Chris King was once known for its stalwart resistance to new (and sometimes unproven) standards but that all seems to be in the past these days. Shown off at this year's Interbike OutDoor Demo was a veritable fleet of new bottom brackets headsets, and hubs in all sorts of sizes, shapes and colors.
Perhaps most surprising was not just one but three press-fit bottom brackets for both 24mm and 30mm spindles, plus a step-down 30-to-24mm model as well. All of the new bottom brackets feature Chris King's made-in-house stainless steel bearings (or optional hybrid ceramics), proven seal design, and handy grease injection feature.
Chris King is also catering to the increasingly popular 1 1/8-to-1 1/4-inch tapered steerer tube size for framebuilders and bike companies seeking to provide a slightly more comfortable ride than the more typical 1 1/8-to-1 1/2-inch size. The InSet 8 hidden-cup headset is designed to press into 44mm-diameter head tubes and will also work with straight 1 1/8-inch with the company's Devo baseplate.
Even the hub collection has grown substantially in the past year, most notably with the introduction of disc-compatible R45 ISO road hubs, featuring six-bolt rotor compatibility, 28- or 32-hole drillings, and your choice of freehub bodies (Campagnolo or Shimano/SRAM 9/10/11-speed). Rear hub spacing is the now-standard 135mm and Chris King will offer the new hubs with either the company's own stainless steel or hybrid ceramic bearings.
Your riding buddies will have to look hard to see this BB
Finally, there's a new 157x12mm ISO rear disc hub for newer downhill bikes, new 16- (front only), 18-, and 20-hole drillings for standard R45 road hubs, and yes, Chris King is bringing back anodized purple as a limited-edition color.
Of course, all the new bottom brackets and hubs will come in Chris King's usual assortment of ten anodized colors. Bottom brackets and hubs will come with a five-year warranty and the new headsets will carry the usual ten-year coverage. All of the new products will be available sometime around the first quarter of 2013.
