Anyone knowledgeable about Chris King r45 hubs?

[TronnyJenkins]

I am looking at a set of Enve G23s with Chris King r45 hubs. The only problem is, I have only ever run DT Swiss hubs so I have no clue what different versions of r45 exist and how to identify them. The reason it matters: I run XDR and these wheels have Hyperglide installed. I am aware of the full axle conversion kit, but I read r45, r45D Gen 2, and r45 center lock are all compatible with XDR but r45d gen1 is not. Whatever that means. Surely these G23s are recent enough that they are either r45 gen2 or center lock... right? The seller said the rotors attach via center lock...

[quickfeet]

The only disc r45 that are at risk of not being XDr compatible are 6 bolt in my experience. The only way to check is to call king with the serial number. If it is a centerlock it is XDr compatible with a conversion kit.

From my understanding the new gen 4 conversion kits are backwards compatible and make it so any future swaps are cheaper because it will just be a freehub.

[TronnyJenkins]

Appreciate your reply. I went ahead and bought the wheels and a conversion kit. I'm sure it will be fine.

[EB]

This is a small thing but it’s very important with these hubs. On the center-lock version, on the rear hub, you must remove the non-drive-side endcap before installing or removing the brake rotor. The rotor lockring is installed underneath the endcap on the rear hub because reasons - don’t ask me how I l learned this the hard way.

[TronnyJenkins]

Originally Posted by EB

This is a small thing but it’s very important with these hubs. On the center-lock version, on the rear hub, you must remove the non-drive-side endcap before installing or removing the brake rotor. The rotor lockring is installed underneath the endcap on the rear hub because reasons - don’t ask me how I l learned this the hard way.

Oh wow, thanks for the heads up. That is probably one thing I would have not noticed...

[EB]

Originally Posted by TronnyJenkins

Oh wow, thanks for the heads up. That is probably one thing I would have not noticed...

Forgot to add - removal of the endcap means that when you reinstall the wheel on the frame, you will need to go through the preload adjustment procedure again. Not hard, but another easy step to forget.

Chris King make nice hubs but they are much more fiddly than their competitors, IMO.

[TronnyJenkins]

Originally Posted by EB

Forgot to add - removal of the endcap means that when you reinstall the wheel on the frame, you will need to go through the preload adjustment procedure again. Not hard, but another easy step to forget.

Chris King make nice hubs but they are much more fiddly than their competitors, IMO.

Oh dang, thanks for looking out. Yeah I've been strictly DT240s for the past several years. Sounds like I will get to fiddle with these a bit. At least rotors won't have to be changed THAT often on this bike.

[iPaul]

If you purchased the newer conversion kit, I thought I read the removal of the preload cap is no longer necessary. Worth looking in to as I was tempted to upgrade with the axle kit just to gain this benefit.

[EB]

Originally Posted by iPaul

If you purchased the newer conversion kit, I thought I read the removal of the preload cap is no longer necessary. Worth looking in to as I was tempted to upgrade with the axle kit just to gain this benefit.

Huge upgrade if true! I can't tell from eyeballing the images of the gen4 conversion kit on the King website. If this was fixed, presumably it was by making the endcap narrower?

Edit: The Radavist has the skinny: https://theradavist.com/chris-king-g...-4-hub-system/

"Gen 4 R45D hubs utilize an updated adjusting clamp that allows for disc removal without the need to remove the adjusting clamp."