Oregon-based luxury component manufacturer Chris King, known for its buttery smooth bearings and happily buzzing hubs, announced it's switching over to a new hub system.
The switch is not a performance-based evolution but rather, a customer-oriented one. The hubs' signature bearings remain the same, but by switching to universalized drivers and axles in the Gen 4 hubs, Chris King intends to lower the overall cost of ownership and increase the useful life of each hub.
In a world where bike ownership costs are ever-skyrocketing and reduced environmental impact is in favor, the Gen 4 hub may be onto something.
Billing as a 'leap in performance and serviceability,' the Gen 4 hubs are said to offer universal compatibility and enhanced efficiency without compromising on their hallmark precision and durability.
"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.”
Previous generations of the celebrated hubs featured the brand's RingDrive system paired with a needle bearing design, which was phased out in 2019. While effective, Chris King says the hub was complex to manufacture, heavier and exhibited 20% more drag compared to the twin-bearing approach that followed. However, the twin-bearing system, too, necessitated multiple axle and internal driver body variations.
“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," Hudson says. "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.”
Specific improvements with Gen 4 include:
- Brand new driver/axle system
- Improved compatibility/ease of changing Driveshell types
- Lower-priced conversion kits
- Better XDR user experience with threaded Driveshell end cap
- Easier assembly and disassembly (no axle wedge)
- Simpler preload adjustment (no spacer spring to compress)
- More versatility due to universal axle and internal parts
- More cross-compatibility due to common bearing sizes
- Backward compatibility with previous generations of King hubs
- Gen 4 R45D hubs utilize an updated adjusting clamp that allows for disc removal without the need to remove the adjusting clamp
Riders using the Gen 4 hub will be able to transition to different drive systems for just $80, a marked decrease in cost from previous Chris King conversion kits that were priced at $380. Gen 4 R45D and Boost 6-Bolt conversion kits will cost $275, which includes the axle, adjusting clamp, bearings and driveshell. Boost CenterLock conversion kits will cost $250 and come with the axle, bearings and driveshell.
Gen 4 hubs are ready for shipping as well as being built into new wheels.
