Chris King

Chris King started making headsets in 1976 by dumpster diving for discarded surgical tool bearings while working in a Santa Barbara bike shop. ^{1) 2)}

In 1978, Chris started making a few road bikes and perhaps four mountain bikes in 1980 under the Cielo brand³⁾⁴⁾

Chris King velonews

1980 Cielo

Perhaps the only remaining original Cielo mountain bike in existence. Chris King rebooted the Cielo brand in 2008 making steel road and mountain bikes. ⁵⁾. Cielo later ceased production in 2017 ⁶⁾

1980 Cielo mtbr

Headsets and Bearings

By the mid 1980s King’s headsets had become so popular that he stopped making bikes to keep up with the demands of his fast-growing company. As his headset (and later hubset and bottom bracket) business grew he added staff and moved his business from Santa Barbara to Redding (CA) and then ultimately to Portland in 2003.

Ca. 1976 Chris Kings Headset cyclingtips

2021 Lineup instagram