Downieville, CA – 7/13/08
Fresh from our man in Downieville, we have these photos of the prototype bottom bracket and 135 10mm and 12mm thru axle hubs.
The Axles are in the “testing” phase which means that they will be made in the future.
And a prototype 15mmQR front hub! Also in the Testing Phase.
The BB is in the “investigation” phase meaning they are still considering it’s validity in the market.
source and photos: Forrest Arakawa
Gregg Kato studied journalism and broadcasting in college while working many different jobs including deejaying, driving a forklift and building web sites (not all at the same time). Kato has been the Site Manager of Mtbr.com for over 12 years and enjoys riding local Santa Cruz trails. Besides being an avid mountain biker, he is also a motorcycle fanatic. Two wheels, one Passion.
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I hope they are making a conversion kits to change the CK QR hubs (135mm rear) to 10mm TA which is pretty much like the “Fun Bolts” Also it would be nice to see the (100mm front) be able to convert to a 9mm for current forks or the new 15mmTA. It does seem like the Eco-Friendly thing to do.
Couldn’t agree more. The ability to convert a rear hub, and to convert front hubs would be great. If not converting a 9mm hub, it would be nice to downsize a 20mm thru axle to the 15mm so if you change forks it’s just an axle swap.
The loooooooooooooooooooooong awaited bottom bracket project appears to be near resuscitation.
werent they considerin the validity of a b/bkt in the mid ’90′s? let me reassure them theyre valid. damn near everyone is usein 1 these days save for the kids on striders.
CC said “werent they considerin the validity of a b/bkt in the mid ’90’s?”
They were, but that was an ISIS BB that they were considerin’.
Hopefully they skip the X-Type BB and develop a sweet CK BB30 bearing set. Lighter, stiffer, more reliable, lower q-factor… seems like the future to me – even if it’s a sort of retro-style install (pressing bearings into a shell like my old steel BMX BB cups!).
glen
Looks shweeeeet dood!
moff, ya missed the joke man.
whoosh!!!! LOL
I want the BB!
Oh my god oh my god!!! I need that bottom bracket!!! I love my king rear hub sooo much!!!
Note To Chris King the man — the external BB IS VALID, bro! I’m already drooling over the thought.
BB is totally valid. I have the Hope ceramic BB on two bikes. Had CK been making even a SS bearing BB when I pulled the trigger, I would have probably gone with a CK.
I also had to go with a Hope front hub to allow me to interchange between a QR and 20mm.
Hopefully, CK will see the light on both products. I know I would have bought a CK front hub for my last front wheel build if it was interchangeable axle wise. (have 2 rear wheels with CK, 1 front and love em)
I got to race the first BB out of the king factory, its just like you would expect, light, smooth, and sexy. I ran it with some proto type Shimano slx cranks, they also work with my XTRs. The bearings are fully serviceable like the headsets. Look for them soon.
Guys there nothing to think about: the bottom bracket is sooooooo valid! look how huge of a success the hope bbs are… I’d buy one for all of my 3 bikes when they come out!
Plllleeeeaaaasssse make this dream come true