Road Cycling - Thoughts on wheels and CK hubs

2 prefaces: 1. I know this is a recurring theme. 2. I had fairly extensive neuro-surgery in June with some large scale muscle grafting to come next summer all in an attempt to mitigate some of the effects of my last motorcycle ride which had an unscheduled end on I95 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl some time ago.

By the time all is over I'll have spent more than a day under the knife and I'm going to reward myself with a(nother) bike and I'm going to go modern. I picked up a decent deal on a LeMond Maillot Jaune. It's sitting in my closet and I'll start hunting components between now and the summer. I need some thoughts on wheels.

I had been thinking Ksyriums. My LBS, whom I trust, has put people a good bit heavier than I on them with no problems. I'm still having trouble swallowing the price though. $630 or so from Europe, $700+ here in the US. I'm leaning more and more to Mavic OPs with the Chris King hubs. I've had great results with the rims but I have no experiernce with the hubs. Looking at the Excel catalog I could get my wheels built alot cheaper than the Ks that's for sure and be pretty comparable in weight. The hubs are far and away the most expensive part of the deal though. The rear alone is almost half the price of the built wheelset.

Are CK hubs all that?

Looking at the Excel catalog they sell a brand called Hugi as well. Any input out there on those?

My apologies for a lengthy post to ask simple questions.

:beer:

Chris King hubs are pretty sweet, beyond their lightness, they have two features that make them stick out from the crowd, 1) the numbers of palls (sp?). These are things that make a free wheel able to spin on its own as opposed to a fixed gear, a Chris King hub has an absurd number, so the wheels make your bike more responsive. 2)The number of palls also means the noise that the wheel makes is distinct and loud, a BUZZ. If you can go to a bike shop that has them and ask if you can hear one-some people dont mind, others hate it. Finally remember that the hubs are the least important part of your wheel (well as long as they're good hubs)

Why not go for Ksyrium Elites instead of the more expensive SL's? You gain a little weight (under 200gr) and save a good bit of cash (high $300 range with Euro pricing).

HED also has some good closeout prices on some wheels as well.

Andrew

Hugi hubs have a good rep in Europe but I have no personal experience with them. Have a look at Campy wheels, rumour is that the 2004 wheelsets will drop a lot in price.

Walter, I decided after weeks of checking out new wheels that I wanted to have a custom set made. I went with 28H/32H Mavic CXP-33's with King hubs & black DT 14/15 spokes. Won't have them til the end of this week..I hope . I'll certainly let you know how I like them if you have time on your side.

Where did you buy from? How much?

Thanks.

I have a set of Kings on my cross bike and I love them. I also run their headsets on everything I own. Chris King is the only way to fly if you want the best. My road bike has Ksyrium SLs on it and they are easily the most durable wheels I have ever encountered. I have put several of my customers on them and they have been through a variety of uses from road racing to cyclocross and held up with great strength. You really cannot go wrong with either choice but I would have to say that in the long run Ksyriums will eventually run out of life and parts may not be available for them whereas the Kings will likely outlive you and your bike, not to mention the rims and spokes that you lace onto them - they will pass those by with ease. Both choices are expensive and both choices are top of the line but you have to decide whether you want a temporary racing wheelset or a hubset that will be in every wheel you own for the rest of your life.

-Ryan

CK hubs are excellent, the only large complaint people have are that they are noisy. If you want a more aero rim why not look at the CXP 33 rim over the OP. That woudl give you a very strong wheelset, or the Velocity Fusion rims are a good choice.

I bought my custom wheels with CK hubs at Colorado Cyclist. They start off at 474 for the King hubs & CXP-33 rims.
Here is a link with more info and pricing
http://www.coloradocyclist.com/common/products/productdisplay2_v2.cfm?PRRFNBR=26590&CGRFNBR=762&CRPCGNBR=762&CI=1,224,333,762&TextMode=0

You can also call 800-688-8600 ask for Scott Ext 105. He's a sharp guy to talk to.

Thanks for all the replies. I've never heard anything bad about CK hubs to be sure and this thread reinforces that. There are things I've heard about the company's philosophy I like as well.

I guess my only issue is that they're 2X as expensive as a Campy Record hubset! As a retro rider I'm used to Record setting the standard for both quality and high price. I'm certainly willing to accept that there is better stuff but to see something that makes Record look absolutely cheap....:confused:

I'm not in a big rush here but am definitely leaning towards the custom set. I'm looking forward to hearing from you Bman. When you get a few miles on them if you can PM me or revive this thread, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks again to all.

:beer: