You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Usually the argument for buying something as high end as a Chris King component goes something like ‘it’ll last much longer than anything else’ - but ...
By stwhannah
Get the full story here:
https://singletrackmag.com/2023/07/chris-king-coffee-tampers-love-it-or-hate-it/
I both hate and lust after Chris King stuff at the same time. I very nearly bought a headset for my last build and it sat on the build spreadsheet (that's not weird, right? We all have one of those don't we?) like a £200.00 malevolent toad taking up waaay too much of my time and effort. Eventually in a fit of pique at myself I just went ahead and ordered it, and it was out of stock. I've never been so relived.
Weird, I know but there you go.
I think they are well over priced and whilst I’m sure it’s a nice tamper it’s not the size most people go for when buying them!
I am a coffee snob though, slightly disappointed their chief caffeine officer do not know all the cool kids have 58.5mm diameter tampers for better edges/reducing channeling.
Admittedly this did make me giggle and thing of the varying bike headset/bb/hub standard wars… 🤔
They really let the marketing w@nketeer go freestyle with this one!
Buy one if you can afford it. Life is too short.
the build spreadsheet (that’s not weird, right?
No, I had one 🙂
Or wait, maybe it is and I'm just weird too...
Anodized Red looking 👌
If I could insert a Venn diagram with Bike ****er in one set, Coffee ****er in the other, and Chris King Coffee Tampers at the intersect, I would
I tried one but it didn't work with my Nespresso pods, so had to return it.
perfect thing to go with the CK salt and pepper shakers.
Nah, but I'd buy a purple anodised Hope teaspoon for my Nescafé …
I’d buy a purple anodised Hope teaspoon for my Nescafé …
I was just gonna say, no interest whatsoever in this ****ery. But maybe if Hope made a teapot...
But maybe if Hope made a teapot…
Something something Orange something something biscuit tin.
Had one and it never stayed right, was constantly working loose. Several shops couldn't work out the issue and it got replaced with a Hope headset which was truly fit and forget for 3 years (although it was checked every 9 months to see if the bearings needed replacing and they didn't).
Chris King stuff seems to be massively overpriced in my opinion, based on my own experience of a single headset. Their rear hubs sounds very nice if you like that high pitched buzz, but I'm not sure the price is justified.
JAY SYCIP
is that Jay Sycip of sycip bikes?
if Hope made a teapot
I WANT A HOPE TEAPOT NOW! (a proper one for loose leaves obvs)
I lusted after a Chris King tamper for a while. Couldn’t justify the price, so had a go at making my own.
Campagnolo rear hub, a lump of stainless steel, headset top cap, and some sketchy lathe work =
The base is way over sized, but the lathe was walking across the workshop, so I called it a day before I buggered it up.
Confirms why they're known as Chris-wan-King
I would but I aeropress at home... so please can I have either...
A. An aeropress stirrer made from leftover bits of aluminium at $200
B. A titanium aeropress with a ti mesh filter, and you may as well package it in a carbon fibre box, padded out with the finest virgin golden goose feathers and charge me $1,899
I have no idea about coffee but I do know about beer and the Wolf Tooth bottle opener the best one I've used.
I may also have a campag corkscrew but we won't talk about that
Singletrack should do one and charge a sensible price. They'd fly off the shelves! Charge too much though and they will be Thread of The Week prizes until the box is empty.
This is showcased in passion projects like the highly sought-after King espresso drinkware sets and the revered King espresso tamper. The tamper, known for its comfort, balance, and weight, has gained a reputation among professional baristas
I have read these words and now I feel....
X - someone needs a damn good slapping for writing that
Charge too much though and they will be Thread of The Week prizes until the box is empty.
... and you'll have half a dozen in your kitchen cupboard. 😁
August cycles will turn Hub's into tampers, recycling at its best!
https://www.augustbicycles.cc/product-page/commission-a-custom-coffe-tamper
A few years ago Chris King the man himself attended Bespoked in Bristol. That weekend he wandered into my friend's coffee shop (Full Court Press), knocked back a coffee and bestowed him with one of these tampers as a gift. It's still there proudly displayed on a shelf, possibly unused for the reasons above!
The build your own forum response polls are genius, made me laugh 🙂 well done.
Oh, and I have broken a coffee tamper. The plastic one that came with my Gaggia, after a decade or so of daily use.
@petefromearth how did he know it was Chris King? Did he introduce himself?
Probably came in with a breifcase full of coffee tampers to sell!
See, I don't mind bike parts being turned into "Objets" I think @bigblackshed tamper is really cool. I'm just not sure that turning them out commercially isn't just, well, a wee bit cynical.
"We know our fans will just buy one of these "because". So lets make 'em"
Yes I think he introduced himself. I remember him being at the bike show, I wouldn't have known it was him if it wasn't for the crowd of bearded groupies whispering his name and fawning over him!
I think a few tampers might have been given away as prizes maybe
Probably came in with a breifcase full of coffee tampers to sell!
You know the scene at the end of Pulp Fiction?
As my many builds over the years will attest to, I’m a big Chris King fan. This extends to kitchen equipment:
Peak STW:
All of mine were bought from eBay. I’m still a Northerner. 🙂
You have TWO tampers Daffy?
Peak STW indeed
I couldn't resist the purple one when it came up on ebay. £45!
Love it? Nope. Hate it? Nope. There's like a shield in my brain where I try to have an opinion about stuff like this and it just gets deflected.
Right up there with penny farthing pizza cutters. 🤣
No ta.
I think repurposing say old hubs and 1” head sets is a a great idea. Not so interested in new out of the gate
Be a nice little earner for someone with a lathe. Either making whole items from interesting hubs or seeking the tamping head so people can make their own.
I *heart* relapsed_mandalorian
Probably made using the seconds that don’t pass QC
What is a coffee tamper?
It's a hipster paperweight.
I wouldn't personally buy one as I've no need for it. Even if I wanted one I wouldn't be prepared to spend that much.
For those that are interested in the bike themed tamper but can't stretch to Chris King money were you aware that Superstar Components make and sell their own version? All UK made.
https://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/coffee-tamper-headset-style.htm
https://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/coffee-tamper-hub-style.htm
When only the best will do:
Handmade Royce Hubshell Coffee Tamper | August Bicycles
Tune appear to make one as well.
Had one and it never stayed right, was constantly working loose. Several shops couldn’t work out the issue and it got replaced
The original CK headsets used an o-ring to centre the top bearing collar onto the steerer tube it was a shit brilliant idea and far superior to any other headset design.
......until the Cane creek patent on having a split top bearing collar expired then CK dumped the o-ring collar and went with the previously inferior split design. The CK headset then worked correctly.
I have an Espro tamper. It's like a torque wrench for coffee!
It’s like a torque wrench for coffee!
Used twice for novelty then cast aside because "effort"
Effort!?
Makes no odds that the CK headset design has been improved, the one I had (this is going back to 2001/2) was utter bobbins and convinced me that it is overpriced junk as I was able to get the same result with a £15 alternative.
Makes no odds that the CK headset design has been improved, the one I had (this is going back to 2001/2) was utter bobbins and convinced me that it is overpriced junk as I was able to get the same result with a £15 alternative.
that would have been the o-ring design headset. You could buy the split collar as an 'upgrade'.
The bearings were good though and the CK 'steelset' saved a frame with a flared headtube thanks to the really deep insertion cups (fnarr fnarr)
I hope that’s not a Chris King pepper shaker. 😡
Pepper should be ground.
+1 for a Hope teapot. *inserts shut up and take my money meme
Twenty pound of it is just the top cap, can someone explain to me or justify how an alloy stem cap is worth £20.
"is that Jay Sycip of sycip bikes?"
@LAT - No, it's his brother. Jeremy is the frame builder, Jay works for Chris King.
Is this a good time/place to confess that I have an old Jaguar wheel spinner on my desk as a paper weight? It's genuinely useful when I've got the window open and/or fan on in the summer, and nice to look at...