tjopper Posted October 24, 2011 Share I decided to custom build a Niner Air 9 Carbon and spend some money on the best parts available, looking for quality and durability. As for the wheel set, I sourced Chris King hubs with ZTR Arch rims and some fine double butted spokes. The wheels were built by a respectable bicycle shop owner, known for quality custom hand-built wheels. The bike was complete in December 2010. I took it for its regular checks & service, as you would when you spend 60 bar. During this year's Knysna MTB (7 months after 1st ride on new bike) I experienced the free-hub slipping (not engaging) for half a revolution on each pedal stroke. I took it back to the bike shop who referred it to the agents for Chris King (Cycles Africa). They pointed out that it was abnormal since the hub was only 7 months old. They then proceeded to service the hub and it engaged properly again for a while after the service. I had to have it serviced again in September for play on the hub. Attached are pictures that show a new hub drive shell (on the right) and the 7 month old hub drive shell on the left. The wear on the edge of the hub is clearly visible. Cycles Africa are not prepared to replace this hub even though its less than a year old. In the meantime the inconvenience of having to take the hub for regular repairs and having to pay for labor is insane! So my question is why pay R 7000 for a Chris King hub set and have to deal with this? I am sure there are thousands of happy CK hubs users out there with no issues. Hence this has to be a dud set in need of replacement! My previous MTB cheap XT hub set outlasted and outperformed the 10X more expensive set. Also the frustration of not being able to deal directly with Cycles Africa, but to be forced to speak through my LBS is ridiculous and it feels as if they are trying to pass the buck! Hence my conclusion Cycles Africa and/or Chris King do not view each individual customer as important, they rather prefer bulk sales to voiceless distributors. Edited October 24, 2011 by tjopper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmichael Posted October 24, 2011 Share No Pics attached tjopper!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gummibear Posted October 24, 2011 Share Photos seem to have gone into cyberspace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules Posted October 24, 2011 Share Can't see the pics. Agree this doesn't sound right. Why not send a mail with pics to Chris King directly? I'm a huge fan of the Chris King BBs and headsets, but I buy mine direct from Aspire Velotech in the US. I choose the most expensive postage and it comes to my door in less than a week. I get the colours I want, and the price is probably a fraction of what the local okes charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The expat cyclist Posted October 24, 2011 Share Ag no. Where dem pitjirs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerus Posted October 24, 2011 Share snip snip snip Attached are pictures that show a new hub drive shell (on the right) and the 7 month old hub drive shell on the left. The wear on the edge of the hub is clearly visible. Cycles Africa are not prepared to replace this hub even though its less than a year old. snip, snip, snip Whats the reasoning behind Cycles Africa not wanting to look at a replacement or honoring the warranty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FSA Posted October 24, 2011 Share I decided to custom build a Niner Air 9 Carbon and spend some money on the best parts available, looking for quality and durability. As for the wheel set, I sourced Chris King hubs with ZTR Arch rims and some fine double butted spokes. The wheels were built by a respectable bicycle shop owner, known for quality custom hand-built wheels. The bike was complete in December 2010. I took it for its regular checks & service, as you would when you spend 60 bar. During this year's Knysna MTB (7 months after 1st ride on new bike) I experienced the free-hub slipping (not engaging) for half a revolution on each pedal stroke. I took it back to the bike shop who referred it to the agents for Chris King (Cycles Africa). They pointed out that it was abnormal since the hub was only 7 months old. They then proceeded to service the hub and it engaged properly again for a while after the service. I had to have it serviced again in September for play on the hub. Attached are pictures that show a new hub drive shell (on the right) and the 7 month old hub drive shell on the left. The wear on the edge of the hub is clearly visible. Cycles Africa are not prepared to replace this hub even though its less than a year old. In the meantime the inconvenience of having to take the hub for regular repairs and having to pay for labor is insane! So my question is why pay R 7000 for a Chris King hub set and have to deal with this? I am sure there are thousands of happy CK hubs users out there with no issues. Hence this has to be a dud set in need of replacement! My previous MTB cheap XT hub set outlasted and outperformed the 10X more expensive set. Also the frustration of not being able to deal directly with Cycles Africa, but to be forced to speak through my LBS is ridiculous and it feels as if they are trying to pass the buck! Hence my conclusion Cycles Africa and/or Chris King do not view each individual customer as important, they rather prefer bulk sales to voiceless distributors.60 Million Rand for a bike? That's some bike (or did you mean 60 gorillas?) Also, who spends 7k on a rear hub? What's wrong with an XT hub? Had mine for years now, not even bothered to service it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjopper Posted October 24, 2011 Share pics attached - on 2nd go... 60K... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerus Posted October 24, 2011 Share 60 Million Rand for a bike? That's some bike (or did you mean 60 gorillas?) Also, who spends 7k on a rear hub? What's wrong with an XT hub? Had mine for years now, not even bothered to service it yet. For a 60 million Rand bike, 7K is peanuts for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niner Posted October 24, 2011 Share Age old problem off the customer not being able to chat to the "importer/surplier"....it would be much easier if we could chat to them directly or even better....buy from CWC then they sort you out asap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shebeen Posted October 24, 2011 Share not the greatest photos but i can see what you're referring to. The premium paid for CK is peace of mind. Ok, some of it is bling factor, but you expect the part to last till armageddon. If you fall into the infinitisimally tiny group who have experienced a CK failure then you expect a no-questions asked replacement from a visibly embarassed rep. Clearly there is probably a bunch of buck passing here, and (assuming you're telling the full story) you're gatvol. I'm not convinced that running to the social media platform and painting the name *** is the best option, but you've done it so let's see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splat Posted October 24, 2011 Share Age old problem off the customer not being able to chat to the "importer/supplier"....it would be much easier if we could chat to them directly or even better....buy from CWC then they sort you out asap And one of the reasons pushing people away from local suppliers.Why pay premium price for no back up? You may as well import it your self at a fraction of the cost and get no back up or deal with international warranty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gummibear Posted October 24, 2011 Share Do you have any idea as to what version of the hubs these are 310,311 or 312?The earlier hubs had a weak spring and the engagement problem was sorted by fitting a stronger spring through the agents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky Luke. Posted October 24, 2011 Share I have KIng road hubs on my training wheels, been hammering them merrily for four years now, must be close to about 30,000 k's now and only had to service them once. Engagement is better than any other wheel I have ridden. Just my experience.. sounds like you have some dud hubs there. As Jules says, maybe try and get in touch with Chris King directly and see if they will send you out some new ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niner Posted October 24, 2011 Share And one of the reasons pushing people away from local suppliers.Why pay premium price for no back up? You may as well import it your self at a fraction of the cost and get no back up or deal with international warrantyYIP well said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master216 Posted October 24, 2011 Share My rear CK hub has had issues as well, the freehub keeps on coming loose and i have had to replace 4 bearings in the last 6 months at a cost of R2500, so much for going for quality!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now