Chris King Open House
10-12-19, 10:33 PM
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Chris King Open House
This is a great event, I should have gone before last year, great vibe, great venue, all good. This year was more of the same.
Not a big fan of the parts but they speak for themselves and they are beautiful, the process very commendable.
The shop tour is fascinating and the people are all in because the process is so well thought out, refined, sustainable and mostly genius.
Anyway part of the draw is the de facto bike show at the bike corral and at something like this you see plenty that you will normally not see for the caliber of fans and participants.
Pic's because it did happen.
Not a big fan of the parts but they speak for themselves and they are beautiful, the process very commendable.
The shop tour is fascinating and the people are all in because the process is so well thought out, refined, sustainable and mostly genius.
Anyway part of the draw is the de facto bike show at the bike corral and at something like this you see plenty that you will normally not see for the caliber of fans and participants.
Pic's because it did happen.
10-12-19, 10:40 PM
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10-12-19, 10:51 PM
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10-13-19, 12:08 PM
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Thanks for the pics @merziac. Any pics of the show bikes or did they not tickle your fancy?
There should be a follow up article, maybe on the Radivist or CK fbook.
Obviously I kept gravitating back outside to see the ongoing parade of cool. Last year I saw several bikes when I got there and when I went back they were gone so this year I made sure to take a hard look when I got there.
10-13-19, 09:41 PM
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Really neat mix of small brand bikes you took pics of. Funny that at a King event, how few King headsets were on the outdoor bikes.
10-13-19, 10:19 PM
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Like I said, I'm not that big of a fan just because, they need to make a retro version, still would be hard to justify the cost.
10-14-19, 06:19 AM
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Thanks for posting the cool pics - lots of neat bikes.
The amount of bolt-on accessories is a bit over-the-top. Is that a "thing" now?
The amount of bolt-on accessories is a bit over-the-top. Is that a "thing" now?
10-14-19, 06:31 AM
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Tx, actually I would guess at least half of the bikes in the pics have them, the rock lobster, cielo, Speedvagons, Breadwinners, Manitou, Zullow and plenty more, even my Merz has one that was there when I got it.
Like I said, I'm not that big of a fan just because, they need to make a retro version, still would be hard to justify the cost.
Like I said, I'm not that big of a fan just because, they need to make a retro version, still would be hard to justify the cost.
...or, you could have said that you weren’t a fan due to the rear freehub design. It could be argued that such an expensive hub should have more durable splines on the freehub body. I’ve seen some used Chris King wheels on eBay that look really heavily used. I guess that’s a good thing that folks are really putting these parts to work.
10-14-19, 10:05 AM
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I thought you were going to say that you were not a fan due to the parts being so upscale and therefore over-priced for what the average person needs. Such made in USA goodness to me is worth it for whoever decides they really value that level of awesome.
...or, you could have said that you weren’t a fan due to the rear freehub design. It could be argued that such an expensive hub should have more durable splines on the freehub body. I’ve seen some used Chris King wheels on eBay that look really heavily used. I guess that’s a good thing that folks are really putting these parts to work.
...or, you could have said that you weren’t a fan due to the rear freehub design. It could be argued that such an expensive hub should have more durable splines on the freehub body. I’ve seen some used Chris King wheels on eBay that look really heavily used. I guess that’s a good thing that folks are really putting these parts to work.
10-14-19, 10:15 AM
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I've even succumbed to an extent.
Current touring setup
That being said, Merz was all about it way back, his were built for whatever you wanted them to do, he toured South America, Europe and Africa, on/off road and everything in between. It's nothing new, but the bikes now are really going down that road or whatever.
10-15-19, 02:07 PM
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Well, there's always that but I get it. They really do get the job done, I've never been that hard on my bikes so no real need from that aspect. They're pretty proud of their freehub design and stand behind it. I do value that level of quality/awesome/made in the USA. May just figure out where I need/should have more CK in the fleet now that we're going there.
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10-15-19, 02:21 PM
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I've had limited Chris King parts experience. Two headsets for my two ti customs. First was a 1" threadless that has been perfect. I've done nothing save the requred adjustment when I move stem spacers around. (The reason I like quill stems - I do that a lot.) Second was a 1' threaded Grip Nut that drove me nuts. Never stayed adjusted more than 400 miles. Often as little as 200. I tightened it many, many times in the 8k miles I rode it. I took it to shop mechanics, some considered quite good. I took it to the Chris King factory. Finally took it off and put on a Tange. (That was a bit of a hassle because Tange didn't make a headset with the Grip Nut stack. I believe I have parts from three different model Tanges. But since only bottom races wear out, replacing is easy. Yes, the Tanges are dead at 8k miles and the Grip Nut is as good as new. But the Tanges are also a once-a-year tighten, repack every few years. That 's it. (And $35 or less every 4 years I can live with.)
Oh, and the Tanges look suitably classic. Solid, wrench friendly chrome.
Ben
Oh, and the Tanges look suitably classic. Solid, wrench friendly chrome.
Ben
