It has been about 30 years since the first Chris King hub was introduced, and now, the CHRIS KING WHEEL has arrived. Following our previous post, let’s learn a little more about these wheels created by Chris King, a company that shows compassion for every person, item, and entity they engage with.

What Chris King considers truly good

Chris King has always been serious about making products that last a lifetime. They know that disposable products risk creating a vicious cycle for all stakeholders involved.

As Doug Hatfield, a former mechanic for the Santa Cruz Syndicate team, once said, "Chris King parts are not disposable." This is a commitment to the environment, as well as to the makers and users of their products.

Since Chris King founded the company in 1976, it has been operated with two main goals:

・To produce high-quality bicycle components in an environmentally conscious way.
・To support people's lives and competitions, ensuring those parts are used for a long time instead of being thrown away.

These remain the core principles behind their product creation today. To achieve these lofty goals, they build products that are hard to break and continue to supply a wide range of small parts so that even if something does break, it can be repaired time and time again.

Recyclable rims

In creating wheels that bear their name, Chris King welcomed CSS—a company with expertise in engineering and design—as their ideal partner.

Together, they provide users with high-quality rims through an eco-friendly workflow.

What is particularly noteworthy is that the material used in the rims is 100% recyclable. You can see from their workflow that they ship all rims from their base in Gunnison, Utah, ensuring products are distributed without excessive energy consumption. These are truly environmentally conscious carbon rims from cradle to grave.

What Chris King and CSS share is a commitment to creating products that seek the highest quality while never forgetting their responsibility to the planet.

"High performance and environmental responsibility."
Seeking to sustain both of these seemingly contradictory elements at a high level, Chris King was certified as a B Corporation in 2020.

B Corporation is a certification system operated by B Lab, a non-profit organization based in Pennsylvania, USA. It is a private certification granted to companies that conduct environmentally and socially conscious business activities and meet the standards set by B Lab for accountability and transparency. The "B" stands for "Benefit," referring to the benefit provided to stakeholders such as the environment, the community, and employees.

https://sustainablejapan.jp/2015/02/09/b-corporation/13882

Looking toward the next goal

Instead of throwing away all broken parts, continue using those that are still in good condition.
This is the philosophy of Chris King.

The Chris King Wheel Dept. has traditionally built wheels using race-spec rims from other manufacturers and hubs that can be fully disassembled and repaired. While Chris King wheelsets have always come with a warranty and repair service, once a rim became unusable, it met the same end as non-combustible waste.

With these new rims from CSS, they have moved closer to their ideal by using fully recyclable materials for the part that previously ended up in the trash. Simply honoring a warranty and replacing a wheel with a brand new one may be a benefit to the user, but it is not the benefit in the broader sense that Chris King aims for.

Doing what they can for the user, for stakeholders, and for the global environment. Guided by the principles of B Corp and Chris King, they continue to experiment and iterate every day in Portland, Oregon, in an effort to bring long-term benefits to stakeholders and users by creating sustainable, robust products.

Want to learn more about Chris King?