|   servcing chris king hubs | fishandmtb
Jun 9, 2003 6:11 PM | | i was in luck, and got myself a pair of chris king hubs. then, i found out that overhauling them needs special tools from chris king themselves and are prohibitively expensive!
i am familiar with overhauling the xtrs, requiring only a couple of cone wrenches but i have no clue on the cks. has anyone overhauled them before? is the tool absolutely necessary?
thanks! storm
ps. the hubs are new, but i like to service my own parts.. |
| Watch the Chris King videos... | clary.
Jun 10, 2003 8:37 AM | | http://www.chrisking.com/tech/tech_movies.html
With only two 5mm hex keys you can dismantle the axles on both hubs, clean and relube the outer bearings and flush and relube the ring-drive. Doing a more thorough clean or replacing some components does require the complete Chris King tool kit.
Cleaning and relubing the drive shell (cassette body) is the problem area when not in possession of the Chris King tools. I do not subject the drive shell main seal to solvents so would not dunk the unit into a solvent bath. I am not sure if all the dirt would be removed in that way anyway. With the Chris King tools, the seal/spline lockring can be removed so that the needle bearings and race can be removed. This allows the ball bearing cartridge to be properly flushed and relubed. Afterwards the cleaned and re-lubed neddle bearings and seal can be refitted.
When components need to be replaced, like pulling out the cartridge bearings (3 in rear, 2 in front) or the ring-drive, the full Chris King tool kit is required. Since Chris King hubs are not disposable hubs, are high performance and are meant for a decade of use, they do require periodic maintenance and some component replacement from time to time. The Chris King tool kit and Technical Service Manual are indispensable for keeping the hubs in tip-top shape. They are available directly from Chris King for about $70.
 |
| Watch the Chris King videos... | mtbmarc
Jun 10, 2003 5:13 PM | | I've had the same CK hubs for about four years and have serviced the bearings and drive mechanism without any special tools. I'm not sure that the other tools would be necessary, as you could have a shop do an overhaul, should you ever need it, cheaper than buying the tools.
The bearings and drive shell are easily serviced with two allen wrenches, a exacto knife or jeweler's small screwdriver, and a can of WD-40 to flush the old grease and dirt out. If you do that once a year, you shouldn't need much else unless you visit the carwash to clean your bike! |
| I do not subject the main drive shell seal to solvents... | clary.
Jun 11, 2003 7:27 AM | | a harder seal would not work as effectively. Removal of the seal is better than spraying solvent in the drive shell to clean it.
There are three grease conditions: clean, dark but smooth, and dark and gritty. The dark and gritty always gets a thorough dismantling and proper clean and grease. I have done the spray thing on the hub shell on occasion when I had hard and gritty grease, but was never satisfied with the result. Some grit does get trapped, no matter how many times you repeat the spraying process.
At times there is too much dirt around the seal, but the grease is clean on the bearings. I then remove the seal to clean, then re-fit without needlessly flushing the drive shell out as in your method and having to re-lube. If after inspection of the grease around the needle bearings reveals that the grease is contaminated, I proceed to remove and clean the needle bearings and race, flush the cartridge bearing (still in the drive shell sometimes), re-lube and refit...job well done.
With the CK tool kit, I am able to ascertain the wear level of all the components that make up the hubs while doing maintenance. I have a complete bearing set and some other components waiting for eventual fitting should one of the present ones wear beyond a standard or fail. I have changed the left side rear bearing on a friend's CK hub after he rode with too much pre-tension and dimpled the bearing race. His mistake, but he didn't have send off the hub to get it done. I have replaced the spring retainer o-ring component of the rear hub shell. Components do wear and fail, even CK ones. If you can't dismantle, you can't assess and replace.
The shops in my location have never sold, or seen, or would ever sell Chris King hubs, so do not have use for the CK tools. Myself and two friends have Chris King hubs and headsets, at my prompting. Maybe the closest shop having CK tools is 250 to 500 miles away.
$70 is a small price to pay for a job well done every time, no down time, no service charges, quick hub service, extended hub component life, and a continuous assessement of the condition of the components at all times. |
| I use a full can of WD-40 blasting out the old grease... | Metroid
Jun 10, 2003 10:12 AM | | Stick the straw in there and keep blasting until it runs clean. Seems to work because my rear hub is over 4 years old and still going strong. No fancy tools required. Just the two 5mm allens and a pen knife to remove the seal clips. I've only clean and lubed mine three times. |
| |
