We've been busy over the past month or so rearranging The Wheel Department, so our apologies if the phone rings a little longer from time-to-time. The changes should bring some much needed organization and efficiency improvements, as well as accommodate future growth and expansion.
It may look a little chaotic, but we assure you there's a method to our madness
Most know our own Jeff Jacobi for his stellar wheel builds, fast laps and his early 90's Camaro Z28, but he's also the mind and muscle behind the new layout. Rarely satisfied with anything "off the shelf," he's gone so far as to build a completely custom workbench for our master wheelbuilder Paul (PVW on your wheel tag), as well as matching custom spoke racks.
Just as scientists assumed the Coelacanth was extinct, many believed the Velocity Uriel rim to suffer a similar fate.
Not extinct.
Then, just as in 1938 off the coast of South Africa, a stunning discovery was made in the Velocity warehouse. While on a expedition through the warehouse, a pod of Uriel rims surfaced. They were then mated to some of our tried and true track hubs, and the Uriel Track Special Edition wheelset was born.
Also not extinct.
The Uriel is our time tested Fusion rim, drilled for paired-spoke lacing. The wheelset features 24 DT Champion spokes front and rear, and DT alloy nipples, all laced, tensioned and trued by hand in The Wheel Department.
Weight is 950/1020g front/rear, making these a nice mid-weight option that'll hold up on the street or track. Order a pair here, there's only a few left and when they are gone, they are gone until we stumble across some more in a dark, forgotten recess.
Sunday, the most recent Velocity USA-sponsored rider, Mackenzie Woodring, took 1st place at the Ohio Valley Cyclocross Series -- for the third race in a row. Impressive, and even more so considering she's coming back from a DNF in the first race of the series.
Since then, even a snapped derailleur hanger hasn't been able to keep her from the #1 spot: Mackenzie ran her bike to a first place finish at race #3.
Chloe Dygert, of Midwest Devo, snagged the number one spot in the first race of the series and has kept right on Mackenzie's wheel in every subsequent race.
Chloe & Mackenzie (L-R) after OCVX #4
Mackenzie's killer performance is attracting attention around the internet, with write ups and interviews on cxmagazine.com, dirtwire.tv, and an upcoming interview with her fat-tire-loving counterpart, Danielle Musto, on her internet radio show, "Girls & Gears." Tune in at 8 p.m. EST this Thursday.
Hawley Co. talks to "the Wizard of the Wheel Department," our own Jeff Jacobi. 'Cobi (as he's known round these parts) takes viewers through the full Velocity rim lineup in just under 6 minutes. As usual, he's not at a loss for words:
Published on Sep 30, 2013Wheel-building wizard Jeff Jacobi takes us through a wide offering in Velocity's line of rims, from 650b models to their latest offering for fatbikes.
It's that time of the year again where bike shop employees and industry veterans flock to Vegas where they will live off of free Clif Bar and Gu samples for three days. We'll be there starting Wednesday, the 18th, until the show ends Friday at booth #10066.
Ryan, Jeff and Paul from The Wheel Department will be doing live wheelbuilds throughout the day. Find us on Facebook and Twitter and we'll try to keep you updated when we're doing demos. We were going to build a miniature shipping department for live shipping demos, complete with a miniature of our forklift, Alice, but we ran out of time.
