The response I've had over the past months has been overwhelming, it's been really great! I've had the opportunity to build a lot of really great wheelsets, and it's been pleasing to hear the results later down the track. However, unfortunately my builds are now "on hiatus" until further notice, as I'm currently reworking a few things in order to cope with demand, which isn't possible while I remain active, and I need to address these things now rather than later. I will definitely be returning in 2010, however I can't place an official date on the return. It could be a few weeks, it could be a couple of months.
Please do send me an email if you have any questions, as I'm still more than able to give advice.
I do apologise for the inconvenience, but I promise that with my return will come new and more exciting things!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Touring Wheelset
Do you place overall strength and reliability over weight and asthetics? Do you want a wheelset that's more suited to wider tyres and heavy pannier bags? This wheelset is the answer to all of those questions. I've said it before, but Mavic make some of the nicest rims out there, and the A319 is no exception. It's wide, double-walled and double-eyeleted, and incredibly strong. Combined with DT Swiss spokes, and Shimano Tiagra road hubs, this isn't the lightest wheelset out there, but it's certainly one of the more bulletproof ones. Of course, you can always change the specs to suit you, after all, that's what custom wheelbuilding is all about, right?
Mavic A319 road touring wheelset, 36 spokes:
- Silver Mavic A319 rims.
- Silver Shimano Tiagra hubs.
- Silver DT Swiss Champion spokes. $360.
Mavic A319 road touring wheelset, 36 spokes:
- Silver Mavic A319 rims.
- Silver Shimano Tiagra hubs.
- Silver DT Swiss Champion spokes. $360.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Velocity Razors
For those of you who prefer something not quite as deep as a B43 or a Deep V on your bike (although, Deep V's don't seem that deep anymore do they?), and prefer something that has a more traditional profile, I would recommend that you have a look at the Velocity Razor. Double-walled, eyeleted, and they come in plenty of colours, machined or non-machined. Wait times vary, depending on drillings and colours. We build them as track/fixie wheelsets, and they also make a really great wheelset for your commuter. Ask me for further details. This is just one example of what can be done:
Electric Red Velocity Razor Wheelset:
- Machined Velocity Razor rims - Electric Red.
- Silver Velocity track hubs - fixed/free
- Silver DT Swiss Champion spokes. $399.
Electric Red Velocity Razor Wheelset:
- Machined Velocity Razor rims - Electric Red.
- Silver Velocity track hubs - fixed/free
- Silver DT Swiss Champion spokes. $399.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Velocity Deep V's
Velocity is currently producing another batch of Deep V rims, which means that we should have our hands on them pretty soon. You can check them out at www.velocitywheels.com to see the range of colours. Until we get our hands on them, I thought I'd upload some photos of some recent Deep V builds we've done:
Black Velocity Deep V Wheelset with BLUE nipples:
- Machined front, non-machined rear black Deep V rims.
- Black Velocity track hubs - fixed/free
- Blue DT Swiss Aluminium Nipples
- Black DT Swiss Champion spokes. $399.
Black Velocity Deep V Wheelset:
- Machined front, non-machined rear black Deep V rims.
- Black Velocity track hubs - fixed/free
- Silver DT Swiss Champion spokes. $399.
White Velocity B43/Deep V Wheelset:
- Machined white Deep V - front.
- White B43 - rear.
- Black Velocity track hubs - fixed/fixed
- Silver DT Swiss Champion spokes. $425.
Black Velocity Deep V Wheelset with BLUE nipples:
- Machined front, non-machined rear black Deep V rims.
- Black Velocity track hubs - fixed/free
- Blue DT Swiss Aluminium Nipples
- Black DT Swiss Champion spokes. $399.
Black Velocity Deep V Wheelset:
- Machined front, non-machined rear black Deep V rims.
- Black Velocity track hubs - fixed/free
- Silver DT Swiss Champion spokes. $399.
White Velocity B43/Deep V Wheelset:
- Machined white Deep V - front.
- White B43 - rear.
- Black Velocity track hubs - fixed/fixed
- Silver DT Swiss Champion spokes. $425.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Recent Builds
Here are just a couple of recent builds to give you an idea of what's coming out of the Wheelworks truing stands at the moment:
Lime Green Velocity Deep V Wheelset:
- Machined front, non-machined rear lime green Deep V rims.
- Black Velocity track hubs
- Black DT Swiss Champion spokes. $399.
Black Velocity B43 Wheelset:
- Black Velocity B43 rims.
- Black Velocity track hubs
- White powdercoated 'Velocity' spokes. $449.
Silver SUZUE/MAVIC Wheelset (Piece of awesome!):
- Silver Mavic Open Pro rims.
- Silver Suzue track hubs.
- Silver DT Swiss Competition double butted spokes. $649.
These are some of my favourites from the past two weeks, enjoy!
Lime Green Velocity Deep V Wheelset:
- Machined front, non-machined rear lime green Deep V rims.
- Black Velocity track hubs
- Black DT Swiss Champion spokes. $399.
Black Velocity B43 Wheelset:
- Black Velocity B43 rims.
- Black Velocity track hubs
- White powdercoated 'Velocity' spokes. $449.
Silver SUZUE/MAVIC Wheelset (Piece of awesome!):
- Silver Suzue track hubs.
- Silver DT Swiss Competition double butted spokes. $649.
These are some of my favourites from the past two weeks, enjoy!
Coloured Spokes!
Hey all,
We are now set up to provide you with coloured spokes! We only use DT Swiss spokes, who already manufacture silver and black spokes. However we've had a lot of requests regarding coloured spokes, so, as always, we listened, and delivered! These can be sold to you directly, or we can use them in your next build. Keep in mind that there is a 3-5 day turnaround for coloured spokes, as it does take time for us to get them powdercoated.
There are more colours available than I'll list here, but the colours that have been given the go-ahead are the following: White, Red, Orange, Green and Blue. I'll work on getting some photos in the next week or two so that you can see the colours.
Cheers,
Brent
We are now set up to provide you with coloured spokes! We only use DT Swiss spokes, who already manufacture silver and black spokes. However we've had a lot of requests regarding coloured spokes, so, as always, we listened, and delivered! These can be sold to you directly, or we can use them in your next build. Keep in mind that there is a 3-5 day turnaround for coloured spokes, as it does take time for us to get them powdercoated.
There are more colours available than I'll list here, but the colours that have been given the go-ahead are the following: White, Red, Orange, Green and Blue. I'll work on getting some photos in the next week or two so that you can see the colours.
Cheers,
Brent
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
WHEELWORKS HANDBUILT WHEELS - BY RIDERS, FOR RIDERS
Hey all,
You may or may not have heard about my handbuilt wheels, which, since I started building them under the name 'Wheelworks' 3 months ago, have been generating more and more hype and are making their way into packaging boxes, and being sent to various states across Australia. I've been involved in bikes for as long as I can remember. I'm a third year Mechanical Engineering student from Melbourne, and have worked in a small bike shop for what seems like quite a long time now. I've been building wheels for almost as long, but only in the last 6 months have I realised how much I enjoy it, and wanted to go a bit further with it, after I participated in a very rewarding Wheelbuilding Master Class, hosted by one of the world's most experienced wheelbuilders (email me if you want to find out more!).
So the last 3 months have been spent testing the waters, advertising a few on eBay, seeing how many of you actually want handbuilt wheels, and most of all, taking note of what YOU want. The wonderful thing about a custom handbuilt wheel, is that you get to decide what components are used in your wheel. Don't like the look of most of the wheels you see around? Want something a bit different? Then send me an email, and chances are, I'll be able to give you a few options to choose from. Now that we've established what you want, I've decided that I'll be here to stay.
Still not sure why you should choose a handbuilt wheel?
There's a lot of factory built wheels that are good. Nobody can deny that. Most factory built wheels have faults. And it's because a wheelbuilding factory runs 24/7, and each second counts.
For example, the factories use machines to build these wheels. They use a lacing machine (which puts all the spokes into the hubs, then pokes them through the rim, and then winds a nipple on), and at least a trueing machine, which is used to remove lateral and radial runout from the wheel, while checking spoke tension. The lacing machine doesn't like spokes that are the correct length, and instead, uses spokes that are slightly shorter. Why? So that the spokes don't scratch the rim. It makes sense in a way, nobody wants a wheel that's scratched up, but keeping in mind that spokes generally vary in 2mm increments, you will most likely end up with spokes that are 2mm too short. The correct length spoke is the one which is flush with the head of the nipple. (Unfortunately I don't have a camera that can take any sort of decent photo of anything as small as the end of a spoke, otherwise I'd have a photo accompanying this.) Because of the slot in the head of the nipple, when you use a short spoke and put tension on it, it tries to fold the sides of the nipple head inwards. I've seen it happen on quite a few factory built wheels, and is one of the more common failure modes.
As well as this, the automatic truing machines they use are extremely quick. To get a wheel to be within +/- 1mm tolerance might take the machine, let's say, 60 seconds (They really are that quick). To go further and get the wheel to within +/- 0.5mm might take a total of 120 seconds, and to go even further and true a wheel to within +/- 0.1mm could take a total of 180 seconds. To then check for even spoke tension may take a further 15 seconds. Keep in mind that if it's not even, the machine will have to keep working.
This is one of the big reasons why a DT Swiss/Mavic/American Classic wheel is more expensive than the OEM wheels that come on your bike (Those are just a couple of examples of well built factory wheels).
But if you want to go one step further than a good factory built wheel like the ones I just mentioned, then the only way if handbuilt. But don't be fooled: just because it's handbuilt doesn't mean that it's awesome. There is a BIG difference between a wheel built by "Johnny Afterschool", and someone who takes wheelbuilding seriously.
"So, why Wheelworks?"
Because I'll make sure your next wheels work the way they should. This isn't a production line, and neither do I have same-day turnaround, but I get it done properly. My wheels are strong, and I only use the best components. I've got experience building BMX, road, track, fixie, MTB and DJ wheelsets, in all sorts of lacing patterns. Since Wheelworks became active 3 months ago, I've built exactly 46 wheels, and not one of them has had a broken spoke, which I'm proud of when I realise that a couple of my customers used to break spokes on a fortnightly basis. I currently have two sets of wheels belonging to Kate Leeming, who is riding 20000km's around Africa (www.btcycle.com), and 3 guys at our bike shop ride on wheels that I built for them. Your spokes will be DT Swiss by default, they will be the correct length, stress-relieved, and the spoke heads will be punched. Your wheels will be within very tight tolerances, and I even include free wheeltrueing, should they ever need it. I keep records of every wheel that I build, so you can look forward to ongoing support from me.
Keep riding, and feel free to send me an email at: handbuiltwheels@live.com.au. I look forward to hearing from you, and I hope to be a part of your next project!
Cheers,
Brent May
You may or may not have heard about my handbuilt wheels, which, since I started building them under the name 'Wheelworks' 3 months ago, have been generating more and more hype and are making their way into packaging boxes, and being sent to various states across Australia. I've been involved in bikes for as long as I can remember. I'm a third year Mechanical Engineering student from Melbourne, and have worked in a small bike shop for what seems like quite a long time now. I've been building wheels for almost as long, but only in the last 6 months have I realised how much I enjoy it, and wanted to go a bit further with it, after I participated in a very rewarding Wheelbuilding Master Class, hosted by one of the world's most experienced wheelbuilders (email me if you want to find out more!).
So the last 3 months have been spent testing the waters, advertising a few on eBay, seeing how many of you actually want handbuilt wheels, and most of all, taking note of what YOU want. The wonderful thing about a custom handbuilt wheel, is that you get to decide what components are used in your wheel. Don't like the look of most of the wheels you see around? Want something a bit different? Then send me an email, and chances are, I'll be able to give you a few options to choose from. Now that we've established what you want, I've decided that I'll be here to stay.
Still not sure why you should choose a handbuilt wheel?
There's a lot of factory built wheels that are good. Nobody can deny that. Most factory built wheels have faults. And it's because a wheelbuilding factory runs 24/7, and each second counts.
For example, the factories use machines to build these wheels. They use a lacing machine (which puts all the spokes into the hubs, then pokes them through the rim, and then winds a nipple on), and at least a trueing machine, which is used to remove lateral and radial runout from the wheel, while checking spoke tension. The lacing machine doesn't like spokes that are the correct length, and instead, uses spokes that are slightly shorter. Why? So that the spokes don't scratch the rim. It makes sense in a way, nobody wants a wheel that's scratched up, but keeping in mind that spokes generally vary in 2mm increments, you will most likely end up with spokes that are 2mm too short. The correct length spoke is the one which is flush with the head of the nipple. (Unfortunately I don't have a camera that can take any sort of decent photo of anything as small as the end of a spoke, otherwise I'd have a photo accompanying this.) Because of the slot in the head of the nipple, when you use a short spoke and put tension on it, it tries to fold the sides of the nipple head inwards. I've seen it happen on quite a few factory built wheels, and is one of the more common failure modes.
As well as this, the automatic truing machines they use are extremely quick. To get a wheel to be within +/- 1mm tolerance might take the machine, let's say, 60 seconds (They really are that quick). To go further and get the wheel to within +/- 0.5mm might take a total of 120 seconds, and to go even further and true a wheel to within +/- 0.1mm could take a total of 180 seconds. To then check for even spoke tension may take a further 15 seconds. Keep in mind that if it's not even, the machine will have to keep working.
This is one of the big reasons why a DT Swiss/Mavic/American Classic wheel is more expensive than the OEM wheels that come on your bike (Those are just a couple of examples of well built factory wheels).
But if you want to go one step further than a good factory built wheel like the ones I just mentioned, then the only way if handbuilt. But don't be fooled: just because it's handbuilt doesn't mean that it's awesome. There is a BIG difference between a wheel built by "Johnny Afterschool", and someone who takes wheelbuilding seriously.
"So, why Wheelworks?"
Because I'll make sure your next wheels work the way they should. This isn't a production line, and neither do I have same-day turnaround, but I get it done properly. My wheels are strong, and I only use the best components. I've got experience building BMX, road, track, fixie, MTB and DJ wheelsets, in all sorts of lacing patterns. Since Wheelworks became active 3 months ago, I've built exactly 46 wheels, and not one of them has had a broken spoke, which I'm proud of when I realise that a couple of my customers used to break spokes on a fortnightly basis. I currently have two sets of wheels belonging to Kate Leeming, who is riding 20000km's around Africa (www.btcycle.com), and 3 guys at our bike shop ride on wheels that I built for them. Your spokes will be DT Swiss by default, they will be the correct length, stress-relieved, and the spoke heads will be punched. Your wheels will be within very tight tolerances, and I even include free wheeltrueing, should they ever need it. I keep records of every wheel that I build, so you can look forward to ongoing support from me.
Keep riding, and feel free to send me an email at: handbuiltwheels@live.com.au. I look forward to hearing from you, and I hope to be a part of your next project!
Cheers,
Brent May
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)