Bespoke wheels
One of the most important components of a bicycle is the wheel set. In the conventional bike industry, the majority of wheels are build in a chain production and it is difficult to find things out of the conventional. There are cheap ones, without any particular characteristic other than lowing the producing cost to its minimum. There are others where the look and appearance is the key factor (the fixie ones, for example), and the only factor that matters is the aesthetic and color combination, without really caring about the quality. If we take a look to the high quality wheel sets, the key factor is the lightness combined with the quality of its components (hub, bearings, spokes and rim), but even in this sector, the mass production is quite standardized, and sometimes is not easy to find in catalogs the wheels that cover our exact needs.
The bespoke wheels, meeting the exact needs of each bicycle and cyclist, is something more and more widespread and the factor that can endow our bicycle with the final character that it lacks. In the cyclo touring discipline, something that we are specialized in, a good wheel set is everything, and difficult to find.
Wheel restoration
One of the most complicated parts in a full bicycle restoration is the restoration of the original wheels. It is not always possible though, due to the rust that sometimes plays havoc with the metal and it makes it impossible to resuscitate them. But when the customer wants to keep the original wheel sets, and the rust allows it, we chrome the rim and hubs and re-build the wheels with new spokes to restore them and achieve the perfect restoration job, keeping even the original wheel set of the bicycle.
Bespoke wheels for cyclotourism
In a bicycle build for touring and travelling, we need to be able to load the bike with quite a few kilos, apart from our own weight, without harming the bike or making it suffer. In this discipline, wheels are everything. The same occurs in the more and more widespread discipline of bike packing and ultra long distance races, where the bicycles used are lighter than the ones for cyclotourism, but also prepared to be able to load weight.
What can you achieve with bespoke wheels?
– You can choose between different types, materials and quality standards of rims and spokes, depending on what we are looking for: lightness vs hardiness, road vs off road…
– You can choose between different spoke crosses for the front and rear wheel, or even a different combination of crosses in each side of the rear wheel. It all depends on the use we want to give to the bike and the weight we want to load on it.
– It allows you to mount a front dynamo hub for a good lighting system or for charging the cell phone and GPS while pedaling. This is very useful in long distances tours where you don’t really stop at hostels or restaurants and you can’t charge your electronic devices very frequently.
At Ciclofactoria we have a big range of components for building the bespoke wheels you need. It is not necessary to always go for the most expensive or the lightest components. By knowing how to combine the perfect components and how to building them together, we can obtain the perfect wheels that will make all the difference of our bicycle.
Contact us and tell us your needs.