Search Term – Change
If you’re hoping to get your hands on a headset, hubs, or bottom bracket in the new Chris King Colors, then check out these limited edition Brooks Cambium saddles that were anodized by Chris King to be a perfect match. In stock now at Chris King for $130.
A month after the autumnal equinox I found myself on a 15-hour drive up the backbone of California to attend the 2019 Chris King Open House. After last year’s event, I wondered if the event would be as splendid as the year prior. I must admit, I was surprised.
This year’s Chris King Open House chose 18 builders from all over the world to display their new colors for 2020: Bourbon and Violet. Thanks to ENVE, Santa Cruz Reserve, SRAM, Brooks, and Spurcycle. these bikes were built out appropriately for such a showcase. Below is a gallery of half the bunch, in alphabetical order for your enjoyment, with each builder’s description of the bikes. Make sure you comment on your favorite because there is some gold in these galleries!
This year’s Chris King Open House chose 18 builders from all over the world to display their new colors for 2020: Bourbon and Violet. Thanks to ENVE, Santa Cruz Reserve, SRAM, Brooks, and Spurcycle. these bikes were built out appropriately for such a showcase. Below is a gallery of half the bunch, in alphabetical order for your enjoyment, with each builder’s description of the bikes. Make sure you comment on your favorite because there is some gold in these galleries!
At this year’s Chris King Open House, the brand’s new limited edition colors have been announced, Bourbon and Violet. While Violet is available now, Bourbon will be a three-time, small-batch release with the first batch available for ordering on December 2nd. Bourbon will be a first-come, first served release, so contact your local Chris King dealer for ordering. Two more batches will be available in 2020, so stay tuned.
Coming from last year’s all-male panel at the Industry Summit, Chris King has swung the pendulum and filled out an all-female panel at this year’s Open House. Check out the live feed here and be sure to skip the hour-long lunch break in the middle. ;-)
Kudos to all these brands!
Last year’s Chris King Open House was a great time and this year, to coincide with their two new colors for 2020, the factory will be open to the public once again, and once again, a number of beautiful custom bikes will be on display from a whole roster of talented builders. We’ll be covering each bike in detail, as well as the weekend’s events, so please, come out and enjoy the hangs with food, beer, and Beautiful Bicycles. Head to the event’s Facebook Page to sign up so they know how many to expect and we’ll see ya there!
I have a Chris King story. Do you? Well, I have a few Chris King stories and that’s because I own more than a couple of their products. In fact, most of my bikes have their headsets and hubs. My Retrotec is what I would consider the epitome of King’s reliability. This bike was built for NAHBS with the King 40th group: Hubs, headset, and even a stem faceplate. I still ride this bike as much as I can and still haven’t had to service anything, three years later. I really need to do an update gallery to the bike!
Knowing that now, King stands behind their products with a no-questions replacement warranty really sweetens the deal. King also now offers a lifetime warranty on their carbon wheels, including the Santa Cruz Reserve and ENVE wheels.
Head over to Chris King to see their Lifetime Warranty post!
It took a long time and there’s a long story behind the reason for the abnormal wait but at NAHBS this year, Chris King released the plug-n-play XD driver for their R45 road hubs. Now, there is a compatibility window for this replacement driver, so you should check with your local bike shop to see if your hubs can take the 11-speed driver, but if you have a Centerlock hub, then you’re good to go. Head to your local shop to inquire about the upgrade so you can use SRAM’s 10-42 cassette on your all-road bike.
You’ve seen our photo documentation from the Chris King Open House and the bikes from the show, now here’s Path Less Pedaled’s recap video!
For the past few years, Chris King has opened their doors to the public as part of an entire weekend of events dubbed the Chris King Open House. This event’s intent is to be coordinated with a product launch of their new colors for the year, as well as to showcase what makes their operations tick, and to display a selection of custom bikes, built by some of their best builder customers.
the two new colors for this year: matte turqoise and matte mango.
This year, they sent out an open invite to 30 of their best builder accounts, offering up discounted pricing to them to build a bike for the show, passing on the discount to their customers. Out of those 30 builders, 17 showed up, and they were displayed alongside a Pegoretti bike, which we looked at on Friday. These bikes lined the halls of the Chris King factory, where visitors could look at their features in great detail, chat with the builders about their process, and if they were so inclined, purchase their dream bike.
I was invited up to the Open House to document these bikes for the builders and for Chris King, as well as offering up an ultimate dream bike gallery for you, the readers of this website. Please enjoy! Which bike do you like the best and why? Oh and if you’re interested in one of the bikes showcased here, be sure to reach out to the builders, who are linked in the bike descriptions below.
Finally! I finally made it to a Chris King Open House. Over the years, I’ve heard how much fun these events are. The events began on Thursday with an Industry Summit. On Friday we rode out to Chris King’s barn for lunch and Saturday, the doors at the Chris King factory opened to the public where visitors could take tours of the facilities, see the DropSet in person, check out the new limited edition colors – Matte Mango and Matte Turquoise – and ogle the bikes on display from 18 frame builders.
We’ll take a look at those tomorrow, but for now, let’s look inside the Chris King Open House!
____
Follow Chris King Precision Components on Instagram and check out more from the Open House at #ChrisKingOpenHouse.
See you at the Chris King Open House this weekend! There will be a handful of bikes on display, as well as symposiums, and all are invited. All you’ve gotta do is RSVP on the Facebook event page. See ya there!
If you have a Santa Cruz, Yeti, Alchemy or other compatible brand’s full sus MTB and want some Chris King bling on your head tube, well, the wait is over. I feel like I first heard about the PR&D behind this headset years ago, so it’s great to see it come to fruition. Check out specs below and get on the pre-order at Chris King.
I love it when two MUSA companies join forces on something simple like this. Spurcycle and Chris King teamed up to make round two of their limited edition anodized bells. In stock now at Chris King for $69. I love how sinister it looks. Almost like HAL 9000.
As the snow melts in the high desert of California, Nevada, Oregon, and the rest of the West, small towns like Bend, Oregon begins to welcome the influx of mountain bikers thirsty for a hefty serving of dirt, before the sun cooks it into dust. It just so happens that Memorial Day weekend in Bend has historically been prime for such a feast of trails.
Years back, the Chris King Gourmet Century was held in this mountain town, tapping into not only the vast amount of singletrack but also the food culture. While the Gourmet Century brought about a lot of good times, it ultimately was a lot of work, eventually causing the brand to move onto more low-key, informal gatherings. That’s where the Swarm idea came from. In short, Chris King wanted to engage with the community of Bend, one of their local dealers, Crow’s Feet Commons, and do it in a lower-stress environment. It was open to the public and best of all, free.
As the invites were posted on social media and this website, none of us knew exactly how many people would show up. Since it was Memorial Day Weekend, the town of Bend was busting at the seams already with tourists and mountain bikers seeking solace on the trails of this mountain bike mecca. Our trip to the event began in Los Angeles, where we loaded up the Cruiser with everything we’d need to camp, ride bikes, hike, and document the happenings. Two days later and we were rolling into the sleepy town of Bend, just prior to the three-day weekend and the first ever Chris King Swarm.
Over the next two weekends, we’ll be hitting two events: the Chris King Swarm in Bend and the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship’s Lost & Found. Both events have a strong community tie-in for the type of riding we pursue over here, as well as a strong support from various brands and personalities. We hit the road tomorrow and from that point forward, you can expect coverage from Central Oregon and the Lost Sierra. See you on the road and if you’re going to these events, be sure to stop and say hello!
Chris King is Swarming Bend, Oregon this weekend, with group rides and parties planned. We’ll be making the drive up, so if you’re going to be there, come say hi. Check out all the details below, from the Chris King Instagram.
