Why do we need a company like Chris King right now?
I feel the world around bicycles has changed dramatically over the past few years.
Prices keep climbing, parts are harder to get, and yet model cycles have become astonishingly short.
Meanwhile, the number of shops that can actually repair bikes keeps shrinking,
and places where you can sit down and have a real conversation about using something for the long haul seem to be slowly disappearing too.
On top of that, communities are fragmenting fast. There's more information than ever, but isn't it much harder than it used to be to find someone you can genuinely talk things through with?
This isn't anyone's complaint;
I think it's a pretty honest picture of what a lot of people who ride bikes today are feeling.
But that's exactly the point.
Using things for a long time, repairing them, makers taking responsibility for every step of the process.
I feel we've entered an era where those values are easier to recognize than ever before.
And in times like these, there's a company that has just reached a major milestone: its 50th anniversary.
Chris King Precision Components
No flashy expansion, no overblown PR, no sudden change of direction.
For 50 years, this manufacturer has kept facing the same questions with almost exactly the same attitude.
On a personal note, it's also one of the manufacturers I respect most.
Below is an interview I did with Chris King himself at NAHBS five years ago. Looking back, I clearly remember that he had already accurately foreseen the market we have today.
But I don't want to treat this huge, huge milestone
as just another complaint or just another anniversary.
Instead, I wanted to stop for a moment and ask the questions again.
Why has this company lasted 50 years?
And why does it matter so much in the situation we're in “right now”?
Prices have gone up. But talking only about that misses the point
I think I need to be upfront about this.
Chris King products are not cheap.
In fact, many people probably feel they've become more expensive in recent years.
But I'd like to stop and think about it for a moment.
What's actually contained in the words “it's gotten more expensive”?
Materials, energy, labor, logistics, exchange rates.
Everyone knows these costs keep rising.
And there's one more thing.
It doesn't get talked about much, but it's very real.
It's the fact that simply “making things properly” gets more expensive every year.
Chris King is not a company that outsources its design and hands manufacturing off to somewhere else.
They design it themselves, make it themselves, inspect it themselves, and take full responsibility for all of it themselves.
Their products exist with a full understanding of where the materials come from, how the processes work, and where the waste ends up.
You could never call it efficient.
But I believe it's a way of working where responsibility never gets cut off halfway.
When we talk about prices going up,
is it a case of “not trying hard enough to make it cheaper,”
or of “deliberately choosing not to try to make it look cheaper”?
I think now, more than ever, we need to tell those two apart.
Chris King is clearly a company of the second kind.
Building for repair in an age when repair culture is fading
There's one big trend in the bike industry today.
The idea that “it's quicker to replace it than to fix it” is becoming the norm.
Busy lives, limited time, increasingly complex products.
As a practical choice, there's a side of it that's understandable.
But it's also true that, along with that trend,
there are more and more products that abandoned the idea of being repaired from the very start.
You can't touch them without proprietary tools.
Their internals aren't disclosed.
Spare parts stop being available after a short time.
Chris King is clearly heading in the opposite direction.
Everything can basically be taken apart.
Even the bearings can be disassembled.
Those bearings can be replaced,
and many parts are still available years and years later.
This isn't nostalgia.
It's a clear statement of intent to design for long-term use.
The phrase “buy it for life” tends to get thrown around lightly,
but really it's a promise in which both the maker and the user take on that long timeline.
Chris King has kept that promise for 50 years.
Choosing to use things for a long time has become a counterculture
Being the latest.
Getting it fast.
The next one coming out right away.
Once upon a time, these things were called “progress.”
But what about now?
Prices are up, supply is unstable, and yet there's almost too much information.
In a situation like this, choosing to “use something for a long time”
has become a deliberate act, one that takes a little courage.
Even when Chris King products don't change much on the outside,
small improvements keep being made on the inside.
No sudden model changes.
But they're never standing still, either.
They consciously separate what should change
from what must never change.
Using something for a long time
means choosing “reliable” over “the latest.”
In this day and age, that may well have become a kind of counterculture.
What can a company do when community has worn thin?
There's another reality we can't ignore.
The communities around cycling have become harder to see than they used to be.
There are fewer events, fewer bike shops,
and chance encounters have been replaced by online ones.
We seem connected, but in reality we're isolated.
I think it's a feeling a lot of cyclists have somewhere deep down.
For me, part of what makes Chris King so interesting
is that they don't treat “community” as a marketing term.
Making commuting easier for their employees.
Building infrastructure so people can come by bike.
Supporting local activities.
Sharing their philosophy and processes openly.
None of it is flashy.
But they keep tilling the soil that lets bicycles be part of everyday life, quietly but surely. Almost like farming.
Maybe community isn't about the number or quality of events,
but about how many places are left where people who share the same values can talk.
And I believe Chris King is a truly rare example
of a company that has kept such a place alive.
What 50 years tells us
The 50th-anniversary Matte Gold is certainly a beautiful color.
But what I really want to celebrate isn't the color itself.
Over 50 years, they have
- Never been swept along by trends
- Taken responsibility for their processes
- Built for repair and long-term use
- Never cut themselves off from people, place, and culture
For that consistent attitude,
I want to express my deepest respect.
Prices go up.
Repairs get harder.
Using things for a long time becomes rare.
Communities wear thin.
In the middle of all that,
there is still a company that keeps building on the basis of its philosophy.
Doesn't that fact alone, in today's environment,
mean a great deal to us as cyclists?
I don't think the 50th anniversary is a finish line for them.
It's a statement that they've stuck with this philosophy all this way.
If this attitude resonates with you.
If you'd like to think of bicycles not as “consumption” but as “culture.”
Then I think it's well worth taking a fresh look at a company called Chris King.
What to choose from Chris King right now
As you've read so far,
Chris King's value isn't just in product specs,
but in their philosophy, their attitude, and the very way their products are meant to be used for the long haul.
That's why, when choosing a product,
I recommend thinking about it in terms of experience: “what will change the most?”
Hubs
The bike part you'll feel the biggest difference from.
Acceleration, ratchet sound, engagement response, durability.
The distinctive feel of the RingDrive™ system settles in and matures the more you use it.
*All 50th-anniversary hubs feature a “50th Bee” laser engraving.
Headsets
You could call this the product where Chris King began.
The smooth, satisfying feel, the precision, and the durability really pay off the longer you ride. My first King just turned 30.
Available in NoThreadSet / InSet / DropSet and other standards. Models we haven't stocked this time can be ordered in.
Bottom Brackets
The unsung hero that lifts the quietness and smoothness of your drivetrain. It changes how the whole drivetrain feels. The fact that they put a warranty on bottom brackets, a part people often worry about wearing out, shows just how confident they are.
Wheels
The complete package that lets you feel the performance of Chris King hubs as-is.
For anyone who values reliability, it's a very straightforward choice.
It's also the part that makes the difference in performance easiest to understand.
Accessories & Gear
Stem caps, seat clamps, espresso tampers and more.
A range of products for keeping their philosophy “close at hand.”
About the Matte Gold 50th-anniversary models
Matte Gold is a special color that will be produced throughout the 2026 season and then discontinued.
It's available across the entire lineup, but it isn't “a color you can pick anytime.”
It's a commemorative product that appears only for this 50-year milestone.
- All Matte Gold hubs carry the 50th-anniversary Bee logo engraving
- Stem caps and espresso tampers also get an anniversary engraving
- Threaded headsets and rim-brake hubs are not included
- Priced the same as the standard models (no upcharge)
Choosing a product means choosing a timeline
Choosing a Chris King product
isn't just picking a part.
To put it a little grandly,
I think it's choosing the pace of time over which you'll live with your bike.
Using it for a long time, repairing it, sticking with it.
Chris King makes products built on that premise.
The price may not be cheap.
But its value doesn't end with a number.
Chris King products are there as a choice that will keep being your riding partner for many years to come.
I'd be happy if people came to understand that properly.
Helping people truly understand that Chris King products exist as an asset for keeping the fun going for a long time is my role, and my greatest wish.
These are fairly old articles, but I feel they haven't finished doing their job yet, so I'll leave them here.
I'd be glad if you gave them a read.
