Chris King Swift Road Racing Hubs

Well, I heard about these when they were debuted at Interbike this year, and seems like they should be available soonish. Some discussion on the fixed.gr/nyc boards renewed my interest and I was curious as to what the difference is between the Swift Road Racing hubs and the Classic Road or CX hubs, and after digging around on the interweb a bit I think I've got the gist.

Anyway, I've got a wheelset that I got straight from Chris King, it just so happened that they are in on the know and spec handbuilt wheelsets built to take a beating, and I was actually going to build myself the exact same wheels, believe it or not. We can get our hands on DT swiss rr1.1 double eyeletted rims laced 3x with DT swiss double butted spokes to King Classic road or CX (higher flanges) straight from King. I've been super happy with my wheels, and sadly they are awaiting my return to Vancouver where they might find themselves moving from my TCR to a... CX bike?? Hmmm...

The King Classic hubs are renowned for their 72 point of engagement (yes, 72. That's almost 3x the standard 24 tooth pawl-type freehub body in your run o the mill road hubs) and the resulting whine, as well as their super burly sealed cartridge bearings.


Ring Drive

The new Swift road hubs use a Titanium Ring Drive system which is new, and it's now 45 tooth engagement. A pair should clock in at about ~320g, which is about 50g less than a pair of Classic Roads. They're available in lower drillings, 20 to 32 hole and will pair nicely with anything from a classic semi aero rim to a deep section carbon jobby, and King says they're designed to allow for radial lacing now to boot.



via bikerumor.com

Kinda bummed that they switched to a different (see:lamer) font for the Swifts, but I guess they wanted something new. Someone convince Tony that he needs these and get them in the shop! Still no Powdercoated White or Purple options (you'll have to stick with Phil for that), but all the usual crazy King colors will be available. As usual, we can snag any of these goodies that catch you eye from a single hub or hub set to building you up the wheels of your dreams.

Meanwhile, I'm in Seoul, South Korea freezing my... well, it's really, really cold here. I'll throw some pics up when I get around to thawing my trigger finger.

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<3 Chris