New Chris King rear hub binding

I've got a relatively new set of King wheels, and I'm really having a devil of a time with the rear
hub binding. The freehub mechanism so freakin' tight that the chain slops all the way down to the
chainstay when I backpedal or transition from pedaling to coasting. (Better description/cause: the
freehub mechanism has MAJOR HUGE SUPER-BIG resistance, which means the chainrings move backward, but
the cassette doesn't, so the chain sags).

I RTFM, and noted the 60 hour break-in period, blahblahblah. I guess I'm just looking for a little
reassurance from other King users; and maybe some suggestions on how to minimize that break-in
period. 60 hours is quite a lot of trail riding to put up with this problem . . .

BTW the bearings are adjusted properly - they're not too tight. The problem occurs even if they're
so loose as to have considerable slop.

 

"Patrick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've got a relatively new set of King wheels, and I'm really having a devil of a time with the
> rear hub binding. The freehub mechanism so freakin' tight that the chain slops all the way down to
> the chainstay when I backpedal or transition from pedaling to coasting. (Better description/cause:
> the freehub mechanism has MAJOR HUGE SUPER-BIG resistance, which means the chainrings move
> backward, but the cassette doesn't, so the chain sags).
>
> I RTFM, and noted the 60 hour break-in period, blahblahblah. I guess I'm just looking for a little
> reassurance from other King users; and maybe some suggestions on how to minimize that break-in
> period. 60 hours is quite a lot of trail riding to put up with this problem . . .
>
> BTW the bearings are adjusted properly - they're not too tight. The problem occurs even if they're
> so loose as to have considerable slop.

I've got over 100 hrs on one, and if I let the wheel spin, it turns the cranks, which means there's
quite a bit of friction in the freehub. I haven't experienced this with other hubs.

 

[email protected] (Patrick) wrote:
> I've got a relatively new set of King wheels, and I'm really having a devil of a time with the
> rear hub binding. The freehub mechanism so freakin' tight that the chain slops all the way down to
> the chainstay when I backpedal or transition from pedaling to coasting...
>
> I RTFM, and noted the 60 hour break-in period, blahblahblah. I guess I'm just looking for a little
> reassurance from other King users; and maybe some suggestions on how to minimize that break-in
> period. 60 hours is quite a lot of trail riding to put up with this problem . . .

I've got a King hub that's 6+ years old. Mine didn't do this too badly when it was new, just howled
like the dickens when it was freewheeling. (I would say it did do it a little though--a bit more
resistance than from a shimano hub is normal, especially in the cold or during break-in).

I did have this problem once. I got some grit into the ring drive on a really dirty series of rides,
and it started happening a little. Then after cleaning up the ring drive and re-applying the special
lube that came with it the problem became chronic. I took it to my LBS, and the wrench looked at my
bottle of lube and tossed it in the trash, saying it was about 25 versions back from what was
currently being recommended. He serviced it for me with TLC and it's been like buttah ever since.

> BTW the bearings are adjusted properly - they're not too tight. The problem occurs even if they're
> so loose as to have considerable slop.

The bearing tightness/looseness won't cause this. It's friction in the ring drive, which needs to
have the right lube and the right *amount* of lube. Could be that this hub came out of mfg'ing with
too much goo on the ring drive.

Did you get it from an LBS or mail order? Ideally you should have a wrench with plenty of
experience (with King hubs) check it out. If you don't have one available, I'd recommend checking
out the ring drive.

Read the instructs carefully about how to open up the hub. Check for any discoloration. With a cloth
that won't shed any lint or threads, wipe down the ring drive. Reassemble and see if it's improved.
If not, take it apart again and lube it (I assume the hub came with some King lube as mine did).
Apply the lube sparingly.

By the way, how cold is it where you're riding?

If you bought the hub from a shop, bring it to their attention. Sounds like it may be worse than I
would expect just from break-in.
--
Tom Purvis - http://www.arkansasvalley.net/tpurvis/ Salida, CO

 

From what I have read at the king website try checking the amount of grease in the hub engagement
mechanism. I have heard that if there is too much it will do this.

TJ Not a owner of a king product,.......YET soon will be.

"Patrick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've got a relatively new set of King wheels, and I'm really having a devil of a time with the
> rear hub binding. The freehub mechanism so freakin' tight that the chain slops all the way down to
> the chainstay when I backpedal or transition from pedaling to coasting. (Better description/cause:
> the freehub mechanism has MAJOR HUGE SUPER-BIG resistance, which means the chainrings move
> backward, but the cassette doesn't, so the chain sags).
>
> I RTFM, and noted the 60 hour break-in period, blahblahblah. I guess I'm just looking for a little
> reassurance from other King users; and maybe some suggestions on how to minimize that break-in
> period. 60 hours is quite a lot of trail riding to put up with this problem . . .
>
> BTW the bearings are adjusted properly - they're not too tight. The problem occurs even if they're
> so loose as to have considerable slop.

 

Patrick wrote:
> I've got a relatively new set of King wheels, and I'm really having a devil of a time with the
> rear hub binding. The freehub mechanism so freakin' tight that the chain slops all the way down to
> the chainstay when I backpedal or transition from pedaling to coasting. (Better description/cause:
> the freehub mechanism has MAJOR HUGE SUPER-BIG resistance, which means the chainrings move
> backward, but the cassette doesn't, so the chain sags).
>
> I RTFM, and noted the 60 hour break-in period, blahblahblah. I guess I'm just looking for a little
> reassurance from other King users; and maybe some suggestions on how to minimize that break-in
> period. 60 hours is quite a lot of trail riding to put up with this problem . . .
>
> BTW the bearings are adjusted properly - they're not too tight. The problem occurs even if they're
> so loose as to have considerable slop.

Mine did that, but after about 4k miles with lots of water crossings -- some of which were deeper
than the hub . The grease at the bhub bearings got sitcky and was adding alot of drag. I took it
apart and cleaned and relubbed it and all was well.

If you remove the axle, the freehub will pull off. You can then check the state of the grease on the
freehub bearings. If it's sticky, I recommend cleaning the old grease off and regreasing it. I'd
also check to make sure that the sticky grease isn't into the ring drive. If it is, you'll need to
take the hub apart, clean the old grease out (I used WD-40 and the lots of compressed air to make
sure that I had it all out
) and put fresh Chris King lube in it. They claim that you can do
this without disassembling the hub, but I would do it right. They also recommend a couple of drops
of Tri-Flow on the axle where it engages the freehub bearing.

David

 

Thanks for the recommendations; I'll give it a try. I purchased the wheelset mail order from Speed
Dream (fabulous wheels, by the way!). So I think I'll have a go at it myself before I pay an LBS to
do it. I'm reasonably comptent with a wrench, and I do have the diagrams & instructions that came
with the hubs.

 

On 12 Feb 2003 12:29:17 -0800, [email protected] (Patrick) wrote:

[snip king stuff]

C'mon man, everybody here knows that CK hubs or any CK component all pretty much suck.

Only Barney's and Oversized Freaks use that crap. CK hub are just noisy pieces of Freight Poop!

;-)

Bill The mind serves properly as a window glass rather than as a reflector, that is, the mind should
give an immediate view instead of an interpretation of the world.
:-]

 

Bill Wheeler wrote:
> On 12 Feb 2003 12:29:17 -0800, [email protected] (Patrick) wrote:
>
> [snip king stuff]
>
> C'mon man, everybody here knows that CK hubs or any CK component all pretty much suck.
>
> Only Barney's and Oversized Freaks use that crap. CK hub are just noisy pieces of Freight Poop!
>
> ;-)
>
> Bill The mind serves properly as a window glass rather than as a reflector, that is, the mind
> should give an immediate view instead of an interpretation of the world.
> :-]

Yeah, they suck. What few know is that you have to dispose of them properly. There are only a few
sites in the United States that can hold those incredible POS's known as CK hubs. Fortunately,
Boston is one of these places. You can send it to me (make sure its in a hazmat box... and you
should probably send the whole bike, just to be sure, the contamination hazard of these things is
incredible), and I'll make sure its taken care of properly.

Jon Bond

 

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> Bill Wheeler wrote:
> > On 12 Feb 2003 12:29:17 -0800, [email protected] (Patrick) wrote:
> >
> > [snip king stuff]
> >
> > C'mon man, everybody here knows that CK hubs or any CK component all pretty much suck.
> >
> > Only Barney's and Oversized Freaks use that crap. CK hub are just noisy pieces of Freight Poop!
> >
> > ;-)
> >
> > Bill The mind serves properly as a window glass rather than as a reflector, that is, the mind
> > should give an immediate view instead of an interpretation of the world.
> > :-]
>
> Yeah, they suck. What few know is that you have to dispose of them properly. There are only a few
> sites in the United States that can hold those incredible POS's known as CK hubs. Fortunately,
> Boston is one of these places. You can send it to me (make sure its in a hazmat box... and you
> should probably send the whole bike, just to be sure, the contamination hazard of these things is
> incredible), and I'll make sure its taken care of properly.
>
> Jon Bond
>
>

I wouldn't ship it in a hazmat box or someone at the FBI is going to have a set of slightly used CK
hubs instead of you
--
_________________________
Chris Phillipo - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia http://www.ramsays-online.com

 

On Mon, 10 Feb 2003 21:18:35 -0500, Bill Wheeler <[email protected]> wrote:

>On 12 Feb 2003 12:29:17 -0800, [email protected] (Patrick) wrote:
>
>[snip king stuff]
>
>C'mon man, everybody here knows that CK hubs or any CK component all pretty much suck.
>
>Only Barney's and Oversized Freaks use that crap. CK hub are just noisy pieces of Freight Poop!

hahaha, you're a funny guy ain't cha.....

Dave (thanks for the laugh)

 

On Fri, 14 Feb 2003 06:04:10 GMT, Jonathan Bond <[email protected]> wrote:

>B Yeah, they suck. What few know is that you have to dispose of them properly. There are only a few
>sites in the United States that can hold those incredible POS's known as CK hubs. Fortunately,
>Boston is one of these places. You can send it to me (make sure its in a hazmat box... and you
>should probably send the whole bike, just to be sure, the contamination hazard of these things is
>incredible), and I'll make sure its taken care of properly.
>
>Jon Bond

Commander, hold up bro! You got that all wrong. After consulting the IMBA MTB BMW Manual, section
2.1192, it clearly states "All CK POS hubs be sent to Bill Wheeler. Only I have the proper
facilities to dispose of them.

so there,

Bill(send me your POS CK hubs)Wheeler The mind serves properly as a window glass rather than as
a reflector, that is, the mind should give an immediate view instead of an interpretation of
the world.
:-]