However, the Chris King Lefty SuperMax hub is a work of machined art. It's stunning to look at and when I stick my finger in the hub shell, the bearing movement is sublime. It's so precise that at first I thought that there were no bearings because you can't see the join between the hub and bearing shell. It really is bike art.
I've since sold this wheelset with the Cannondale Trigger that they were attached too. No discredit to the wheels, or the bike, but I fancied a change. I do miss the wheels for sure!
The wheel set
- Chris King 32 hole Silver hubs
- Lefty SuperMax front
- 142 x 12 rear
- Sapim spokes
- Black alloy nipples
- Stans EX Flow ZTR black rims
- Stans 25 mm rim tape
- Stans valve
What will the wheels be used for?
Generally I only ride light trails on a regular basis. My primary trail is Swinley Forest, Bracknell. There's nothing really technical in there and a lot of the routes flow and pop, but there's no significant jumps or drops that would harm the Crest rims I used before, let alone the Flows on the new wheel set.
The real reason I made the upgrade from Crest to Flow was for future-proofing and for Alpine fun. Crest rims aren't cheap and re-building a wheel is worth the expense when you have a decent rim, but for the sake of 100 grams between the weight of the Crest and Flow, I may as we well accept the extra weight for the peace-of-mind they bring.
Who built them?
I have another set of Chris King wheels, single speeds, on Crest rims, that were built by Clee Cycles, UK. They've stood up very well and the price was fantastic. I had no hesitations about buying a new set from them and am already eyeing up a Chris King R45 disc wheelset that I'd ask them to build for me as well.
I had to wait a few weeks for the parts to arrive. I doubt many bike shops keep the Lefty hub in stock, so that was expected and absolutely fine.
How much were they?
Including hubs, rims, rim tape, spokes, building , no-tubes valves and delivery (in two solid wheel boxes), the total price was £740.
How much do they weigh?
I honestly don't know. If I had a decent set of scales, I would have weighed them, but I'm not a weight weenie, so don't. I didn't even compare them to the old wheelset (Lefty hub and XT rear on Crest rims), but the new wheels certainly don't feel heavy for such a robust set of wheels.
Fitting the Chris King Lefty SuperMax hub to the fork
At first I sunk my shoulders and cursed my name that I should have checked to see whether I needed a tool to fit the hub to the Lefty. You see, the instructions made mention of a spline tool that held the bearing in place while you can do and undo the hub bolt. Turns out, that's only if you have the wheel off of the fork in the first place.So to fit the wheel, follow these few instructions
- Inset the Cannondale bolt into the hub shell
- Place the Chris King hub bolt over the top
- Using a 10 mm allen key, tighten the bolt counter-clockwise / left
- Here's where it was handy to start the thread off of the bike and hold the rear bearing to help provide some resistance for the hub bolt to screw into
- Place the hub over the Lefty axle (obviously remove the disc brake)
- Screw in the Cannondale hub bolt with a 5 mm allen key til tight
- Then, again counter-clockwise, screw in the Chris King hub bolt 'til it's flush with the hub
- You may find that the precise fit of the Chris King hub bolt forces the Cannondale hub bolt to come loose, that's fine. Just re-do up the Cannondale bolt and go back to the Chris King
- Voila, you should now have a perfectly flush Chris King hub bolt, Cannondale hub bolt and a Chris King Lefty SuperMax hub
Maintenance
I've had the wheelset a good 6 months and have put in around 500 miles of riding. I've not yet had to adjust them beyond a slight bearing adjustment 6 weeks into ownership (as expected). They've been smooth since day 1 and I've not had any odd noises, grinding or anything untoward at all.Thoroughly recommended!
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