CK R45 hub engagement problems?

[jwb96]

I'm new to CK hubs and a quick Google search didn't turn up anything. But my fairly new (<2000 miles) R45 hub decided to freewheel on me yesterday. It started off very subtle, so much so that I thought it was a rear derailleur adjustment issue. Every time I started pedaling after coasting, there was a little hitch. Then after 20 miles I had to do a few complete rotations to get it to engage. If I kept pressure on the pedals it was fine but once I lost engagement . . . Not fun. Putting it in a stand where there's no resistance, you can just spin the cranks with no movement at the hubs.

Anyone have suggestions on where to start? I've downloaded the manuals but haven't dug into them too far yet.

Thanks,
Jim

[verticaldoug]

Welcome to the club. It is a re-occurring problem for me. I bought my hubs in April last year and had the free wheel problem on 3 occasions. I'd just call CK and speak to them direct. They will tell you it is contaminated and to clean it and then service it more regularly. I can't make 3000 miles the hub before it free wheels. The funny thing is the hub has been sent back to CK twice for servicing and the problem still re-occurs. If you ride on dirt roads when it rains, you can just kiss your hub goodbye. I blew mine up on the Rapha Ride in New Hampshire this June.

I find these way less reliable than zipp, fulcrum and shimano. I am really disappointed.

[cfox]

King hubs are re-invented mouse traps, except the new, more complex mouse trap doesn't work as well the old one. Have you re-set the pre-load the requisite 5 or 6 times in the first few hundred miles? Also, check the lock ring on your cassette; I'll bet it is loose. By loose, I mean it has backed off from the 40nm torque spec. When the bearing seals "break in" and compact or whatever it is they do, you need to tighten everything back up again. I love their headsets and wanted to love their hubs, but I was left wondering why I had to fiddle with the stupid things all the time when I'd never once had to touch my Shimano or Campy hubs...

[Lionel]

wow, surprising to hear...

[J.Greene]

I had it happen to me on a cc tour last year. It's contamination and it's easy to fix, I do have the service tools though. I don't understand why some get like that and some don't. I've had a set on my mtb for ten years and they've never had the problem and then another set do it after a few thousand miles of dry riding. Once you've done it once the fix only takes a few minutes. There are several YouTube ideas that explain the process.

[Liv2RideHard]

I echo Jonathan's comments. I run King on my mtb's and have been for years in some pretty gnarly conditions. Never a problem. Not one knock on wood.

[jwb96]

Welcome to the club. It is a re-occurring problem for me.

There's a club?!?! This is the first I've heard of it. I didn't find any negative feedback on CK when I was doing my hub selection. I had heard the "mousetrap" comparison, but only as an opinion of the approach and not an actual negative in the real world.

Anyone had luck dealing with CK directly?

[jwb96]

I echo Jonathan's comments. I run King on my mtb's and have been for years in some pretty gnarly conditions. Never a problem. Not one knock on wood.

That's the thing - these hubs have never seen water and the worst was about 2 miles of dirt roads. Is the 45 really that much of a downgrade to the Classic?

[FlashUNC]

As a recent adoptee of some R45 Campy hubs, I'm surprised to hear this as well. Have a couple hundred miles on them so far, and other than some minor tightening of the hubs as they've broken in, I haven't had any issues yet.

Though I'm going to keep a more wary eye out now...