Guides and Advice.

Chris King R45 Owners Guide

R45 Road Racing Hubs

Light
The R45 hubset is 20% lighter than our already light Classic hubset. We started by making both front and rear hubshells smaller and sleeker and then adding all-new 17mm axles. That's 17mm from dropout to dropout resisting deflection during cornering or when the power is full on. We designed a new driveshell to fit the new rear hub design, removing as much weight as possible from the shell and its inner components. But the highlight of the rear hub is the super quiet, fast-engaging all-new 45-tooth stainless steel RingDrive.

Fast
The R45 hubset has its own all-new stainless steel sealed bearings. As with every King bearing, these bearings are made in-house in Portland, Oregon and individually hand-checked for precision and smoothness. Our proprietary bearing design allows us to place more rolling elements per bearing meaning greater durability and precision. R45 bearings also feature lightweight, low-friction seals for fast rolling and can be easily serviced at regular intervals using only a single 2.5mm hex wrench and penknife.

In response to demand for handbuilt, low-spoke count wheels, we offer the R45 in a wider array of drillings than our Classic hubs. The R45 is also designed to be compatible with radial lacing patterns. Your favorite shop can help you determine the best spoke count and lacing pattern for your riding style.