Chris King R45 Issue

[GonaSovereign]

What material is the dropout made from? (I didn't see it referenced in the original post.) If you're riding a ti bike with 6-4 drops, they are very hard and quick releases - particularly less effectve light ones with light materials less effective cam - tend not to grip well.

Regardless, the best solution is to use the best no BS QR, which is Dura Ace. The older Record comes next, and everything else trails.

[Causidicus]

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[prowheelbuilder]

I will throw my 2 cents in. It is possible that the R45 hub 9mm fork tip interface (that bit that sits in the drop outs) is a bit longer than the other hubs you mentioned. If so the skewer may be contacting the hub before the face of the drop outs. Some skewers have an internal dome shape anticipating this very issue. I only bring this up because you mentioned movement on the front wheel and even bad skewers will not allow you to move the wheel in the drops simply with your hand. As for noise it is either the movement between the hub and drop outs or the external cam on the skewer is dry and needs lube. Let me know if this helps.

[Mr.Gib]

Threw in some Dura Ace QR and problem solved. Moved the Zipp QR's over to a wheelset with Dura Ace hubs and they seem to hold in that combination.

[agmaxwell]

I’m rather sceptical of the idea of increasing the QR clamping force to eliminate creaking in Chris King hubs. I’d expect to see an unacceptable rise in bearing friction from excessive lateral pre-load, when instead I want to barely eliminate lateral play. Instead, on my 2014 Wilier Cento Uno, I found that the front R45 hub of my Enve creaked because of visibly [?forged] uneven faces on the tips – particularly on the internal faces which meet the smooth alloy clamping faces of the hub. It was an easy job to patiently re-surface them with a fine file, ensuring the elimination of a light gap with a blank axle and a pair of smooth Campag locknuts on each side to maintain the alignment. I’d suggest that Chris King hubs should only be installed where truly flat, true surfaces are available for clamping – there’s no hint of a creak in Easton EC90SL moulded carbon tips or in any rear vertical dropouts including Merlin’s titanium, and the lower clamping force of titanium external cam QRs is quite sufficient. If this idea has arisen previously, then I’m sorry to say that I missed it in the predominance of solutions based on QR robustness.

[HermesSport]

I’m rather sceptical of the idea of increasing the QR clamping force to eliminate creaking in Chris King hubs. I’d expect to see an unacceptable rise in bearing friction from excessive lateral pre-load, when instead I want to barely eliminate lateral play. Instead, on my 2014 Wilier Cento Uno, I found that the front R45 hub of my Enve creaked because of visibly [?forged] uneven faces on the tips – particularly on the internal faces which meet the smooth alloy clamping faces of the hub. It was an easy job to patiently re-surface them with a fine file, ensuring the elimination of a light gap with a blank axle and a pair of smooth Campag locknuts on each side to maintain the alignment. I’d suggest that Chris King hubs should only be installed where truly flat, true surfaces are available for clamping – there’s no hint of a creak in Easton EC90SL moulded carbon tips or in any rear vertical dropouts including Merlin’s titanium, and the lower clamping force of titanium external cam QRs is quite sufficient. If this idea has arisen previously, then I’m sorry to say that I missed it in the predominance of solutions based on QR robustness.

This is definitely good advice, and is applicable to any hub whose bearing preload is influenced by QR clamping force (DT/Chris King/et al). It would be worthwhile to check your dropout alignment, front and back, with the appropriate tools. You can unnecessarily wear out your bearings by cranking down your QR to compensate for bad dropout alignment.