is more compatibility due to common bearing sizes, and more versatility due to standardized axle and internal parts.
Hudson continues, “For Gen 4 we undertook a holistic development process for each of the three hub products Boost CenterLock/6-Bolt, R45D, and R45, collapsing the specs into a design that allows for a universal axle and internal parts. In previous generations, we chased specs that led us to different bearing sizes, etc. Gen 4’s universal parts have allowed us to streamline manufacturing, and as a result, helped us reduce hub prices AND the cost of the small parts long-term riders will want for hub service and upgrades.”
Once updated to Gen 4, changing drive systems will only cost $80, versus previous conversion kits priced at $380 last year. Full kits to convert R45D and Boost 6-Bolt hubs will run at $275, and include the axle, adjusting clamp, bearings, and driveshell. Boost Centerlock conversion kits will go for $250, and include the axle, bearings, and driveshell.
Chris King hubs and conversion kits are available now through their website, and continue to be made in a range of colors to give your bike some pop, while also giving the distinctive angry bees sound.
Heckling Editor, Image Taker, Crash Test Dummy, and Beard Master at Bikeworldnews.com
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