A sad day for me today.
You've been with me since March 2010 but today 15 years later you've turned your last turn, spun your last spin, creaked your last creak.
You've been on multiple bikes and covered thousands of miles both dusty and muddy.
But today I've had to let you go to the great pile o shite in the corner of the garage.
Not good enough to use but somehow impossible to throw away.
Goodbye old friend.
RIP Chris King Bottom Bracket. 
You still look almost as good as the day you were new.
Must be able to get new bearings surely!
Aye, surely new bearings and the penny farthing can keep getting used?
It'd need sending back to the States to have new bearings fitted and that ain't going to happen.
I think 15 years is a pretty good innings so I'm happy enough I've had my moneys worth out of it.
Do these not have a lifetime warranty?
It'd need sending back to the States to have new bearings fitted and that ain't going to happen.
any particular reason not to jiffy bag it to them?
any particular reason not to jiffy bag it to them?
Tariffs init
Tariffs init
Well that but mainly I dought very much that they would consider a 15 year old BB a fair warranty claim.
I know I wouldn't.
Also the fact I don't have a receipt for it.
No option to have a go at it with drifts or blind bearing pullers and do the job yourself?
A bit pointless when they take a custom made by Chris King bearing that you can't buy.
I thought Bromley bikes still rebuilt these and the headsets.
(a) don't Chris King have a UK importer?
(b) If it's considered a warranty replacement, I'd be very surprised if tariffs were due...(but don't take my word for it)
(c) Make America Poor Again by getting them to honour the warranty and drain some money out of the country 😉
IIRC warranty is 5 years on the BB, 10 on the hubs.
I emailed Saddleback the importer a while ago about getting another one repaired.
They said it has to go back to King in the States.
The warranty stuff on the King site says the life of the bike.
Saddleback say 5 years.
Like I said 15 years on various MTB's is pretty good going and I'm happy with that
Make America Poor Again by getting them to honour the warranty and drain some money out of the country
I like your thinking. 🤣
Send it to Trump - he's clearly lost his bearings...
Could it be repurposed or upcycled to something?
Saddleback have sent me spare ball bearings in the past when I've sent them all over the garage floor and can't find them. I still have a couple in a wee plastic bag, but they are going nowhere. I would like to get new snap rings and seals for my one remaining on bike BB though. That's a 10 year old BB and still going strong.
I see the king lifetime warranty, covering parts for the lifetime of the owner, only came into play from 2019.
Saddleback the importer
Is that Vlad the Invader's more amiable brother?
I feel for you brother.
To anyone else going through difficult times, always remember the warm bosom of the forum will be there for you.
You need to drain the swamp that's built up inside over the years
I would like to get new snap rings and seals for my one remaining on bike BB though
I'll have a look later but I'm sure I have a couple of spare seals and retainer rings in a bag somewhere.
Thinking about this a little more the drive side bearing on this one still has a little life left in it and I think it was the drive side in the other one that wore out.
So I may be able to make one good one out of the two.
Failing that I'll just sell the King greasing tool as it's no longer needed.
Potential stealth ad - got some brand new Phil Wood stainless outboard BBs lurking. Not cheap,, but tariff free
Tariffs not applicable unless they fill out the customs form incorrectly, I found that out the hard way with a gravity dropper repair!
Only on ST would people think it’s reasonable to try and warranty a 15 year old BB
A Chris King...I'd be trying a 20 year old BB - they are priced to last...
It's marketed with a warranty for the lifetime of the original owner. Doesn't seem unreasonable at all to try to use it.
Only on ST would people think it’s reasonable to try and warranty a 15 year old BB
I'm in full agreement with you on that.
I kind of knew before i posted there would be at least one person with that view.
Think I paid around £100 for it new when XT BB's were about £25 and lasting me around 9 months.
Like I've said a few times I've had my moneys worth out of it.
Even quality stuff wears out eventually.
The King hubs i bought at the same time are still going strong though and I've only done a basic service on them a couple of times too.
Pre boost hubs now running home turned spacers to convert them to boost haven't even caused any problems either.
Doesn't seem unreasonable at all to try to use it.
Email King and tell them you have a 15 year old BB that's worn out and see what response you get.
It's lived it's life and now that's ended.
If they say they'll warranty it for you I'll send it to you for free and you can warranty it.😜
Do these not have a lifetime warranty?
5 years
I'm sure you could Google / Youtube how to replace the bearings w/o sending it back to Monsieur King.
Heck, even tells you on their site.
How to Service Chris King Bearings – Chris King Precision Components
It doesn't tell you how to replace them when they're worn out, just service them. 😉
They've had multiple services over the years...
Our bottom bracket and headset bearings should be serviced in place and not removed from the cups as they are a secure press fit.
I could probably press them out myself but that's a little pointless when you can't buy new replacements.
It's almost like this has already been posted slightly earlier in the thread.😂
Does this not necessitate a holiday to the good old USofA?
I had some good years out of a king bottom bracket, though the regrease process always seemed to take more time than I expected. I suspect user error to be honest. They are the best bb’s but I killed them eventutally. Now on hope for the simplicity of just fit new bearings and price.
Think I paid around £100 for it new when XT BB's were about £25 and lasting me around 9 months.
Prices currently to me look like approx 10 x XT BBs to 1 Chris King!
That's why it's been replaced with a lowly XT.
TBF the new XT seems to last pretty well now.
Obvs not 15 years well but well enough.
It's almost like this has already been posted slightly earlier in the thread
You're new here, right? 😉
