Some new business

I thank all of you that are here following me.  I will have some great news in about a month.  Start saving now;-)  I've been testing out what I believe to be a great addition to my offerings. 

This is the new Velocity A23 rim shape.  It is now tubeless ready, but you can still use standard tube/tires.  The new shape gives a more secure hold to a tubeless tire, makes is easier to mount, and helps prevent burping.  Burping is a sudden pressure drop when the bead loses temporary contact with the rim bead.  My rims come with Veloplugs (still fits this rim) installed unless you want tubeless tape.

I've been working on new logos.  My goal is to have them in a reflective material so those of us that ride in the dark have some added protection.  During the day they look like standard decals.  I hope to have the larger decals available in black or white reflective material.  They are cutouts like the Enve SES rims.  For standard alloy rims I will have a white on black reflective decal.

Don't peel them off!

daytime

nighttime

 

Does you wheelbuilder do this?

Part of selling wheels is servicing them.  Rest assured, I run a full service operation.  It takes the correct tools to do the job right.  You don't want to purchase $600 hubs only to have someone monkey around with the wrong tools and warp the bearing bores.  Make sure you buy from someone that knows what he is doing.

ENVE Composites rims.  Last summer ENVE Composites launched their Smart Enve System (SES) rims.  These rims were designed with the help of Formula 1 aerodynamicis, Simon Smart (hence the name).  The goal is to have better aerodynamics than ever before with a twist.  The rims generate less torque in crosswinds so you can run a deeper profile than you normally could for the given conditions.

I spent last season on a set of the SES 6.7 rims built up to Alchemy hubs.  Long Island is a great place to experience variable wind conditions.  I routinely ride within a stone's throw of the Great South Bay on the unsheltered roads of Heckscher State Park.  Here, no matter which direction the wind is approaching from, you get experience headwinds, crosswinds, tailwinds, and gusts from every direction.

The behavior of the wheels is very predictable.  There is a gentle push, but there are no surprises even from the worst of gusts.  The trickiest of conditions is a headwind when the gust varies a few degrees.  The wind wants to steer the bike from a few degrees then immediately snapping off to the right.  I've ridden other rims in the 65-66mm depth in these same conditions and the difference is absolutely there.  I can ride in front of the pack or a couple of centimeters behind someone's wheel and hole my line better.

The fit and finish of the SES line of rims is second to none.  They have a satin luster with stealthy, decals on top.  You won't feel like a rolling billboard if you leave the decals on.  The brake track has a slightly rough texture to aid in brake modulation performance.  The rims don't have the feeling of sudden grabbing rather they are linear.  You can safely add pressure to the brake levers and not worry about locking up the rear wheel any more than alloy rims.  It doesn't hurt that the rims come with ENVE's own composition brake pads.

Are these wheels for you?  Let's talk.

Welcome.  I'll start out with some tools of the trade today.

Spokes go through here first.

Spokes need this.

Rims get a chamfer before assembly.

This is where I make it happen.