New Spin On Wheels
Asheville-based company Industry 9 has wowed the international bike scene by
handcrafting a new, faster, and prettier spin on mountain bike wheels.
Not only do Industry 9 wheel sets allow you to bling your bike with such colors as pink hubs and golden spokes, the revolutionary design has an instant engagement mechanism. The wheel engages within three degrees of a pedal stroke. In laymen’s terms: frickin’ fast. It also happens to be extremely light and stiff.
The difference is this:
Your run-of-the-mill spoke bends on one end and narrows down to a thread requiring a nipple. That makes two points of weakness. These spokes are straight with a broader threaded end, and they fit directly into the hub. Plus, they are aluminum, so they are light and anodized—hence the pretty palette of colors they offer. Steel is just steel, after all.
These wheel sets are especially tasty for singlespeeders in love with 29” wheels. While bigger wheels mean more weight and flexibility, the Industry 9 wheels remain light and stiff, regardless of size. Oh my.
When John Kiffmeyer and Clint Spiegel came out with their prototype in January 2005, they wanted just the right guy to test its durability. They brought a set of wheels to crazy-man Fred Schuldt, who then owned Pro Bikes. Schuldt says that when they handed him the wheel, he just laughed.
“I was skeptical," Schuldt admits. "I couldn’t believe how light it was.” So he went out and tried to break it. He dropped off of everything in sight. “Bones have broken before these wheels,” he says. The bike and its new owner are still riding those wheels. Next he sold Pro Bikes and started machining for Industry 9.
The wheel sets were officially introduced at the 2005 Mountain Sports Festival. It’s hard to ignore red hubs and spokes, so it was the pretty-pretty that got the boys’ attention.
“We had to live down the bling factor to prove revolution in design,” says sales manager and waste remover Jeff Baucom. “We have evolved the wheel, not just made a prettier version of what’s already out there.”
That fall they represented for the international crowd at Innerbike in Las Vegas. The company has exploded from there. “I don’t know of another company that has gone from zero to this in this amount of time,” Schuldt says.
The group of six local guys (who ride like badasses from hell) churn out about 120 wheel sets a month with distributors in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Korea, Japan, and a strong presence in Germany. You know how those Germans like their quality. Even legendary rider John Tomac, and current downhill champion Sam Hill are riding them. They’ve already won “product of the year” in Mountain Bike magazine and have been nominated as best new product in Bike.
Since they are made with love in the Appalachians, it can be a three-to-eight-week wait. Only the rims and bearings are outsourced. The well-sealed, durable bearings come from Japan and the rims are the buyer's choice. In all they retail at about $879. Road wheels are next to come. More info: www.industrynine.net.
—Bettina Freese
Not only do Industry 9 wheel sets allow you to bling your bike with such colors as pink hubs and golden spokes, the revolutionary design has an instant engagement mechanism. The wheel engages within three degrees of a pedal stroke. In laymen’s terms: frickin’ fast. It also happens to be extremely light and stiff.
The difference is this:
Your run-of-the-mill spoke bends on one end and narrows down to a thread requiring a nipple. That makes two points of weakness. These spokes are straight with a broader threaded end, and they fit directly into the hub. Plus, they are aluminum, so they are light and anodized—hence the pretty palette of colors they offer. Steel is just steel, after all.
These wheel sets are especially tasty for singlespeeders in love with 29” wheels. While bigger wheels mean more weight and flexibility, the Industry 9 wheels remain light and stiff, regardless of size. Oh my.
When John Kiffmeyer and Clint Spiegel came out with their prototype in January 2005, they wanted just the right guy to test its durability. They brought a set of wheels to crazy-man Fred Schuldt, who then owned Pro Bikes. Schuldt says that when they handed him the wheel, he just laughed.
“I was skeptical," Schuldt admits. "I couldn’t believe how light it was.” So he went out and tried to break it. He dropped off of everything in sight. “Bones have broken before these wheels,” he says. The bike and its new owner are still riding those wheels. Next he sold Pro Bikes and started machining for Industry 9.
The wheel sets were officially introduced at the 2005 Mountain Sports Festival. It’s hard to ignore red hubs and spokes, so it was the pretty-pretty that got the boys’ attention.
“We had to live down the bling factor to prove revolution in design,” says sales manager and waste remover Jeff Baucom. “We have evolved the wheel, not just made a prettier version of what’s already out there.”
That fall they represented for the international crowd at Innerbike in Las Vegas. The company has exploded from there. “I don’t know of another company that has gone from zero to this in this amount of time,” Schuldt says.
The group of six local guys (who ride like badasses from hell) churn out about 120 wheel sets a month with distributors in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Korea, Japan, and a strong presence in Germany. You know how those Germans like their quality. Even legendary rider John Tomac, and current downhill champion Sam Hill are riding them. They’ve already won “product of the year” in Mountain Bike magazine and have been nominated as best new product in Bike.
Since they are made with love in the Appalachians, it can be a three-to-eight-week wait. Only the rims and bearings are outsourced. The well-sealed, durable bearings come from Japan and the rims are the buyer's choice. In all they retail at about $879. Road wheels are next to come. More info: www.industrynine.net.
—Bettina Freese
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