The reason the announcement of the new Chris King seatpost collar is a surprise is because most of us thought they already made one.

I mean, why wouldn’t they?

Yesterday I was talking about how PNW Components don’t yet make a seat collar to complete the matchy matchy component options bingo card. But after last week’s announcement of the Chris King seat collar by the long-established brand it goes to show that maybe there is no rush just yet.

When and if PNW do decide to make a seat collar, they could do a lot worse than using this Chris King version for inspiration. After all, it looks like King have taken Salsa as their muse.

That is no criticism; Salsa make great seat collars and I’ve had a Flip-lock in pastel pink and a Lip-lock in glorious purple (it currently adorns my gravel bike). I would have them on every bike, but the coloured options are hard to find in the UK. Until recently I was convinced they had stopped making them entirely.

So when I see the King collar, I find it hard to look past its heritage. Both the King and the Salsa have a deep body to spread clamping forces and use stainless bolts and barrels to keep threads nicely aligned while being tightened. The King version has a cute (and tiny) Buzzy Bee logo on the bolt barrel – a very small and subtle difference.

Until you have used a decent seat post collar it is hard to appreciate the quality. A timeless look, a pop of colour and the expectation that it won’t slip and won’t seize after years of use is very much appreciated.

The King collar is rather pricy, but then King Components always are. If you are invested in the brand, this looks the icing on the cake; if you are still gathering the ingredients, this could be a welcome first taste.

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About the author

Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.

Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.

An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.

If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.