King Hubs & 10sp Conversion Cassettes??

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by armchair_spacem
Guys,
I'm running '04 10sp Campy Chorus and want a new wheelset. I'd love to make Chris King hubs work if possible (my buddy let me ride his King-based wheels and spoiled me). I'm aware of American Classic's conversion cassette and one from Wheels Manufacturing. Anyone had experiences with King Hubs and conversion cassettes for 10sp?

Is your Chris King cassette the aluminum alloy one?
The American Classic conversion cassettes come with the larger cogs joined 2 cogs to a carrier. I noticed that the largest two tended to groove the aluminum body some. Besides chewing up the cassette body some, shifting degraded.
Chiris King offers a harder and heavier body to help mititgate this situation.
As a comparison DURA ACE has the largest 3 of 9 joined on one carrier. That little difference seemed to help but this particular hub was the one that went from DURA ACE to Campy. However, you might want to contact Chris King directly to get their answer on this.
King Cycle Group
2801 NW Nela Street
Portland, Oregon 97210
800.523.6008
Wheels Manufacturing joins their largest 3 cogs on a carrier, but they also say that it takes major modifications to make their conversion cassette to fit Chris King. I don't have any experience with their cassettes.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by daveornee
Is your Chris King cassette the aluminum alloy one?
The American Classic conversion cassettes come with the larger cogs joined 2 cogs to a carrier. I noticed that the largest two tended to groove the aluminum body some. Besides chewing up the cassette body some, shifting degraded.
Chiris King offers a harder and heavier body to help mititgate this situation.

you might want to contact Chris King directly to get their answer on this.
King Cycle Group
2801 NW Nela Street
Portland, Oregon 97210
800.523.6008

Thanks Dave, most useful. I haven't bought the Kings yet, but am considering them among a range of options. I contacted KCG who weren't terribly helpful, surprising given their reputation. A salesperson just emailed me a cut-and-paste from their website (which I had already read) of the party line on why they don't make a campag compatible freehub body. It didn't answer my question, so I've emailed them again since reading your response, refining the question. I've also emailed AC for their views on King hub compatibility and the chewing issue.

from my dealings with chris king and their reputation, if they don't come right out and give you a solution or tell you its ok, then you need to give it up. you could try different tricks, but you will probably be disappointed with the results. if they're not telling you what you want to hear or if they're hedging their answer, there must be a good reason.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by daveornee
...The American Classic conversion cassettes come with the larger cogs joined 2 cogs to a carrier. I noticed that the largest two tended to groove the aluminum body some. Besides chewing up the cassette body some, shifting degraded.
Chris King offers a harder and heavier body to help mititgate this situation...

Dave,
FYI King's reply when pressed was:

"...use a spidered cassette body.This will reduce the wear on the drive shell, as it is possible to score the aluminum. King Cycle Group does offer a stainless steel drive shell, and it will cost a bit more for this upgrade. The ss drive shell is very strong, and if you are concerned about damaging the aluminum, then this may be the appropriate option for you...We recommend a spidered cassette; normal wear and tear is not considered a manufacturing defect, therefore not covered under the warranty. The application of conversion kits are considered outside the intended use of the hubs."

which sounds perfectly reasonable, though in my view a cassette is not a conversion kit. The AC cassette looks like a spidered cassette to me.
A question for you Dave - did you find the AC cassette worked OK before the scoring occurred (or was the damage already done)?
Thanks and regards
Armchair

<SNIP>
A question for you Dave - did you find the AC cassette worked OK before the scoring occurred (or was the damage already done)?
Thanks and regards
Armchair [/B][/QUOTE]

It was a major pain to mount, find a special lock ring, and deal with clearance issues due to the addtional width of Campy spacing over Shimano spacing. I wouldn't try it again. The Stainless steel body is nice, but it isn't any wider. There were frame/chain clearance issues in the highest gear (smallest cog).
We finally changed to a Chorus hub... and it was so easy to make things work smoothly.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by daveornee
<SNIP>

It was a major pain to mount, find a special lock ring, and deal with clearance issues due to the addtional width of Campy spacing over Shimano spacing. I wouldn't try it again. The Stainless steel body is nice, but it isn't any wider. There were frame/chain clearance issues in the highest gear (smallest cog).
We finally changed to a Chorus hub... and it was so easy to make things work smoothly. [/B][/QUOTE]

Thanks again Dave. Based on your experience I'll give the Kings a miss and go with a campy hub or someone who makes a campy-style freehub (and keep a few bucks in my pocket).