Bicycle Mechanics - chris king hub

I recently bought used wheelset with chris king classic hubs. They are in perfect shape, nearly new. I have never owned any chris king hubs, so I am not sure if this is a normal hub. When spinning the wheel with no tire on it, it spins beautifully. When I grab the free hub body to simulate coasting I hear the annoying clicking that chris hubs a supposedly know for. My concern is the wheel will promptly slow down and stop. Before I go tearing the hubs apart is this a normal chris king finding? The other Hubs I have owned (shimano, white industries, Nuke proof) kept spinning freely.

Joe

I recently bought used wheelset with chris king classic hubs. They are in perfect shape, nearly new. I have never owned any chris king hubs, so I am not sure if this is a normal hub. When spinning the wheel with no tire on it, it spins beautifully. When I grab the free hub body to simulate coasting I hear the annoying clicking that chris hubs a supposedly know for. My concern is the wheel will promptly slow down and stop. Before I go tearing the hubs apart is this a normal chris king finding? The other Hubs I have owned (shimano, white industries, Nuke proof) kept spinning freely.

Joe

It's impossible to know how much drag your freehub has so I can't say if your hub is normal. I know what you are talking about though and it sounds normal. There is a lot of drag in the freehub compared to most other hubs. It is possible that your hub is experiencing more drag than normal. A good way to figure out if your hub is operational is to put it on a bike in a reapir stand. Pedal the bike by hand then stop pedaling but hold the crank stationary. The freehub should not cause the chain to wrap up arounf the crank. The chain might get a bit of slack but if it doesn't cause a the chain to get all tangled up I would consider that normal.
If the freehub has too much drag and you service it make sure to use the Chris King ring drive lube in all the drive side bearings and on the Ring Drive. It is a thin grease and doesn't cause drag like a "normal" bike bearing grease could.
I think that if your hubs are operating normally you will like them. Good luck.

Agreed, check for grease. There is probably some already, but it never hurts. Other than that, new hubs tend to have a bit of drag. You wont notice it on the road

Chris King hubs are known for their loud freehub "whine" as well as seal drag. When you get a new or recently overhauled Chris King hub it feels like they have a lot of drag. Once you break them in they loosen up a bit. You shouln't disassemble it without the special tool made by Chris King. Also, you should have some experience overhauling a King hub or own a manual before attempting this. There are a lot of small parts that have very specific orentations. Chris King hubs have adjustable cartridge bearings. Taking your wheel to an experienced mechanic who had a King tool to have it adjusted may be a good idea.

Thanks for the input.

Joe

Chris King and Phil hubs are some of the best/smoothest around!
CK tends to whine a bit, but the sound diminishes after a while and eventually you get used to it.