Chris King R45 Disc Road Rear Hubs

Cyclists have long gravitated toward Chris King components for a variety of reasons, one of which is that everything it produces is still manufactured in the USA, using only the best parts available. And when you combine that with the notorious reliability and serviceability that comes with all of King's products, it's not hard to see why this tradition lives on. These same qualities are found in King's new R45 Disc Road Rear Hubs, which were built to handle the rigors of road and cyclocross racing, where durability and smooth rolling reliability is a must. The R45 Disc Road Rear Hubs spawned from the original, tried and proven R45s, with the addition of machined 6 bolt disc mount and taller flanges. Similar to the R45s, the new disc version of the hub relies on the renowned internals that have made the originals so popular among both recreational and competitive cyclists the world over. The R45 hub is powered by King's patented RingDrive system, which provides instant engagement when power is put into the pedals. This particular hub gets its name from the 45 tooth stainless steel RingDrive system, which, while down from the 72 tooth mountain bike version, still provides exceptionally fast engagement. Compared to a standard 24 tooth pawl type system, the 45 tooth system engages twice as fast, meaning that there's just eight degrees of rotation before engagement. Rather than the traditional spring loaded pawls that engage when you pedal forward, the RingDrive mechanism relies on a pair of toothed rings that engage around the full circumference of the hub. These rings slide over one another while coasting, but a spring ensures engagement when you pressure the pedals forward. King manufactures all of its stainless steel bearings in house, with each hand checked for precision and built with a resilient sealing system. These silky bearings run smooth from the get go, and the overall hub design lends itself to easy service when the time comes. King's strong, cons...