See how nearly half a million headset spacers are made each year
Many stock rear derailleur hangers are cheaply made from cast aluminum, making them prone to failure. Wheels Manufacturing has earned a solid following for its aftermarket hangers thanks the use of more durable 6061 alloys and precision machining
Many stock rear derailleur hangers are cheaply made from cast aluminum, making them prone to failure. Wheels Manufacturing has earned a solid following for its aftermarket hangers thanks the use of more durable 6061 alloys and precision machining - James Huang/Future Publishing
Virtually all of the aluminum and Delrin raw materials that Wheels Manufacturing receives comes in bar or rod form. Materials are bought by weight so careful forecasting is a must so as to ensure that there isn't more money tied up in inventory than is needed - James Huang/Future Publishing
Incoming materials are sorted on various racks - James Huang/Future Publishing
These giant Delrin rods will eventually be machined into bottom bracket adapters - James Huang/Future Publishing
Chunks of Delrin en route to being turned into bottom bracket adapters - James Huang/Future Publishing
These aluminum plates are first roughly cut on a band saw. They'll eventually be machined into rear derailleur hangers - James Huang/Future Publishing
Wheels Manufacturing makes a lot of rear derailleur hangers so it's no surprise that there's quite a bit of aluminum plate stock on hand at any given moment - James Huang/Future Publishing
Rod stock is fed into a CNC lathe here - James Huang/Future Publishing
Wheels Manufacturing offers a wide range of seatpost size adapters. These still need to be slotted and anodized - James Huang/Future Publishing
Not surprisingly, Wheels Manufacturing's factory floor is chock-full of CNC lathes and milling machines - James Huang/Future Publishing
Delrin chips fill the bottom of this CNC mill. Note the rotary head, too, which allows for multiple operations to be done without having to physically change tools - James Huang/Future Publishing
Shiny aluminum bottom bracket cups fresh out of the CNC machine - James Huang/Future Publishing
A simple magnet glued on to the side of this machine makes for an instant air gun holder - James Huang/Future Publishing
Coolant is injected straight into the bit holders, creating minimal waste and keeping the inside of the machine relatively clean - James Huang/Future Publishing
These Delrin bottom bracket adapters won't need nearly as much post-machining finishing work as aluminum pieces - James Huang/Future Publishing
Aluminum rear derailleur hangers in the midst of being machined - James Huang/Future Publishing
This sure is a heck of a lot faster than tapping threads by hand - James Huang/Future Publishing
Wheels Manufacturing machines rear derailleur hangers in batches. Each of these bars will produce about half a dozen hangers - James Huang/Future Publishing
Derailleur hangers are milled almost completely around in the first step of production. - James Huang/Future Publishing
Afterward, the entire plate is then flipped over and inserted into this negative pattern so that the remaining material can be milled away while still holding each derailleur hanger precisely positioned - James Huang/Future Publishing
Scrap aluminum is sorted in bins for recycling. As you can probably also tell, Wheels Manufacturing goes through a lot of Simple Green solvent - James Huang/Future Publishing
Wheels Manufacturing uses this to coordinate measuring machine to collect precise dimensions on new hanger models. The information gathered here guarantees that Wheels' aftermarket hangers will fit properly - James Huang/Future Publishing
The business end of Wheels Manufacturing's coordinate measuring machine - James Huang/Future Publishing
Wheels Manufacturing offers nearly 200 different derailleur hangers (not all of them are included on this poster). That number will climb to nearly 300 different types next year - James Huang/Future Publishing
Wheels Manufacturing is still planning on introducing its own range of hubs - eventually - James Huang/Future Publishing
For now, prototype hub shells are machined from rod stock - James Huang/Future Publishing
Wheels Manufacturing uses this area for prototyping and mechanical work - James Huang/Future Publishing
Ever wonder how Wheels Manufacturing gets all of those aluminum pieces so nice and shiny? After they come out of the CNC machines, they take a trip through a ceramic tumbler that polishes them up and takes off the sharp edges - James Huang/Future Publishing
Tumble just about any chunk of aluminum in this stuff for long enough and it'll eventually come out smooth and shiny - James Huang/Future Publishing
Seatpost shims underdoing some final finishing work - James Huang/Future Publishing
Wheels Manufacturing uses several types of tumbling media to finish its parts - James Huang/Future Publishing
Aluminum chips are saved for recycling, too - James Huang/Future Publishing
Finished parts are stocked neatly on shelves in plastic bins - James Huang/Future Publishing
Wheels Manufacturing laser etches its products in-house, too - James Huang/Future Publishing
These racks hold parts in place as they're laser etched - James Huang/Future Publishing
Wheels Manufacturing now offers a wide range of bottom brackets thanks to a partnership with Enduro. The former machines the cups and the latter supplies the bearings - James Huang/Future Publishing
Wheels Manufacturing's newest bottom bracket models are PF30/BB30-to-24mm converters that don't require any additional shims or spacers - James Huang/Future Publishing
Despite the name, Wheels Manufacturing doesn't actually make wheels. What they do make, however, are lots of everyday items you may not have thought much about, like headset spacers, rear derailleur hangers, bottom brackets and bottom bracket adapters. The company makes an awful lot of that stuff, too, with more than 440,000 spacers made each year. Take a walk inside with us to see how it's done.
Save for some shop supply items like ball bearings and cable donuts, Wheels Manufacturing produces all of its wares inside a modest facility in Louisville, Colorado. Every item is produced via CNC machining and the company deals exclusively in aluminum, carbon fiber, and Delrin.
Raw stock is delivered through the back of the building where it's sorted and stacked. Despite the enormous volumes Wheels Manufacturing produces, there isn't actually much raw material kept on hand at any given moment. As it's purchased by weight, it makes sense to only buy as much as is needed.
From there, much of that material gets chopped up into smaller and more manageable pieces before they're fed into one of Wheels Manufacturing's army of CNC mills and lathes. Making headset spacers and seatpost shims is a fairly straightforward process (especially for carbon spacers that already have the correct internal and external diameters and only need to be cut to size). Machining nearly 200 different types of rear derailleur hangers with the exact dimensions needed for a perfect fit, however, is a little trickier.
These aluminum plates are first roughly cut on a band saw. they'll eventually be machined into rear derailleur hangers: - James Huang/Future Publishing
Wheels Manufacturing first starts with a stock OEM hanger and measures every surface with a precision coordinate measuring machine to ensure a perfect match. From there, those dimensions are translated into CNC code that the machines can understand.
Wheels manufacturing uses this to coordinate measuring machine to collect precise dimensions on new hanger models. the information gathered here guarantees that wheels' aftermarket hangers will fit properly: - James Huang/Future Publishing
Hangers are machined out of short pieces of aluminum plate, with each segment yielding about six parts depending on the model. The mill doesn't simply cut away all the excess material around each hanger and spit out finished parts, though. In the first step, the machine only mills away material on the front face and sides of each hanger.
Derailleur hangers are milled almost completely around in the first step of production.: - James Huang/Future Publishing
Afterward, each plate is removed from the mill, flipped over, and then dropped into an aluminum template that's milled away with the exact negative image. That assembly is then reinserted into the machine where the backside of each hanger is finally cut away.
Afterward, the entire plate is then flipped over and inserted into this negative pattern so that the remaining material can be milled away while still holding each derailleur hanger precisely positioned: - James Huang/Future Publishing
In this way, each hanger remains individually fixtured throughout the process to maintain the required dimensional tolerances. This method also allows Wheels Manufacturing to produce more hangers than if they were machined one by one.
Many stock rear derailleur hangers are cheaply made from cast aluminum, making them prone to failure. wheels manufacturing has earned a solid following for its aftermarket hangers thanks to more durable 6061 alloys and precision machining: - James Huang/Future Publishing
Every machined aluminum part still requires finishing work after it's done on the mill or lathe as otherwise the edges would remain razor-sharp. Freshly machined parts are tumbled in giant tanks filled with small ceramic bits and cutting fluid. After an extended stay, they emerge with smooth edges and an impressive polish.
Seatpost shims underdoing some final finishing work: - James Huang/Future Publishing
Final steps include anodizing – which is done off-site – and packaging, after which the parts are ready to ship.
James Huang is BikeRadar's former technical editor. After leaving BikeRadar in 2016, he worked at CyclingTips and Escape Collective. He now runs the Substack cycling publication N-1 Bikes.
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