A year we’ll never forget—far too much loss and suffering and yet amongst the chaos rare lessons are being offered. Do you also feel a sense of deep change? It will take years to process the significance of this period. For cycling, it’s been a riding and business boom—a reminder how essential bicycles have become. At Wheel Fanatyk, it’s been super busy—thanks for all your trust and support.

Today, let’s think about the role of hubs. Historically, I focus on spokes, tension, and rims. Hubs are an afterthought. I used to claim that hubs have just 2 jobs—provide a rotating center for the wheel structure and NOT FAIL. Hubs with wonderful beauty and technical novelty that don’t rotate smoothly are not much value.

Here are a few that help me better appreciate the potential for hubs to do more than just anchor wheels. These transform wheels and generate new dimensions for riding.

Simplicity
Nothing quite beats visual simplicity. In a high tech world, complexity so often comes with progress. This Ridley Kanzo Fast Classified is a standout example.

© Cycling Tips and Ridley

Disk brakes make a clean look and this bike amplifies that with no front derailleur, visible headset, or exposed wires or cables. For me the Kanzo’s best trick is hidden in a hub—an electronic internal 2 speed cassette hub by Classified.

© CyclingTips

This bike has 22 speeds despite only a cassette and single chainring to be seen, thanks to this clever hub. Benefits:
• Electronic shifting.
• Trim hub harvests the internal volume under a cassette for its mechanism.
• The gearing benefits of a front derailleur without maintenance.
• Shift under heavy load (1000W).
Granted, the Kanzo is an elite machine but the elevated concept inspires and we hope to see more bikes where a hub makes a big difference. Check James Huang’s recent review in CyclingTips.

Minimal Motor
In an era of widespread disk brake use, can the disk rotor do more than stop? What if a rotor engages an electric motor that rides piggy backs on the disk caliper? This is the mission of an ex-Tesla engineer and team—Bimotal. Their Elevate electric motor system does just that.

Riding shotgun.

Imagine these benefits:
• No added wear to the drive train.
• Motor can be removed in 20 sec and switched to another bike.
• 750W for 28mph with estimated range of 30-60km.
• System with battery, weighs 2.7kg, there’s none lighter.
• Nil friction when not powered up.
• Introduction in 2021.
Well, of course we’ll have to wait and see but the elevated concept inspires and I expect to see more of this clever idea.

Internal Gears
The internal gear system of Sturmey Archer for bicycles was humanity’s first variable speed transmission. In pursuit of low weight and high efficiency cycling favors external transmissions with derailleurs. Still, internal gearing has huge maintenance advantages. Rohloff’s 14spd hubs and Sachs and Shimano geared hubs continue the geared hub option today. Lately however, the Kindernay hub from Norway advances internal gearing yet further.

Disk brake, fat bike, through axle hub.

Features:
• 14 speeds with the widest range available.
• The lightest hub of its type.
• Hydraulic shifting.
• Gearbox can be moved from wheel to wheel
• Adjusted for life.
• Belt drive friendly.
• Through axle compatible.
Check CyclingTips definitive review.

Do you know a cool hub that transforms the bike? Please share!

Cargo and E-bike Spoke Gauges are Hot
Growing popularity of thicker spokes—13G (2.3mm) and 12G (2.6mm)—is no surprise as cargo and e-bikes are fast expanding categories. This trend is easy for wheelbuilders:
• Straight gauge and brass nipples prevail for strength and economy.
• Tension is less important, spokes succeed more from mass than tension.
• Wheels build faster without the elasticity of thinner spokes.
• Less design challenge = less need for the subtleties of lightweight wheels.

Check Adrian Emilson of Melody Wheels describe the bold way he is addressing this opportunity.

A beautiful mounting. The woodworker shows through!

Next post: Spoke Threading for the Masses!

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.

It’s harsh now, even to be a cyclist.

Read more →

Top Velo, 1998

Fortunate are artisans who love what they make. This is certainly true for Marcel Borthayre, one of the most important names in France’s tradition of great wheel building. Thanks to the generous efforts of his daughter, Maryse, we can share some details of his cycling life. The clipping above, attests to his devotion to wheel building. Read more →

October wheel building class in Port Townsend,

2 days + 6 rims and hubs + 192 spokes + 1 jolly teacher + 6 determined students (with an age range of over 60 years) = six excellent wheels and six future master builders!

Thanks to all who contributed to another successful Port Townsend Cycle School program!

A 1970’s image of a bicycle was so rare in US media that I clipped and collected every one I could. That would be absurd today but this early habit brought me an appreciation for New Yorker magazine cover art. They’re a throw back to an earlier time when original art was created for covers rather than the splashy newsstand bait that today’s covers have become.

For over 90 years, New Yorker covers have celebrated the changing seasons of nature, culture, and national events. More than their share feature bicycles and I began collecting these (with the help of Richard Sachs, similarly smitten). To date, there are at least 100 such covers, many are among my favorite cycling images of all time. Collectable all. Last week’s (May 7, 2018) cover, Biking in the Rain by Jean-Jacques Sempé is a wonderful addition to this charming tradition. New Yorker covers can be bought here.

A serene cyclist floats through the urban scene. © New Yorker

This latest issue profiles Sempé, my all-time favorite cartoonist. He has done 111 covers for New Yorker and, at 85, lives and works in Paris. His art, especially NY covers, has been a lovely background theme to my life. Like a musical tune that captures a time and place, his renditions seem timed to my career.

In 1979, this cover showed a pair of tandem riders scooting through the countryside with knowing aplomb.

Dwarfed by the world, but unflappable! © New Yorker

Six months after that cover my wife and I were married and honeymooned on our tandem. In 1983, Sempé drew Cycle Shop for the cover. Wheelsmith was our crowded workshop in Palo Alto. His image captured perfectly the context, the customer, and the mechanic.

Homage to the bike shop. © New Yorker

So, caps off to this gifted artist and the timeless style of New Yorker magazine.

A Zen teacher saw five of his students returning from the market, riding their bicycles. When they arrived at the monastery and had dismounted, the teacher asked the students, “Why are you riding your bicycles?”

The first student replied, “The bicycle is carrying the sack of potatoes. I am glad that I do not have to carry them on my back!” The teacher praised the first student, “You are a smart boy! When you grow old, you will not walk hunched over as I do.”

The second student replied, “I love to watch the trees and fields pass by as I roll down the path.” The teacher commended the second student, “You eyes are open and you see the world.”

The third student replied, “When I ride my bicycle, I am content to chant nam myoho renge kyo.” The teacher gave praise to the third student, “Your mind will roll with the ease of a newly trued wheel.”

The fourth student replied, “Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all sentient beings.” The teacher was pleased and said to the fourth student, “You are riding on the golden path of non-harming.”

The fifth student replied, “I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle.” The teacher sat at the feet of the fifth student and said, “I am your student!”

Story credited to Shawn Gosieski, New Cyclist, Fall 1988

Wheel building is booming, though it’s rare to see evidence in the cycling press. I’d call it a work in progress, rather like craft brewing back in the day. Pioneers were scrappy and uncertain. When they first appeared, the big brewers knew it would be sporadic and limited (college towns, resorts). They actually got murdered over several decades and now craft brewing carries a large percentage of that market. This seems to be happening with wheel building. 

Today most small builders are in likely cities (Portland, SF, Seattle, Boulder, LA…) but their global rise (UK, AU, NZ, EU…) shows it’s not a local trend. Your area may be barren but many successful builders are elsewhere. Check these, among hundreds more:

• Magnetic Wheel Co. (Portland)
• Monument Wheel Works (Seattle)
• Diablo Wheel Works (Pacific Palisades, CA)
• Ergott Wheels (Islip, NY)
• Joe Young Wheels (Granbury, TX)
• Noble Wheels (London)
• Wheel Tec (Alkmaar, NL)
• Melody Wheels (O’Connor, AU)

Not personal recommendations (but all excellent). The more you look, the more you’ll find.

If you are contemplating getting underway I recommend exploring two questions.

Where Am I?
You may plan a strong web presence but your immediate scene is your most important asset. Local riding is a key element in your opportunity.

© Sugar Wheelworks (Portland)

Put aside personal preferences and experience because, as a wheel builder, you should welcome, understand, and whisper to all forms of wheels. Can’t do too much research and preparation to cultivate your local community.

Who Am I?
There are many types of builders. Wheel construction seems pretty straightforward but those who succeed do not share one approach. One science I hope, but not one style. Who are you? Understanding your style helps direct your effort and avoid confusion.

1. Hobbyest
Handy with tools, good with gear, likes self sufficiency, finds building fairly easy, builds own and wheels for friends and family. Not so keen to make a simple task complicated or dramatic.

2. Social
If you’re gregarious, wheel building can bring quite a range of human variety your way. Creating a business around the needs and exploits of riders is attractive to customers. You’ll want a welcoming workshop with plenty of ambiance and regular outreach.

© gravy wheels (Novato)

3. Nerd
Many an engineer type is drawn to building and customers, in turn, to them. Emphasizing tech with gauges and instruments, sharing spreadsheets and charts, teaching the “how” behind wheels can be a central theme if that is your drift. But it is not necessary to reek of tech. Performance minded customers need to trust but rarely require knowing all about the science.

© Cutlass Wheels (Baltimore)

4. Artistic
Wheels are beautiful and there is room for plenty of self expression for a builder. The bar is very high for visual compatibility with the bike, high finish of components, and unity of design. Aesthetics are an ever changing scene, rules flex, styles evolve, and builders help drive change. We’ve all noticed what fixies combine on machines so basic they simply showcase wheels.

© Roues d’Olive (Fully, Switzerland)

We are combinations of such types but discovering that inner builder is key to separating your offering from vague and mainstream options. Riders seek custom building for more than alleged benefits of value or performance. They want to deal with a real person, not just an “add to cart” button. There is no “better” style but the clearer yours, the greater authenticity you broadcast.

Authenticity attaches to wheels, gives them karmic power riders remember for years. Authenticity of our prized possessions adds meaning to our lives. That’s your ultimate product as a custom wheel builder.

Go for it and please share your experiences with others (and me :-)!

Triumph of Collaboration
PBMA continues to gain members, supporters and influence. So great to see mechanics network like never before, debate important issues, and clearly begin to gain in stature and resources. Both the FB page and the organization are open for applications and eager to share the growing list of benefits.

Another great mechanic story hails from Rwanda where the National Cycling Center is taking shape.

From ashes to elite cycling in a decade.

Read more →

One of the most memorable characters in our cycling scene of the early 1970’s was Phil Wood who, with his wife Vada and manager Bern Smith, pioneered the modern use of cartridge bearings in bike components. Here Bern recalls some of the special challenges:

Here’s an introduction to the complexities of specifying, testing, purchasing, re-testing, lubricating and assembling bearings. Some of this will be pretty pedestrian to folks with working knowledge of bearings, but there’s plenty other facets to it. 

In the earliest days of Phil Wood & Co. circa 1972, once Spence Wolfe had convinced Phil to manufacture some maintenance-free hubs, and they agreed that 50 pairs would be the most they could ever sell, Phil started testing bearing and lubricant samples. He settled fairly quickly on a single domestic manufacturer of bearings, but the grease samples were…disappointing…

Spence and Lillian Wolfe at their Cupertino Bike Shop, hugely influenced many aspects of the Nor Cal scene.

He found ‘waterproof’ grease that dissolved in water, grease that absorbed water, swelled up and forced itself out of the bearings past the seals, and other oddities. Eventually he found a product from a local (Bay Area) supplier that was something of an oddity itself – the manufacturer produced only very small batches of this particular grease, and only occasionally. It was somewhat inconsistent in texture and color. But after Phil consulted with them a little, they changed the mix, and after that it worked really well in full immersion salt bath tests. 
And it was green…

So we were off and rolling…

We specified that grease to the bearing manufacturer for lubing at their factory. Then the fun began.

A tangent (and a quiz) are required here.
• What is the highest rpm a bicycle bearing is ever likely to spin?
• How many rpm’s is a regular radial-contact industrial ball bearing typically tested to maintain without burning out?
• How hot do you think bearings get at max rpm? 
• What causes that heat?
• What exacerbates it?

…and what is the maximum percentage fill of grease in the bearing assembly cavities (those gaps between the bearings, their retainers, and the seals) that most any manufacturer will agree to?

Back to the early bearings. We found soon enough that our idea of how much grease a bearing should have in it was vastly different from what the bearing suppliers were willing to provide. Typical over-the-counter industrial bearings are filled ~25% full with grease. That’s because those bearings, in a normal installation (an electric motor, say) might run as high as 10,000 rpm – 10 times higher than a bicycle bearing will ever spin. A bearing running at 10,000 rpm gets hot – really hot – from friction, and hotter still if it has too much grease in it (retaining heat in the assembly). Too much grease meaning anything over about 25%.

We specified 95% fill because our tests showed that provided satisfactory water resistance in the extreme tests we put bearings through. But the suppliers refused, citing product liability, and other not-pertinent reasons. So we had to lift seals and add grease to each bearing. That probly doubled our bearing cost.

At least we were getting good bearings…until…batches started arriving from the factory with large grit, wood chips, crystals and other unknown stuff.  We rejected lots of bearings. It got so bad that, in the final batch we rejected from the original supplier, most of the bearings would not rotate. Now, there’s a handful of things a bearing needs to do, but above all…

Eventually we found a (foreign) company that produced consistently good bearings for considerably lower cost than the others. Were they eventually prosecuted for dumping bearings in the U.S. to put domestic factories under? Another story for another time…

Then the grease started to get weird…

Cartoon icon Alley Oop, enemy of corrosion and friction!

As you might have guessed, as we grew more comfortable with the grease we chose, we had an idea that maybe we could use that grease for other purposes, and maybe other folks might like it as well. In particular, we felt that the lovely deep green color itself could help sell the stuff, and we settled on a slogan – ‘It’s Green!’.  Anyway, we asked the manufacturer about making larger batches, that we could repackage from 55 gallon drums into 3oz tubes. They asked how much we might ever sell…

Each time we got ready to order grease for repackaging, I went to the lab at the lubricant plant and inspected samples. They had a few minor problems and we rejected some batches – turns out that the grease mixing vat was used for several different products and occasionally did not get cleaned out completely between product switchovers. Eventually the plant assigned a mixer for this grease alone, and things smoothed out. 

At one point, after about 3 years without a single problem, I asked Phil if maybe we didn’t need to go to the plant to check the samples first. We looked at each other for a moment and said simultaneously “Check the grease”…So I drove to the plant and met the project manager in the lab, where he pulled out the latest sample. It was a beautiful, deep black. Lesson learned the easy way for once.

Years later, after the project manager had retired, I related that story to his successor, who laughed, and said “Oh, yeah – he was colorblind!”

Phil and Vada circa 2009

Since wheel sages know tensiometers are optional for the highest levels of building, let’s ask, “Why use one at all?” After all, some are substantial investments.

I co-introduced the first consumer tensiometer in 1985 and still sell them today, so I have a bias (or 2) and some perspective.

What do they do?
Experienced builders are right, a great wheel does not require a tensiometer. Even for beginners, everything you need can be learned by trial and error.

Using a tensiometer reduces the chance of incorrect spoke tension, the most common fault of wire wheels. Both the average and the distribution of tension must be in a narrow range for components to blend optimally into a single, rugged structure.

Squeezing spokes, plucking them, and feeling nipple turning resistance are ways to monitor tension besides a dedicated measuring tool. A tensiometer prevents misinterpretation from:
–  Thick spokes feeling tighter than thin because they are stiffer to squeeze.
–  Nipples suggesting higher tension if they resist turning due to corrosion or lack of lubrication.
–  Material and geometry of rim holes and nipples greatly affecting twisting friction.
Tensiometers can see through all of this, a boon for beginners.

A training tool
More than enabling appropriate tension, as you see tension numerically, associations form without conscious effort. You become trained to sense tension just as a heart rate monitor trains you to know your rate.

After thousands of observations, wheel tension becomes more and more intuitive. Rim models, tensions with various spokes and nipples, time to finish, and eventual long term outcomes, all become associated. This mental landscape is best built with a tensiometer and as experience accumulates your expertise grows. This intuition separates masters from learners and enables very fast builds.

The conversation
Since numbers are better than adjectives like “tight,” “not so tight,” “really tight,” etc.; component makers, builders, journalists, and riders can exchange ideas and discuss experiences with a shared numerical language. Kilograms of force and newton meters enable instruction and conversation. This ongoing discussion shapes product development and wheel designs. Without it, the cycling world would be more random and hazardous.

Reassurance
These days it is best to show you use a tensiometer and have respect for the subject. Sure, it’s part marketing but people tend to make snap judgements, especially when trust is involved. There are so few tools in wheel building despite its engineering feat. Callouses and name dropping go only so far to establish credibility. Modern consumers will often defer to a very neat and well equipped workshop over a spartan layout in spite of good reviews.

So remember
There are two levels at work in your building. One is the wheel before you, wanting to be the best it can. Two is the learning brought by experience. Building your intuition for component, especially spoke, behavior is an immense treasure – the key to speed, a reservoir of patience, a resource for advising riders, and a stimulus for design insights. No wonder many builders…