production process

The Great Divide – “Henry Ford is the Albert Pope of the Motor Car”

Readers of this blog may feel inclined to say “not again!” when I mention Iain Boal’s lecture on The Green Machine, at the Copenhagen Museum in April of this year. The quote which is the title of this post comes from that part of his talk dealing with “the great divide” in bicycle manufacturing–that between blacksmith/craftsman [...]

Share
Read the full article →

Wheelhub Assembly – cartridge bearings, freehub body

This is the followup post to the exploration of the cold forge and CNC hub factory I posted about recently. Once hubshells have been forged or machined, they are painted (outsourced) and then returned to be completed: cartridge/sealed bearing and axle assembly. Painted hub is placed on the bearing setter. Bearings are there on the [...]

Share
Read the full article →

Wheelbuilding 101 – Rims, Hubs, Spokes, and Cost Effectiveness

This is the first post of a few talking about wheelbuilding production issues. Technology is important but will not be the exclusive focus. Can’t be the exclusive focus. I’ll try to explain this later. The overall idea is similar to the principle discussed in a recent post: technological solutions must be cost effective. And I think cost-effectiveness [...]

Share
Read the full article →

Six steps to finding an OEM supplier

It’s my first visit to this operation. The production areas are compact, clean and neat; well-organized. This is no line-production process as such. Each section has its artisans working on their cluster of framesets. Amongst the brands represented are Colnago and Pinarello as well as a production of Rivendell Hillbournes–a good sign. I’m here to [...]

Share
Read the full article →