A couple of weeks ago, Chris King announced its new partnership with Reserve and the introduction of three new carbon fiber wheelsets. The brand will be offering road, gravel, and mountain bike wheels, all of which will be built in-house in the Chris King factory in Portland, OR.
Until earlier this year, Chris King was one of several brands using CSS Composites’ Fusion Fiber rims for its complete carbon wheels. That partnership came to an abrupt end a couple of months ago with the sudden closure of CSS Composites. Fortunately, the folks at Chris King were able to partner with NOBL Wheels to keep their lifetime warranties intact. The closure of CSS also meant that the brand was in need of a new carbon rim supplier.
Of course, Chris King already sells several different pre-built road and gravel wheels with its hubs and ENVE and HED rims. Now we can add Reserve to that list. According to Chris King, this new partnership is building on Jackson Goldstone’s success this year while riding King hubs and Reserve rims. “We’ve worked successfully with Reserve for a long time on the race and sponsorship side of things,” explained King’s President and GM Kirby Bedsaul, “So expanding that, and bringing these world-class wheels to the everyday riders just made a lot of sense.”
“Riders want performance from their wheel upgrades,” Bedsaul continued. “The track record we’ve been able to establish with Reserve should demonstrate that we know how to make a fast set of wheels. When you couple that pedigree for speed with the values we’ve brought to the game for the last fifty years, durability, serviceability, and responsible manufacturing, we expect riders to want in, to invest in their bikes and their riding by adding a superior set of wheels.”
The new Chris King/Reserve wheels will be built around King’s legendary precision-machined R45D (road and gravel) and Mountain Boost hubs. These are being paired with Reserve’s 42|49TA road rims, 40|44 gravel rims, or 30HD mountain bike rims, respectively. Each set is built to order by the experts in King’s wheel-building department and backed with a lifetime warranty on the hubs and rims, along with a 5-year crash replacement policy.
Chris King x Reserve Wheels: Pricing, Options, and Availability
The road and gravel wheels both retail for $2,299. They come with R45D hubs with a centerlock brake rotor interface and the option to choose between HG, XDR, and Microspline freehub bodies. The hubs are available in Chris King’s usual range of colors, with ten options to choose from. Customers also have the option to upgrade from the stock stainless steel bearings to ceramic for a $110 upcharge.
The mountain wheels retail for $2,199 and feature Reserve’s burly 30|HD rims. They use King’s Mountain hubs and are offered in 29”, MX, and 27.5” setups, as well as standard Boost and Super Boost spacing. They offer hubs with both 6-bolt and centerlock brake rotor interfaces, the option between HG, XD, and Microspline freehub bodies, and a whopping 10 colors to choose from. Like the road and gravel wheels, customers can upgrade to ceramic bearings for $110.
The new Chris King x Reserve wheels are available now and just started shipping today. Head to the Chris King website to learn more or order a set for yourself.