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Factory Visit: Sunny Times in Rainy Portland with Chris King

31.10.2014
by

During the course of any discussion on cycling and mountain biking history, many names will be tossed around. As the talk continues and evolves, names of people who were around in the beginning and are still heavily involved come up. Names like Chris King.

This is what we all know Chris King for (and their headsets). Shiny, beautiful, durable hubs.
This is what we all know Chris King for (and their headsets). Shiny, beautiful, durable hubs.

While Chris might not have been riding with the crew on Mt. Tam and in the Marin hills, he wasn’t far away in Santa Barbara and he was certainly riding a bike. Getting his start by creating headsets for road bikes, when mountain biking started to take off, his headsets started appearing on those bikes and quickly become just about the only component that didn’t fall apart. Word spread fast, and Chris King started to become a household name in the mountain bike world.

Chris King in housed in an industrial section of Portland in a renovated Folgers coffee roasting plant. Photo: Matt Wilkinson
Chris King in housed in an industrial section of Portland in a renovated Folgers coffee roasting plant. Photo: Matt Wilkinson
Where the magic happens. We weren't allowed on this part of the floor. Told it was for "safety" reasons, I imagine there are some "trade secret" reasons as well. Can't blame them.
Where the magic happens. We weren’t allowed on this part of the floor. Told it was for “safety” reasons, I imagine there are some “trade secret” reasons as well. Can’t blame them.
Any good bike industry company has somewhere to park employee bikes. The room at Chris King was large and jam packed!
Any good bike industry company has somewhere to park employee bikes. The room at Chris King was large and jam packed!
One of the famous Chris King hubs, deconstructed.
One of the famous Chris King hubs, deconstructed.
In the custom wheel building department, lacing up sweet hubs to sweet rims.
In the custom wheel building department, lacing up sweet hubs to sweet rims.
Frame getting reamed by hand, ready to accept a bottom bracket.
Frame getting reamed by hand, ready to accept a bottom bracket.
The in house brand of Chris King, Cielo frames have a 60 day turnaround after order. King started building frames at the same time as headsets, but headset sales took off, and frame building got shelved for 30 years.
The in house brand of Chris King, Cielo frames have a 60 day turnaround after order. King started building frames at the same time as headsets, but headset sales took off, and frame building got shelved for 30 years.
Painted by hand is a good way to wrap up any frame building project.
Painted by hand is a good way to wrap up any frame building project.

Early Years

Starting his business in Santa Barbara, where he lived and where there was a built in blue collar workforce, things got rolling quickly. But as the population changed and Santa Barbara grew more and more expensive to live, King knew he had to move his rapidly expanding business. Finding a home in Redding, California proved to be short lived and again King looked for a home for his business. A nationwide search turned up Portland, Oregon and it’s rich industrial history and culture. Also very important in the decision of Portland, skilled laborers existed and looking for work in light industry, such as manufacturing of bike parts.

The growth of Chris King’s company and a cycling culture in Portland grew hand in hand. Neither was necessarily responsible for the other, but both helped each other. Now, Portland repeatedly gets voted one of the best places to live if you’re a cyclist, and Chris King as a company is widely respected for it’s ultra high quality components. The two have grown up together and it would probably take an act of an unknown power to split them apart.

Because these machines aren't produced anymore in the US, Chris King finds old machining equipment and refurbishes it. King has a few full time guys on staff who just rebuild and do upkeep on the constantly running equipment that makes all the shiny bits the company is famous for.
Because these machines aren’t produced anymore in the US, Chris King finds old machining equipment and refurbishes it. King has a few full time guys on staff who just rebuild and do upkeep on the constantly running equipment that makes all the shiny bits the company is famous for.

King comes from a vocational tech, blue collar, work with your hands on machines sort of background. That’s what Santa Barbara was in the 60’s and 70’s. He believes the American skilled laborer produces the best quality finished good, and that has guided his company. Sure, there is come good old American pride at play in the company, but King believes in producing the best, most high quality goods he can. And those products come from American workers, who have a cultural background and mentality that contributes to an environment where ingenuity, quality, and taking pride in what you produce come together to create those finished products. Start with the best raw materials, 100% sourced in the US, and build things with utmost attention to detail, using the best equipment and ideal practices.

Walnut shells are used to polish parts, in order to be as environmentally and personal health friendly as possible.
Walnut shells are used to polish parts, in order to be as environmentally and personal health friendly as possible.
Yeah, I got my playlist right here, below the turntable.
Yeah, I got my playlist right here, below the turntable.
Keeping an eye on everything happening in the front room at Chris King. Including all visitors.
Keeping an eye on everything happening in the front room at Chris King. Including all visitors.

Happy, Healthy Employees

Another piece of the puzzle in getting outstanding end product is having happy employees, doing a job they’re proud of. To that end, everything that happens at Chris King’s company is thought out and planned to the smallest detail, with the goal in mind of creating a safe, clean, healthy work environment. Warm, well lit work places. Certain oils instead of water used on machines, because harmful bacteria can grow in the water. Walnut shells instead of cleaners and solvents. Locally grown, healthy food in a cafe, where your lunch can be subsidized simply by riding your bike to work, which itself will improve anyone’s health.

Much has been written about how much of everything is reused and recycled at Chris King. But just as much thought goes into taking care of the employee on a daily basis. Soy cutting oil is used instead of water based lubricants because it does a better job (at a much higher price) but also because it’s healthier for the employee in contact with it everyday. And then that oil is recouped, instead of going down the drain, so it can be used again.

Decisions about machines and methods are all made with a lot of thought. Can it be helpful in creating a high quality product? Will it be promote a clean, healthy workplace? How can it help us remain profitable, which might be the biggest promoting factor in happy employees. Make money as a company and employees have a high paying job to go to everyday. Job security. That keeps a smile on a lot of people’s faces in a time of uncertainty in the US manufacturing world, as more and more work gets shipped off shore daily.

Possibly the most impressive thing about Chris King is how they take care of all employees, in so many different ways. A different menu, with different options, is available everyday in the cafeteria.
Possibly the most impressive thing about Chris King is how they take care of all employees, in so many different ways. A different menu, with different options, is available everyday in the cafeteria.

At the end of the day, Chris King products and the company kick ass. There will certainly be some riders out there who have a story about a King hub they hated and have ridden Company X hubs ever since. And they’ve been happy. But that is certainly out of the norm. In a business as rapidly changing as the world of cycling, producing high quality, serviceable components like headsets, hubs, and bottom brackets has brought hordes of loyal customers over to the Chris King way. And they probably rode over on a headset they bought 20 years ago. Some would knock King for only selling one headset to that customer in 20 years. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Words, Photos: Daniel Dunn

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