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Wheels and Tyres

DT EX471 on CHRIS KING – CUSTOM DH WHEELSET

Dirt may have been going for 20 years, but Portland based Chris King can double that at 40. King started with a headset back in the 1970s but it’s his super-fast hubs that we keep going back to, time and time again.

They are a truly special piece of engineering, fully re-buildable and designed for serious action. When it comes to a custom DH wheel build, a pair of Chris King hubs makes a great starting place.

We’ve had a good few rims built on King hubs. Aluminium from Pacenti, Zelvy carbons – they’ve both hit the spot on trail and enduro bike builds. Here though, we’ve laced a favourite downhill rim, the Swiss DT EX471, onto hubs with suitable axle sizes for some serious gravity wheels.

So what makes these King hubs, the heart of the wheels so special? And why so expensive?

Wheels are an important part of the bike, and having a hand built, serviceable and upgradeable package means they should be with you season after season. That’s the message here with Chris King; these aren’t just high performance hubs, they’re built to last.

The King ISO DH rear hub has delivered multiple world champions and for good reason. With an extra-wide hub shell for increased wheel strength, their patented RingDrive system, and legendary made-in-house bearings, this fully serviceable, high performance rear hub is designed specifically for high-speed long travel mountain biking and is machined exclusively in the Portland factory. A five year warranty is standard.

With such a beautifully made and engineered hub you need a rim with a suitably serious pedigree and the EX471 from DT is a great match. DT suggest this rim covers riding styles from trail riding to harder hitting enduro use, but we’ve found that with the tough, resilient and stiff aluminium structure it can be reliably pushed into DH territory. In fact this DT rim is very popular choice on the pro level downhill bikes – and for good reason.

Take 32 quality spokes, these exquisite hubs and a pair of proven rims and a mechanic can turn these components into a truly amazing set of wheels. Sure the hubs alone are expensive, but in an age where the best carbon rims are nudging £1000 each then this complete package is a really sound long-term investment.

PRICE: Custom

chrisking.com

saddleback.co.uk

dtswiss.com

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