LINKS REQUEST

Harry Brogan of Lincoln said:

On Sat, 29 Dec 2007 11:46:15 -0600, A Muzi <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Harry (Lincoln said:

Does anyone have some good links available where I can locate some
anodized wheels, spokes and spoke nipples? Preferably American made.
Seems that 99% of the sites I have found have been China or Taiwan
manufacturers. THANKS!!!!

How about Australian? Velocity anodizes some finishes and paints others.

Normal brass plated nipples could possibly be painted but colored
nipples in less suitable materials such as aluminum introduce other
problems.

You might consider plated brass nipples and silver rims with your accent
color in the handlebar tape or some stickers maybe? If this is a
vehicle, as opposed to an art project, that would be more dependable

Yes this is a vehicle and NOT an art project. I do NOT own a car and
this is my main mode of transportation, rain or shine!!!!!

Are the brass nipples more reliable than what is currently on it?
((stock nipples))

Here's a shot of what I am putting these on......

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh160/1957trike/The%20Rig/TheRigMeAtAPark-11252007-05-1209200.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh160/1957trike/The%20Rig/THERIGFirstDayOut-11192007-01-12092.jpg

If you are looking for corrosion resistance, 304 stainless steel spokes
should be fine. Wheelsmith [1] makes these in their factory in Montana.

General experience indicates that standard brass nipples are more
durable than foo foo aluminium alloy nipples.

The Velocity rims would be as good as choice as any, and make decent ISO
305 and 349-mm rims [2] for the BoB. The Velocity Taipan [3] is a sturdy
rim suitable for trike use.

Since you have disc brakes, you could consider coating the rims in
cosmoline or similar prior to the first slush riding. A bit messy, but
should lessen the rate of corrosion from road deicing salts.

[1] <http://wheelsmithcycling.com/index_files/wsspokes.htm>.
[2] <http://www.velocityusa.com/default.asp?contentID=618>.
[3] <http://www.velocityusa.com/default.asp?contentID=614>.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
POST FREE OR DIE!

aka Robert ? said:

Nebraska) said:

Nothing to be offended about. I am only trying to support the workers
here. I have NO problem with the other parts on my ride that are made
overseas. Just thought I would splurge a bit and do some "hometown"
support.

I appreciate that sentiment, but is it even possible to buy American-
made bicycle spokes and nipples any more?

Wheelsmith claims to make most of their spokes in Montana.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
POST FREE OR DIE!

Quoted message said:

Nebraska) said:

Nothing to be offended about. I am only trying to support the workers
here. I have NO problem with the other parts on my ride that are made
overseas. Just thought I would splurge a bit and do some "hometown"
support.

I appreciate that sentiment, but is it even possible to buy American-
made bicycle spokes and nipples any more?

Don't know...that's why I asked about links.

Tom Sherman said:

aka Robert ? said:

Nebraska) said:

Nothing to be offended about. I am only trying to support the workers
here. I have NO problem with the other parts on my ride that are made
overseas. Just thought I would splurge a bit and do some "hometown"
support.

I appreciate that sentiment, but is it even possible to buy American-
made bicycle spokes and nipples any more?

Wheelsmith claims to make most of their spokes in Montana.

Now all of their spokes are supposedly being made in Milwaukee, according
to this message from someone claiming to be an employee:

http://tinyurl.com/22xeml

Quoted message said:

Harry (Lincoln said:

Nothing to be offended about. I am only trying to support the workers
here. I have NO problem with the other parts on my ride that are made
overseas. Just thought I would splurge a bit and do some "hometown"
support.

Quoted message said:

I appreciate that sentiment, but is it even possible to buy American-
made bicycle spokes and nipples any more?

After Torrington closed, there were no USA products for a while.

Wheelsmith spokes were rebadged Asahi spokes but with Wheelsmith's
proprietary brass alloy for the Wheelsmith nipples (much better than
Asahi's own nipples) Since then Asahi has closed.

Hayes Brake moved their brake operations overseas and moved in the
Japanese spoke making equipment from Asahi to their Milwaukee plant.
Soon, if not already, Hayes will ship USA-produced spokes and nipples
under the Wheelsmith label, which they now own.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

A Muzi said:

Quoted message said:

Harry (Lincoln said:

Nothing to be offended about. I am only trying to support the workers
here. I have NO problem with the other parts on my ride that are made
overseas. Just thought I would splurge a bit and do some "hometown"
support.

Quoted message said:

I appreciate that sentiment, but is it even possible to buy American-
made bicycle spokes and nipples any more?

After Torrington closed, there were no USA products for a while.

Wheelsmith spokes were rebadged Asahi spokes but with Wheelsmith's
proprietary brass alloy for the Wheelsmith nipples (much better than
Asahi's own nipples) Since then Asahi has closed.

Hayes Brake moved their brake operations overseas and moved in the
Japanese spoke making equipment from Asahi to their Milwaukee plant.
Soon, if not already, Hayes will ship USA-produced spokes and nipples
under the Wheelsmith label, which they now own.

Interesting, thanks.

Gary Young said:

Tom Sherman said:

aka Robert ? said:

On Dec 29, 2:10 pm, "Harry (Lincoln, Nebraska)"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

> Nothing to be offended about. I am only trying to support the workers
> here. I have NO problem with the other parts on my ride that are made
> overseas. Just thought I would splurge a bit and do some "hometown"
> support.
I appreciate that sentiment, but is it even possible to buy American-
made bicycle spokes and nipples any more?

Wheelsmith claims to make most of their spokes in Montana.

Now all of their spokes are supposedly being made in Milwaukee, according
to this message from someone claiming to be an employee:

http://tinyurl.com/22xeml

It looks like Wheelsmith's manufacturing is located in the Capital
Returns building in Havenwoods.

See <http://www.hayesdiscbrake.com/news092806.shtml> and
<http://www.sunmetal.com/>.

They need to update the Wheelsmith website.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
POST FREE OR DIE!

On Sat, 29 Dec 2007 05:11:49 -0600, "Harry (Lincoln, Nebraska)"

may have said:

Does anyone have some good links available where I can locate some
anodized wheels, spokes and spoke nipples? Preferably American made.
Seems that 99% of the sites I have found have been China or Taiwan
manufacturers. THANKS!!!!

Velocity rims are made in Australia as of last I checked. (Mine were,
anyway, and I like them a lot.)

It's hard for me to predict where Shimano components will come from
though I'm sure they still make at least some portion in Japan.

I haven't read enough labels on SRAM to know if they've outsourced the
majority of their manufacturing to Asia, but they're a US company with
at least some non-Asian manufacturing capacity.

European spokes are, in my experience, to be preferred over Asian or
US.

Spoke nipples, on the other hand, seem pretty uniform as long as you
avoid aluminum, and I suspect that their origins get obscured in bulk
transfer.

The bottom line, though, is that an online source is seldom a
manufacturer, and as such is only capable of making available that
which they can obtain...and there's not a lot of bike component
manufacturing going on in the US. To make matters worse, Shimano made
it unattractive to be an online merchant for their products a couple
of years back, so few merchants feature it; any non-China and
non-Taiwan items of theirs are likely offline with the majority of
their catalog as a result.

IIANM, Wald may be the largest US bike products manufacturer at this
point...and you are probably not looking for what they make.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

A Muzi said:

Wheelsmith spokes were rebadged Asahi spokes but with Wheelsmith's
proprietary brass alloy for the Wheelsmith nipples (much better than
Asahi's own nipples) Since then Asahi has closed.

Wheelsmith bought the equipment from Asahi many years ago, and made
the spokes in Montana, until they were recently bought by Hayes. I've
heard a rumor that they are made in China now (or will be soon), but I
don't know if this is true.

Gary Young said:

Now all of their spokes are supposedly being made in Milwaukee, according
to this message from someone claiming to be an employee:

http://tinyurl.com/22xeml

Ignore my previous post... this is probably closer to the truth.
Copied fron the link:

"As for what spokes came from whom - The 14g non-butted spokes
(SS-14)
were made in their entirety by Wheelsmith with machinery purchased
from Asahi in Japan using the exact same raw materials. The AE-14,
DH-13, all 15g spokes were made by Asahi for Wheelsmith. DB-14 were
sometimes bought complete from Asahi, but usually were made from
blanks shipped to the US. Wheelsmith had the machines to make DB-14's
in Montana but rarely used it. We have produced some SS-14 spokes
over
the past 2 months here in Milwaukee.

All Wheelsmith spokes will soon be made in
Milwaukee. Same machinery, Same raw materials, Same techinques and
the
Same attention to detail. Our spoke maker is a very dedicated
individual with a strong background in high-performance steel
manufacturing. We are very confident that Wheelsmith spokes will
continue to be the best in the industry."

To the OP... White Industries hubs are made in the US.

Ron Ruff said:

Quoted message said:

Wheelsmith spokes were rebadged Asahi spokes but with Wheelsmith's
proprietary brass alloy for the Wheelsmith nipples (much better
than Asahi's own nipples) Since then Asahi has closed.

Quoted message said:

Wheelsmith bought the equipment from Asahi many years ago, and made
the spokes in Montana, until they were recently bought by
Hayes. I've heard a rumor that they are made in China now (or will
be soon), but I don't know if this is true.

I see the rumor mill is being fueled. If you don't know, just leave
it until you know for sure. This doesn't help.

Jobst Brandt

In article
<[email hidden]
egroups.com>,
Ozark Bicycle

Quoted message said:

Nebraska) said:

On Sat, 29 Dec 2007 06:09:16 -0800 (PST), landotter

Quoted message said:

On Dec 29, 5:11 am, "Harry (Lincoln, Nebraska)"
<[email hidden]> wrote:
> Does anyone have some good links available where I can locate some
> anodized wheels, spokes and spoke nipples?  Preferably American made.
> Seems that 99% of the sites I have found have been China or Taiwan
> manufacturers.   THANKS!!!!

Quoted message said:

Here, you dropped these: !!!

Dropped????......What????

Welcome to rec.bicycles.**. Don't take things too seriously. :-)

Why? Harry wants to be taken seriously; very seriously.
Anodized wheels, spokes, and nipples?
US made vs. China?
Left out the chain lubricant and the helmet.

I only just got here wondering who bit.

--
Michael Press

aka Jobst Brandt said:

Ron Ruff said:

Quoted message said:

Wheelsmith spokes were rebadged Asahi spokes but with Wheelsmith's
proprietary brass alloy for the Wheelsmith nipples (much better
than Asahi's own nipples) Since then Asahi has closed.

Quoted message said:

Wheelsmith bought the equipment from Asahi many years ago, and made
the spokes in Montana, until they were recently bought by
Hayes. I've heard a rumor that they are made in China now (or will
be soon), but I don't know if this is true.

I see the rumor mill is being fueled. If you don't know, just leave
it until you know for sure. This doesn't help.

Unfortunately, the Hayes/Wheelsmith building is not the type one can
just walk into to find out, otherwise I would have made the one block
detour today.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
POST FREE OR DIE!