March 18, 2020

We’re still around and, as you are reading this, so are you. Pause and give thanks.

With crisis comes change so let’s strive for better outcomes. In the meantime, support each other and don’t stop sharing. In that vein, here’s an update on Wheel Fanatyk.

We attended two CABDA Shows in San Diego and Chicago. Great encounters and exchanges throughout. It was especially heartwarming to hear:

1. Mechanics and merchants embarking on brave strategies to succeed in a radically reshaped bike industry—hybrid businesses (mobile, brick/mortar, social media, small scale production, advocacy, etc.) looking for the best in technology and customer-centric services. Panel discussions were lively and informative, everyone is asking questions and sharing.
2. Mennonite groups were unmistakable in Chicago as were discussions of other alternative communities which brings home how important cycling is across the board of societies and causes. We also heard visitors from South Asia and South America, all keyed on learning more.
3. Folks on social missions (Wounded Warriors, urban youth opportunity, para-athletes, etc.) stood out. They are creative, committed, and inspiring as ever.

So sorry to miss all of you at CABDA’s 3rd show in NY.

We have new products in the store. Check for Cyclus Dishing Tools, Minoura Truing Stands, and more Wera hex-plus wrench options. A number of fresh P&K Lie truing stands and tensiometers arrived this month, and our drought of threading dies (holding up spoke machines) is over.

Check this new blog post on Dishing Tools. At recent Shows I led clinics starring a bunch of dishing tools. Thought they have been overlooked, taken for granted lately. Judging from student feedback, it’s true. While they all do the same job and the cheapest is as accurate as the most elaborate, there is quite a range of options.

Meanwhile, spokes continue to generate plenty of questions and discussions. Here is a message from Mark Pilder (cycling poet and philosopher in Seattle) who’s doing commercial delivery via electric cargo bikes:
“My coworkers have destroyed a few wheels. The front hub motor in the 20” wheel doesn’t leave many choices in the way of lacing spokes. On our cargo trailers there were 16” wheels with radial laced spokes, which would be fine on a jogging stroller toting a small child. But we’re loading these trailers up with hundreds of pounds of mail and packages. The trailer wheels have been rebuilt with a 2-cross. Which helps a lot. I’m just writing to ask if you’ve already addressed the unique challenges in hub-motor wheel builds in one of your blog posts that I’ve overlooked?”

That’s a growing topic needing regular revisits. Some links to related posts:
The blessings of thicker spoke elbows.
About single butted spokes for heavy duty.
Prepare for huge disk brake forces.

Look for my next post on heavy duty wheels (electric, cargo, fat, trekking). Bike manufacturers are lagging with good wheel design and, as usual, the challenge is falling to wheel builders on the ground.

This week we made contact with a local cycling creative, Gabriel Chrisman of Victorian Cycles in Port Townsend. He and his wife reenact the Victorian period in a town tailor-made for it. They are 24/7, never out of character and that includes building turn-of-the-century replica bikes. Gabriel needed length adjustments on some 13G spokes for pre-pneumatic (solid tire) wheels—needing longer spokes. In his case, these were 332mm. The bike in question is for an upcoming (well, certain to be delayed) HBO mini-series set in NYC in the 1890’s. Later we’ll share more on it and his custom bike. Here is a stock option:

We appreciate any business you can afford. Remember that things will become good again and will return to a “new” normal.

Hope you will all be safe and no matter how bad it becomes for you that a bright future awaits.

November 4, 2019

It’s the beginning of The Big Dark here in the PNW. Every year someone turns off the lights until about March. Some days we practically need flashlights to get around!

Down under, it’s reversed and in Colorado all bets are off. The CX season is in full swing, gravel riding is balling. What adventures do you have planned?

Seasonal motivation
For a dose of wheelbuilding motivation, check these two shorts:

 

I’m envious of this setup
Nine Special 250 truing stands from P&K Lie are the backbone of an impressive wheel building program at the ENVE factory in Ogden.

Cody Albretsen (Wheelbuild Supervisor) says, “Building a quality wheel on the P&K stand is awesome…the confidence we have putting a wheel in a box to a customer has grown. The second guessing is over with. The dials on the stands make it easy to read and know where you are at with the wheel…we really enjoy building on them.”

 

Planetary community
Remember, all wheel builders are part of a planetary community, playing a huge role in human mobility. We often have more in common than the industries and places where we work. With that in mind, you’ll find following clip immensly soothing. Watch how wheels are built for a 20 mule team wagon. Tires are 1” thick X 8” wide (2.5cm X 20cm), steel bands that encircle 5’ (1.5m) front or 7’ (2.1m) rear wheels, 800 and 1,000lb (364, 465kg) respectively!

 

Sweet treat
Lastly, as this image looks like dessert, let’s end on that note!

October 26, 2019

Many of you in the North American cycle trade are planning to attend one or more of the CABDA shows—San Diego, Chicago, New York, and Denver—across the calendar in 2020.

I’ll be presenting at the PBMA Technical Clinics that precede each show: San Diego (Jan 14), Chicago (Feb 11, 12, 13), and New York (Mar 10). Denver’s tech sessions are not yet final.

Here is a rare chance to experience the latest tools and gadgets you see, hear, and read about. Learn how they work and try them out. It may affect your own equipment plans and certainly empowers anyone aiming to be a tech resource wherever they are. I’ll be showing much more than Wheel Fanatyk devices—it’ll be as broad and impartial as I can get.

There are big trends in wheel building, part of massive change occuring in our sport and industry. Give yourself a step ahead and register for these clinics. Face to face and hands-on cannot be shared in a blog! See many of you there!

July 13, 2019

This is the time of year when epic rides and races happen but not all the action is out of doors! Two weeks ago (June 24-25, 2019) we enjoyed a great wheel building session out here on the Olympic Peninsula.

I led a Wheel Building 2 class at the Boat Building School, thanks to their gracious hospitality. Our session lasted two full days and each student enjoyed the use of a P&K Lie truing stand. The school was on break and we had perfect sunny weather.Students came from as far away as Arizona and Victoria, BC. We covered topics as varied as tension data output, truing in full 3D, spoke thread compounds, tying and soldering, field repair, and a host of questions like the use of washers, measuring hubs, using a spoke machine, and shop policies.

Two days is not nearly enough for the subject but nearly too much time indoors! More classes are not yet scheduled but I hope to announce soon.

Once again, I learned as much as attendees. Face to face and hands on is the best teacher and I hope those of you with experience find opportunities to teach (and learn) in spite of great weather!

May 12, 2019

Two exciting classes are on offer at PT Cycle School. June 24-25 is Wheel Building 2. June 26-30 is Bike Mechanics 1. Hard to imagine a more beautiful place (Port Townsend) or a better class offering.

Mechanics 1 is taught by Tori Bortman, author, experienced teacher and mechanic from Portland. Class is limited to 12 students who enjoy wonderful workstations (including EVT lift stands), full tool kits, and plenty of hands-on. It’s a fast paced program, not for the casual. Elevate and make current your bike mechanical skills. The course is $1,000 and scholarships are available.

PT Cycle School is a Washington licensed workforce training and education school. This curriculum is a match for that offered at other fine bike schools across North America.

Wheel Building 2 is my project. We ran a similar, advanced session at UBI in 2018. It was very successful but this time will be much more hands-on. Each attendee (limited to six) will build a wheel that’s not hugely distracting (I supply parts or not) and we’ll discuss all aspects of the process—thread compounds, lacing setups, alternative stands (P&K stands for all), tension output and graphing. stressing the structure, etc.

Design and physics, the main focus of our Portland session, is valuable (material science, rim stiffness, nipple interface, tire fit and dynamics, tension and fatigue, MOI, calibration, etc) and we will cover that too. You’ll also get an in-depth, hands-on with spoke cutting and threading. Suggestions welcome as each of you brings unique perspective and career objectives.

Two full days, $300. I am not aware of any commercial offering of this level of wheel building. Such knowledge is usually only shared in one-on-one mentorships within workshops and manufacturers. It’s not generally available.

There are still spots available for both. If this late timing works for you, don’t pass it up!

September 2, 2018

September is on (2018) and there’s news to share. Up in Port Townsend, WA a new cycle school is getting underway and I taught Wheelbuilding 1 last weekend—twelve diverse students, a beautiful location, and 12 excellent wheels built.

Read more →

April 7, 2018

We’re having some fun up here on the Olympic Peninsula. A small group of lifelong cyclists are inspired to start a school, Port Townsend Cycle School. Website coming soon.

A permanent home is proving hard to find and we may decide to build ours. In the meantime, I’m going to start by teaching wheelbuilding classes for the first time in a few years:

Wheel Building 1, Introduction to Lacing and Truing
Anyone can build a bicycle wheel. Obstacles are few and mostly self imposed. Learn a mistake-proof method along with important wheel and component theory. Each student will build their own wheel, receiving one-on-guidance. All tools and parts are supplied for this 2 day adventure. Class size is limited to 12. Dates: Sat-Sun, April 21-22 and Sat-Sun, July 14-15. Cost: $300.

Wheel Building 2, Attaining Proficiency
Intended for those currently building (prereq of WB 1 or equivalent), to take your skills to the next level. More sophisticated tools, experience, and measurement is necessary to build professionally and profitably. Each will build a wheel and analyze the results. Focus is on process refinement for greater quality and speed. We’ll  be using P&K Lie truing stands and digital tensiometers with download! Class size is limited to 6. Dates: Sat-Sun, June 23-24. Cost: $400.

Wheel Building – Level 3, Wheel Design and Engineering
Decades of manufacturing and building experience are distilled into a 2 day intensive for established builders and students of the category. Wheel mastery can be difficult to attain because data on how and what works is seriously scarce. Join us for 2 exciting days of demystification and full disclosure. Lecture and presentation plus hands-on with special tools, class size is limited to 20. Date: Fri-Sat, May 24-25. Some of you will recognize this as the sort of material shared at the PBMA’s Portland Clinic in February. Cost: $300.

These will be hosted at the Port Townsend School of the Arts at Fort Worden in Port Townsend. It’s a spacious and lovely facility but only available to us through July.

While there are as many ways to build as builders themselves, information and examples add immeasurably to a learning curve. A beginner needs access to a trouble free method and examples from which to build a style that works. These classes are full disclosure from someone who loves the task and has spoken to as many builders as perhaps anyone else. Join the conversation!

Send questions to me (ric@wheelfanatyk.com). For registration, contact Nora at ptcyclingschool@gmail.com.

December 2, 2017

First time ever, Jude Gerace (Sugarwheelworks, Portland) and I will lead a 2-day intensive wheel class for established builders, Jan 5 and 6 at United Bicycle Institute. Class is limited to 20, a few slots are still available. Enrollment details at PBMA.

Jude says: “If I would have had a class like this when I was first starting out, I would have saved myself years – and many nights of banging my head against the work bench. It is my pleasure to teach this class with Ric… Come join us for a weekend of geekery!”

We’ll cover wheel components (tires, rims, nipples, spokes, hubs, complete wheels) in terms of tools, engineering, testing, and especially building. Plus introduce our work with shop systems to streamline otherwise complicated tasks. Most of this information cannot be found anywhere else.

Much tech detail is familiar to experienced industry designers but they cannot share their work for obvious reasons. Rarely, a veteran will open up. Josh Poertner (Silca, ex-Zipp), for example, has recently written very helpfully on testing and design issues from his heyday at Zipp. Otherwise, it takes builders many years to discover so much of what wheel function and construction entails.

It’s Judes and my wish to accelerate the learning track for builders. The world needs more of us at the highest levels to meet the future that’s coming our way.

We plan many hands-on experiences with tools and fixtures rarely seen outside development and manufacturing environments. You’ll gain valuable insight to guide building decisions and better interpret outcomes.

Unlike wheelbuilding 101, we will offer a solid and fairly vast foundation for an enlightened understanding of wheels. Tensioned wheel engineering is an obscure corner of mechanical engineering. Little of it is obvious even to those with ME degrees. As an industry, we develop systems and procedures obscure to the wider world and, needlessly, to many practicing mechanics and builders.

Fundamentally these are answers to questions that plagued us for years and which, once learned, helped advance our building. It will be a privilege to share so much, to have real time questions and discussion, and begin some networking to propel us ahead of the game!

Hope to see you among us, enjoying UBI hospitality and two days of geekery!

June 22, 2017

For current or aspiring bicycle mechanics, this is an exciting time. E-bikes, advanced materials, fun new categories, more diversity, mobile service, better tools, wow…the list keeps growing.

Check out the, just announced, technical workshops held by PBMA (our fledgling but dynamic mechanic association).

Coming later this year and next to Colorado, Portland, and Virginia. Most of the leading industry players are participating.

There is room for just 120 mechanics at each so early registration is the only way to guarantee going. There are scholarships available, so be bold and apply!

March 4, 2016

Our white van was rolling south on I-5 to Sacramento to booth 85 at the North American Hand Built Bicycle Show (NAHBS). Missed several years but excited to announce new products and meet many of you lucky to attend (Fri-Sun, 2/26-2/28/16). Press response was great.

The Return of Spline Nipples
Spoke nipples with non-square drive have been popularized by Mavic and DT but nipples with splined engagement were only available to builders for a few years in the mid-1990’s. Many of us loved them, I spec’d them on FSA wheels in 2006 but you can’t find them today. Aha, that’s changed. At NAHBS we announced the availability of nipples (14G, 2024-T6 alloy, 7 colors) and wrenches.

Read more →