Wheelworks.co.nz, Handbuilt wheels by Tristan Thomas

When I started selling the Kinlin rims 2 years ago I had to really sell them to people:  It was an unknown brand and people were (rightfully) skeptical.  I’d done my homework on the rims and tested them personally so I knew they’d be great but it still took a bit of convincing and a bit of trust.  Now people ring up and request them by name – oh how things have changed!

This was quite a unique wheelset in the sense that the client is only in NZ for two weeks on holiday and wanted to pick the wheels up while here and take them home…quite the compliment!

An Alchemy front hub laced to an XR-270 front rim with 20 CX-Ray spokes, and a Tune Mag180 laced “triplet” to an XR-300 using 24 CX-Ray spokes.  This hub is a limited edition from Tune featuring 16 driveside spokes and 8 non-drive and designed specifically for the triplet pattern.

The much anticipated Alchemy Bicycle Works front hubs have arrived!

Alchemy used to import Tune and M5 into the United States but have gone on to design their own pair of hubs.  The front is in production while the rear is still in the development stage.

The idea with the front hub is to space the bearings and flanges as wide as possible to stiffen the wheel.  The bearings are ceramic and run smoothly, and the finish quality of the hub is top-notch.  Weight is 64grams, lighter than a Tune Mig70 (73g) but heavier than an M5 (although the Alchemy uses “real” sized bearings, not iddy-bitty ones)

The hubs come without decals however I found them a bit plain so I added some custom Wheelworks bands with the W logo.

These hubs are in short supply and I only managed to get three of them:  The silver 20h and two black 24h units.  I only have one 24h left for sale…if you’d like a wheelset using it call quickly.

Touring wheels are cool.  They’re uber heavy, super stiff and designed to take the load of bike + rider + as much gear as can be fitted to the panniers :-)

Salsa Gordo 26″ rim, DT Swiss spokes and nipples, and a 36 hole Shimano XT hub.  Just in time for spring.

Kinlin XR-270 rims, Sapim CX-Ray bladed spokes and Novatec disc hubs.

These are road wheels for my own Salsa La Cruz cyclocross bike.  I’ve been doing a lot of road km’s on this bike lately so having a quick pair of road wheels and tyres means I can easily swap between knobbies and road tyres.

The Novatec hubs are a test to see what the quality and durability of these affordably priced hubs is like.