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Chris King Lefty Hub

6K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  MendonCycleSmith 
#1 ·
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#4 ·
When I asked Chris King in downieville 2013 about a Lefty specific hub, they said they had no plans for it. There's not enough of a market and there's already a bunch of 3rd party hubs out.

I guess the conversion is ok is you all of sudden have a Lefty. However, I think a specific hub from Project 321 or I9 would be stronger and lighter
 
#6 ·
Cripes! I really want to like Chris King hubs since I had 10 years of faultless performance from my CK headset but 279g? I think my stock Cannondale Lefty front hub is 119g and the bearings just need changing now after 3 years. The colours are nice but I would guess the typical Lefty user is fairly weight conscious.

Same with the rears - I'm considering a bike that comes with a CK rear hub but it's 331g and I can swap it with a (cheaper) 240s for an easy loss of 85g
 
#11 ·
Agreed, too little, too late. If this was 2007 and the had a Lefty spec hub, then maybe. Even then, what could they have offered then that would have justified the normal CK price premium?
 
#9 ·
+1

A front hub is just an alloy cylinder with bearings... There's not much you can do to improve Cannondale's Lefty hub, the bolt-on design of the spindle and the size of the bearings mean you can't help but have a stiff front hub, unless you build it out of rubber or something or have too thin flanges. Only reason to use something else is for cosmetic reasons IMO, for those who want color there... Or to add weight weenie bling, then forget the CK boat anchor, go with Tune or Extralight as they're the only ones that managed to drop weight and not add some like everyone else.
 
#12 ·
The thing is, that CK is by far the heaviest Lefty hub you can get and you're paying more for it. One cool thing (on paper) is that the LD one is convertible to standard 15 and 20mm thru axles (probably need a wheel rebuild or at least re-dish though)... why would you want that though, is another story!
 
#13 ·
Don't underestimate this hub...

Hi all, I noticed lots of hate for the CK Lefty hubs, so I thought I'd come though to the front lines to defend it. Reason why: I'm currently building a front wheel for a Lefty conversion. I have a current set of carbon rims on standard RockShox fork and ISO standard front disc hub, converting all that over to the Lefty world.

Disclaimer: no, I'm not in any way affiliated with CK. I am an average amateur XC rider.

Yes, it is true that the CK Lefty hub is one of the more expensive options, and weighs in the vicinity of >100g more than the competition. But from a wheel building point of view, the Chris is King :thumbsup:

Take a look at the dimensions of this thing at the Wheelbuilder website here: Chris King ISO Lefty LD Hub - Wheelbuilder.com

This thing probably weighs so much because, for a lefty hub, it's huge. In fact, it has exactly the same overall total flange separation (55mm) as a standard ISO spec. disc front hub, with the flange radii only off by like ~3mm. That is what makes this CK hub unique, and the best in my opinion. In short, this hub is (from the research I did) the hub most closest to the ISO front hub standard. This means that, using this hub, you're likely to get as close as possible to the same lateral stiffness when building a custom wheelset as you would with a non-lefty standard ISO hub.

Look I get the whole 'pay to shave weight' argument out there because I'm a recently converted weight weenie myself (-1g ≤ +$1 is my formula :cool:) but seriously, since this hub will build a stiffer wheel, you can offset the weight penalty with lighter/fewer spokes if you really want. For example, you could go a P321 hub and save ~80g (and $$), but then you'll need to get more spokes, and heavier ones at that, and even then you probably won't make up the difference in the loss in rigidity. So you probably only save close to ~50g and end up with a less stiff wheel anyway. What's the point? Personally, I'd take a ISO-stiff wheel over a 50g weight saving any day.

Hope this helps anyone doing research for Lefty hubs and wheel building.

Happy grooving :)
 
#14 ·
Having spent the last 30 years building wheels, and the last 15 or so, doing it for Leftys with every imaginable hub (as well as riding more different wheels than I can recall), I'd gladly put up reward $ for someone who could pass a polygraph after riding both wheels, and tell me they actually perceived a difference.

Ditto for crank stiffness when comparing say, a BB30 to say a 24 mm XT.

What exists on paper, does not always cross over into the land of the palpable. Quite akin to someone riding two frames, one painted, one anodized, and saying they can feel the weight difference. Sure, the scale might read 20 grams less, but it's a fools errand to believe you can perceive it.

That said, enjoy your wheel, but I still think CK dropped all their balls with that hub, and they could have done such a nice job too.....
 
#15 ·
@Mendon thanks for your honest and professional input, I (and others) appreciate it.

To be fair, I got this advice (to go with the CK hubs over P321) from (probably) the most renowned wheel builder in Aus, that has also been building wheels (for everything up to racing) for over 30 years like yourself. So, I jump on the forums to get other opinions too, but I often trust his advice over my own, Google or others I don't know only because I know his work and results.

I fully agree with everything that you're saying. But I didn't come here to claim that the CK hub is better because you can definitely 'feel' the difference, I just came stating the facts that there 'is' a measureable difference.

Over at this thread
http://forums.mtbr.com/29er-bikes/ugly-truth-about-hub-width-wheel-stiffness-190125.html
@El Caballo does some interesting analysis on how flange dimensions affect both lateral and radial stiffness.

Using his figures, and the sinx=x approximation for small angles x between the spoke and rim, I think I can say that the difference in lateral stiffness in a CK vs a P321 Lefty hub should be around 14% stiffer for the CK. This is due to both the increased overall flange diameter and separation.

Okay, so perhaps the physics and maths isn't 100% precise as there are some assumptions and approximations made, so, maybe the difference is only 10% say?

The fact is, the 10% stiffness is real. Whether a human can perceive it or not is a qualitative argument, and since money, mass, stiffness etc. are quantitative things that's what I'm focussed on, as a personal preference. Because ultimately, that 10% stiffness isn't going to just vanish into thin air, just because I imagine it not to be there or don't feel it, surely?

For what it's worth, I ride my bike on the road 90% of the time due to frequent commuting (didn't want to buy two bikes, my preference), and I carry my bike up several flights of stairs frequently. I also constantly rely on the weight of the bike for getting it off the ground when going over obstacles, both on and off road, and recently I personally feel that the money invested in shaving 5% of the bikes mass has made a noticeable difference. So although I cannot confirm using a polygraph, I suspect that if I can physically appreciate a 5% bike mass drop, I may probably appreciate a >~10% increase in front wheel lateral stiffness. For me, the extra 10% stiffness is totally worth a $130 and 80g penalty. Personal choice. Honestly I totally agree with you: most people wont notice at all, however that doesn't mean the science isn't real and measureable.

Finally, I want to propose a counter argument to the 20g paint situation. Agreed, no-one will notice the difference for this one thing. But, apply this weight loss 50 times over the entirety of a bike's components (possible, I've done it), then you've lost 1kg, or close to 10% of the bike's mass. The same argument goes for stiffness. Maybe you'll get 10% stiffer in just one aspect of the front wheel, but if you accumulate stiffening measures across say a total of 10 aspects of the wheel (totally possible), then maybe you'll end up with a 100% stiffer wheel, wouldn't that be awesome?

Ultimately, the individual piece of the optimisation (in this instance, the CK hub), whilst individually hardly discernible, is just one piece of the puzzle that can ultimately lead to something very significant. And that's the reason I chose the CK hub.

Just my 2c (albeit with less worth being Aussie haha)! But hey let me know what you think, and thanks for the argument/discussion on the topic.

Happy grooving :)
 
#17 ·
Used, they no longer offer "standard" style anymore.

Or, Project 321, they have basic, and fancy versions. The basic, fills the void left by Cannondales dropping the older type.

Avoid the cheapo Circus Monkey ones on eBay, utter garbage.

DT Swiss makes one, pretty sure Industry 9 makes a J bend version, etc.

Woodman has had them in the past, pretty sure they still do too.
 
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