Chris King Ceramic ThreadFit 30mm Bottom Bracket: Customer Review

In this review, our customer Dallas Adams goes all in and buys one of the nicest bottom brackets on the market. The Chris King ThreadFit 30mm bottom bracket with ceramic bearings! Here at the shop, we think the Chris King Threadfit bottom bracket is a top of the line product. Let's see what Dallas thinks.

Overview

Why did I buy a $265 dollar bottom bracket and would I do it again? Absolutely! 

It started with me being annoyed with the sucky chainline of a 1x11 drivetrain. Just pedaling slightly backward on the largest cog made my chain fall down cogs and bind. Getting hung up on steep technical climbs meant walking the bike up to a flatter spot to get going again. I had reached my limit and decided to mess around with my chainline by moving spacers from the drive side to the non-drive side of my bottom bracket to make my chainline straight when the chain was in the middle cog.

Side Note

On a side note, the chainline can also be adjusted by buying an offset chainring from manufacturers like Wolftooth. Per Wolftooth’s tech support, by putting a non-boost chainring (6mm offset) on my bike with boost spacing the chainring will move in towards the BB approx. 1.5mm. What you have to account for is clearance from your chainring to your chainstay. The larger the chainring i.e. 34 instead of 32, the less clearance you will have. And if you are considering replacing the stock seatpost remote for a Thomson Elite Covert dropper post with a Wolftooth light action dropper lever do it! Makes the front-end super clean and way more ergonomic than the stock lever.

Installation

Back to the Chris King BB. I removed my RaceFace Cinch crankset and noticed the drive side BB bearing was shot, sounded like it was full of gravel not ball bearings. Initially, I was going to replace like for like but after a very brief internet search, it seems that RaceFace cinch BBs may not the best choice. Online reviews consistently rated Chris King BBs highly and among the likes of Enduro and top of the line Shimano. I decided on tried and true and went for Chris King and did the ceramic upgrade. I was already spending $150, so what is another $100 for a component I plan on having for the life of the bike.

Keep in mind that with all the changing standards (eyeroll emoji) you will need a BB tool to remove your old BB (I used a Park BBT-79 for my RaceFace cinch BB) and a Chris King Bottom Bracket Cup installation tool. Heavy sigh as I count the 8 different BB tools I now own. My installation also required Chris King Conversion Kit #21.

First Impressions

While the new Chris King BB is noticeably smooth in the stand with the chain off and on, it is incredibly smooth when pedaling. Best way to describe it is my pedal strokes glide. People throw out the term buttery smooth, this BB is a tangible way to experience buttery smooth.

Final Thoughts

It DEFINES the meaning of buttery smooth, sets the standard of comparison for other BBs, is precisely built, and has a 5-year warranty.