# Chris King or HED Hubs



## bolt30 (Sep 4, 2006)

I'm looking to have a new wheelset built and had been planning on using Chris King hubs. Then I did some research on HED's Sonic hubs and I have seen nothing but stellar reviews. Does anyone have experience with both for a good comparison/recommendation? Thanks in advance.


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## rmsmith (Feb 15, 2007)

Chris King hubs are without equal, but they are expensive, and the rear hub's noise bothers some folks. +1 for Chris King, IMHO.


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## rdolson (Sep 2, 2003)

I have used the CK hubs in a MTB set of wheels and can only say that they are incredible in that application. Not had a chance to try the HED. My road bikes have either Mavic, Record, or DA hubs.

I think that the CK's will rival the Record hubs in longevity, HOWEVER, they take forever to break in with TONS of seal drag when new. They will require an expensive tool for maintenance/bearing replacement. You will NEVER sneak up on anybody but a deaf person with the "Angry Bee Sound" of the freehub design. 

The main benefit of the freehub design is lost in a road bike environment. The fast engagement that is so hugely beneficial in mountain bikes, especially in technical terrain, is sort of lost in the realitively constant spinning world of the road bike.

Plus, CK's are only Shimano compatable, so forget them if you want to run Campy without a kluge like solution.

That being said, I LOVE my CK hubs on my custom MTB wheels. I got them in RED for that added bit of bling.


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## unit (Jun 11, 2008)

bolt30 said:


> Then I did some research on HED's Sonic hubs and I have seen nothing but stellar reviews.


Where did you read these reviews? Hed has his name on some good stuff, but I am not familiar with his hubs. 

The ONLY thing I do not like about CK is the non-compatibility with Campy. I would have them on all my bikes if they worked with Campy cassettes.


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## cdhbrad (Feb 18, 2003)

I've had wheelsets with both and IF those were my only two choices, I'd pick the Chris Kings. The drawback to the CKs is the limited choice in drillings, but if you want a wheelset with relatively high spoke counts, they are hard to beat. Some don't like the buzz of the rear hub, but I thought is sounded fine and, living in a flat area where we pedal almost constantly, it wasn't much of an issue. If I had long descents with a lot of coasting, might be a different story.


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## bolt30 (Sep 4, 2006)

unit said:


> Where did you read these reviews? Hed has his name on some good stuff, but I am not familiar with his hubs.
> 
> The ONLY thing I do not like about CK is the non-compatibility with Campy. I would have them on all my bikes if they worked with Campy cassettes.


*This is a quote from an article in cyclingnews reviewing the HED Ardennes wheel*: "The Ardennes' performance advantages aren't solely limited to the C2 rim though. According to Dino Edin of HED, the company really tightened up the tolerances on the bearing bores in the hubs and the axle diameters in an attempt to optimize the bearing loading. The result is some of the smoothest rolling wheels we have ever observed, ceramic or otherwise (free-spinning time on a repair stand was measured in minutes, not seconds). HED does offer a ceramic bearing upgrade but the stock stainless steel bearings in the Sonic hubs are so amazingly good that we truly wonder if it would make any perceptible difference in the real world."


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## Rubber Lizard (May 10, 2007)

I don't think you'll be able to get HED hubs without buying a HED wheelset. 

Kings are great hubs, but as others have said they have a lot of drag. Not something that a lot of roadies really want. They also require a fair bit of maintenance. 

Why not a Dura-Ace or Record hub?They roll smoother than just about anything, last forever, competitive weight, low price, easily serviceable. 
If you really want something super special get a set of Extralight hubs. Quite possibly the best hub that's not a King or Dura-Ace. They'll cost a fortune though.


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## ergott (Feb 26, 2006)

I've seen HED hubs and I'm not impressed. The flanges are pretty close together which decreases lateral stiffness with no gains.

I have ridden almost every hub out there. I currently have 2 sets of CK hubs. They are excellent. The drag that is spoken of is not felt out on the road, it's felt when you try to spin them with your fingers. That drag is the bearing seals and that's a good thing (more on that later). The extra couple of watts the might cost is given back with real nice, high quality bearings.

The hubs are not high maintenance. I haven't done anything to my sets and they roll better than the day I got them.

I one set on an otherwise all Campy drivetrain. Here's how. I use 0.3mm spacers (6 in total) in between all available cogsets and individual cogs and another behind the cassette (I'm using a 7800 12-25). This bumps the spacing out so the overall spacing is the same as Campy. There is no noticeable difference between the shifting on that wheel and the Campy Tune hub I regularly swap into that bike.

Hope that helps.

-Eric


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## nor_cal_rider (Dec 18, 2006)

+1 for the high end Bontrager stuff....I tried a set of XXX Lites last weekend and they were SWEET. Add in the 5 yr warranty and it moves them up on my list of wants. The only issue I have w/Bontrager is the RL's I have now seem to have a bit of drag in the hubs. I just can't get the same type of downhill speed as some other people I ride with.


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## ClassicSteel71 (Mar 5, 2009)

rmsmith said:


> *Chris King hubs are without equal*, but they are expensive, and the rear hub's noise bothers some folks. +1 for Chris King, IMHO.



That's cute. Wrong, but cute.


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## kupe (Sep 20, 2005)

I wouldn't say CK's are incompatible w/ Campy. I run the American Classic conversion cassette and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. Shifting is spot on.


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## Zen Cyclery (Mar 10, 2009)

Get some WI hubs they are lighter, cheaper, same quality, and come in Campy.


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## Lookbiker (Sep 2, 2006)

I have HED hubs on my Ardennes. Nice but nothing stellar. Several friends love their WI hubs (and paid less than I did for my wheels).


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