Chris King MTB Rear Centerlock Disc Hub
The Chris King MTB hub is what people mean when they say a hub should outlast the bike. Machined and assembled in Portland, Oregon, around King's own bearings, the Chris King MTB hub uses the 72-tooth RingDrive freehub, a full-contact drive that engages every tooth at once instead of a handful of pawls. The Chris King MTB is the hub we point serious trail riders to when they ask what will still be running in ten years.
The Chris King MTB Rear Centerlock Disc Hub described here comes in Boost spacing with centerlock or 6-bolt rotor mounts, and it has the Gen 4 driver system: universal axle, solid preload spacers and a driver that pulls straight off for service or a cassette-type swap.
We only sell the Chris King MTB hub inside a wheel we build. Choose your rim, spokes and nipples in the configurator and the wheel ships from our shop in Georgia laced, tensioned and trued by hand.
Design and construction
RingDrive is the heart of it. Two helical rings with 72 teeth engage across their whole face under load, so a hard pedal stroke on a steep ledge does not hang on two pawls. Five degrees of engagement is quick enough for technical climbing and quiet enough to live with. The Chris King MTB hubshell is machined from aluminum bar and the flanges are canted toward the rim so the spoke leaves the hub in a straight line, which builds a stronger wheel with more even tension.
King's bearings are made in-house from heat-treated, surgical-grade steel, races machined in matched pairs so they wear together. They are adjustable for preload, rebuildable and, famously, get smoother as they run in. The seals are the labyrinth type that King has used for decades; they shrug off pressure washing better than most.
How it rides
Ride quality on a Chris King MTB hub is mostly about what you stop noticing. There is no freehub skip under load, no creak, no bearing play developing after a wet month. The 72-point engagement is instant enough for trials-style moves without the drag you get from ratchet hubs pushing past 100 points. The sound is the famous angry-bee buzz; run a heavier lube if you want it quieter.
Weight is competitive rather than featherlight. Chris King builds the MTB hub for longevity first, and it is happy under e-bike torque and downhill abuse.
Specifications
| Position | Rear |
|---|---|
| Axle options | Thru Axle 12x148mm Boost Rear, Thru Axle 12x157mm Super Boost Rear |
| Driver bodies | Shimano HG 8,9,10 & Dynasys MTB 11spd, Shimano Micro Spline 12spd, SRAM XD 10,11 & MTB 12spd |
| Drillings | 24h, 28h, 32h |
| Spoke head | J-bend |
| Brake | centerlock disc |
| Spoke hole diameter | 2.6 mm |
| Weight | 336g |
| Material | Aluminum |
| Finishes | 3d violet, black, black matte black punch, gold matte 50th, jade matte, mango matte, midnight matte, red, silver, turquoise matte |
This listing
This is the centerlock version: Thru Axle 12x148mm Boost, Thru Axle 12x157mm Super Boost, 24h, 28h, 32h drilling, about 336g, in 3d violet, black, black matte black punch, gold matte 50th,. Same internals and flanges as every other Chris King MTB hub; only the mount and axle differ.
This is the centerlock Chris King MTB hub: the rotor sits on a spline and a lockring holds it, which saves weight over six bolts and makes swapping rotors a one-tool job. If your rotors are 6-bolt, a centerlock adapter fits them, or choose the 6-bolt version of the same hub.
Sizes, fit and compatibility
The Chris King MTB hub, the Chris King MTB Rear Centerlock Disc Hub, is listed here in the drillings shown on this page, in Boost spacing (15x110 front, 12x148 rear). Drivers are available for Shimano HG, SRAM XD and Shimano Micro Spline. Rotor mount is centerlock or 6-bolt depending on the version you pick.
The Chris King MTB hub builds beautifully onto DT Swiss, Stan's, Race Face, WTB, Reserve, ENVE, We Are One and Nox rims. The MTB hub is J-bend only; we usually recommend double-butted spokes with brass nipples for trail wheels.
Build a wheel around it
Offered for gravel and road disc, tandem and e-bike, mountain bike and fat bike builds in our Custom Wheel Program. Start with the Chris King MTB Rear Centerlock Disc Hub and the configurator pins it for you, then checks each choice you make against it.
What Chris King says about testing
Chris King states it "has been domestically producing bicycle components of the highest quality since 1976" and is "the manufacturer, not just a design house, holistically locating all operations under one roof here in Portland, OR." Its hubs use bearings made in-house: sealed angular-contact bearings with "heat-treated, surgical grade steel races" machined simultaneously "to ensure perfectly matched inner and outer races"; Chris King states "Every single Chris King bearing is inspected and assembled by hand." A March 2024 factory visit reported the bearings are made from 440c stainless steel in more than thirty production steps. Chris King publishes no ISO 4210, salt-spray or bearing-cycle test figures.
the patented RingDrive uses heat-treated stainless-steel drive and driven rings with 72 points of simultaneous engagement (45 in R45 road hubs). Chris King states it is "capable of handling a torque load of over 800ft/lbs, three times greater than other high-end hubs we tested" and a representative said in 2024 it has "never been broken in testing"; a RingDrive service is recommended every 12 months.
Chris King's videos
From Chris King
Certifications
- Made in USA (Portland, Oregon) — Chris King states it has been domestically producing bicycle components since 1976 with all operations under one roof in Portland, OR (source)
- King Lifetime Warranty — Hubs, headsets and bottom brackets including bearings warranted for the lifetime of the original purchaser; non-transferable (source)
- B Corp certification (2020, since lapsed) — Certified B Corporation in April 2020 (first US bicycle component maker); company later withdrew from recertification (source)
Sources on Chris King's site:
Everything in this section is published by Chris King. ProWheelBuilder is the wheel builder, not the tester, and the hub reaches us as the maker ships it.
Building it at ProWheelBuilder
Chris King manufactures the MTB hub in Portland. ProWheelBuilder is an independent wheel builder in Georgia, not the manufacturer, and we build Chris King MTB wheels to the rider: measured ERD, spokes cut to length, staged tensioning with a gauge, stress relief, and final truing before it ships. We set the bearing preload with King's adjusting clamp as the last step.
The configurator recommends a spoke count from your bike type and weight, shows only parts that fit this hub's drillings, and prices the wheel live.
Centerlock or 6-bolt?
This is the centerlock version at 336g - about 30g lighter than the 6-bolt version of the same hub, which is most of the practical difference between the two listings. A splined rotor drops on and a single lockring holds it, so changing a rotor is one tool and about a minute.
6-bolt rotors will fit with a centerlock adapter, though the adapter gives back some of the 30g. If your rotors are 6-bolt and staying that way, the 6-bolt version is the simpler buy.
One thing to check before you need it: centerlock lockrings come in two styles. An internally splined lockring takes a cassette lockring tool, the same one that comes off your cassette; an externally splined one takes a bottom-bracket-style tool. Neither is exotic, but they are not interchangeable, and finding that out in a hotel room the night before a ride is a poor time.
The reason to want this interface is that the rotor locates on one splined seat rather than on six separate fasteners, so it sits concentrically every time and there is no bolt pattern to tighten unevenly or to work loose one bolt at a time. If you swap rotors often - a spare set for wet races, or pulling them off to pack the bike into a box - this is the faster hub to live with, and the 30g comes free with it.
Warranty
Chris King's warranty. Chris King warrants hubs, headsets and bottom brackets, bearings included, for the lifetime of the original purchaser on items sold new since 1 January 2019. Proof of purchase is required, and King recommends registering within 30 days.
ProWheelBuilder. Built into a wheel by us, this part is covered by our own one-year wheel warranty on top of the maker's. For a year we replace broken spokes whatever caused them, and we cover the labor on the wheel - truing, re-tensioning, a rebuild if it needs one. If a rim or hub fails and its maker covers it, we run that claim for you; if the maker says no, you get an eligible replacement rim or hub at 25% off retail. You pay the shipping each way. Wheels built from parts you send us are excluded.
Full terms are on our Policies & Warranty page.
MTB Rear Centerlock Disc Hub questions
Will my rotors fit this hub?
This is the centerlock version, so a splined centerlock rotor drops on and a lockring holds it - one tool, no six bolts to torque or lose. If your rotors are 6-bolt they will fit with a centerlock adapter, or take the 6-bolt version of the same hub, which is a separate listing.
How many points of engagement does the Chris King MTB hub have?
72, with every tooth engaging at once thanks to RingDrive. That works out to five degrees of crank rotation before the hub picks up.
Is the Chris King MTB hub e-bike rated?
Chris King MTB hubs are used on e-bikes and downhill bikes without special versions; the full-contact RingDrive and oversized bearings handle the torque. Tell us it is an e-bike build and we will spec spokes accordingly.
Can I swap between XD and Micro Spline later?
Yes. Gen 4 drivers pull off the universal axle without tools beyond a T10 Torx, and drivers are sold separately.
Why do King hubs cost what they do?
Because the bearings, RingDrive rings and hubshell are all made in-house in Portland from premium steel and aluminum, and because the company warranties the hub for life. Over a decade of riding it is usually the cheaper hub.
Which axle spacing does it fit?
Thru Axle 12x148mm Boost Rear or Thru Axle 12x157mm Super Boost Rear. Measure between the inside faces of your dropouts if you are unsure, or text us.
Does it need special spokes?
No. It takes standard J-bend spokes, which the configurator offers in every gauge and finish we stock.
Not sure? Text or leave a voicemail on 470-253-0929 or email info@prowheelbuilder.com — you will be talking to the people who build the wheels.
