Wheels with Chris King hubs are the non-plus-ultra for many mountain bikers. When it comes to wheels, hardly any other name is as synonymous with quality and bike culture as Chris King. Now the Americans are launching another product on the market that inevitably activates the "want-to-have" reflex. On the brand new MTN30 AL wheelset, Chris King combines its cult hubs with its own aluminium rim. The latter is produced in the USA, just like the hubs, and therefore fits perfectly to the sustainability principles of the brand.
First aluminium wheelset from Chris King
Complete wheelsets from Chris King are nothing new, but until now the company has relied exclusively on carbon fibre rims. The MTN30 AL are the first complete wheels from Chris King with aluminium rims. They are produced in the USA and precisely assembled in their own country. A particularly pronounced rim flange is intended to provide the rim and tyre system with improved puncture protection. Thanks to an inner width of 30 millimetres, all modern tyres should fit easily on the new aluminium rims. The wheel experts promise a rim weight of 595 grams in the 29 inch size and 565 grams in the 27.5 inch size. A set of the new MTN30 AL weighs upwards of 2080 grams. The wheels are assembled in-house at Chris King in Oregon with 32 Sapim Race spokes.
Naturally, one of the legendary Chris King hubs rotates in the centre of each of the new MTN AL30 wheels. The complete wheelset is also available in all the familiar Chris King colours. To emphasise this, the decals have been kept in matt black. The hubs are available in Boost or Superboost standard and with six-hole or centrelock brake disc mounts from official Chris King dealers. The wheel size options are 29 Zoo, 27.5 inch or Mullet. While the hubs come with the familiar lifetime warranty, Chris King only offers a two-year warranty on its new aluminium rims but a lifetime crash replacement. The price for so much luxury: 1250 US dollars per set.
"We were so happy with our MTN30 carbon wheels that we tried to transfer as many of these design elements as possible to the aluminium version. They respond very quickly and give the rider the right amount of trail feedback. When developing the new Chris King MTN30 AL, we talked to dealers and riders about what they want from an aluminium mountain bike wheel. We realised that ride quality and durability are the most important features. We know how to make durable bike products, so this didn't seem to be a problem. However, it took numerous off-road comparison tests and impact tests in the lab to develop a bike that both met our durability standards and delivered the premium ride quality we wanted." - Greg Hudson, Chris King Wheel Product Manager
Details of the Chris King MTN30 AL wheelset
- Application: Trail / All Mountain
- Wheel size: 29" / 27.5" / Mullet
- Price: 1250 USD
- Rim material: Aluminium
- Inside width: 30 mm
- Spokes: Sapim Race
- Number of spokes: 32
- Axle standard: Boost / Superboost
- Brake disc mount: 6-hole / centre lock
- Rim weight: 595 g (29") / 565 g (27.5")
- Wheelset weight: from 2080 g
- Warranty: lifetime (hub) / 2 years (rim, incl. lifetime crash replacement)
- Special features: Made in USA
Jan Timmermann
Editor
