Have you heard of the Spoke Cutting Mob? If you’re not a mobster, this may be news. Spoke cutting has been growing steadily for several decades. The cult will continue to grow but might also erupt with little warning (May 18 = Mount St Helens...). There are now thousands in our Mob.
Spoke resizers fuel their own builds, rebuilds, and repairs, plus demand from other shops and remote builders. Many users, to their surprise, have launched spoke supplier businesses. We know of more than one dozen small workshops with multiple machines.
Where?
Mobsters are global. Builders want precise lengths, gauges, and colors on short notice so riders keep rolling. Spoke factories can’t respond to sudden, small demand. Spoke distributors can’t keep thousands of spoke varieties in stock. Local Spoke Cutters increasingly fill this need.
How?
It takes a dedicated tool to resize spokes—which have small, fine threads and are difficult to handle. Makers include Hozan, Cyclus, Phil Wood, Wheel Fanatyk, and Kowa—prices range from US$500–$7,000 and they typically last a very long time. All are human powered and depend on the availability of a skilled operator and an efficient setup so costs are minimized.
Why?
Tired of coming up short for spokes needed now? The variety of bikes, each with specific spokes, all eventually needing service, grows every year.
Tired of carrying disproportionate inventories of spokes, with inevitalble thousands that are never used?
Tired of underwriting (and waiting on) shipping couriers? It is not economical to purchase small batches of spokes. Riders benefit when spokes are sourced where and when wheels need building.
Cutting and threading is enjoyable—it’s satisfying to make the spokes for a build. It takes but a few minutes and adds to the building experience. Many wheels are not interesting builds. Add spoke cutting, and the job becomes more rewarding. Besides, your length accuracy and thread precision can exceed manufacturers' standards.
Everyone loves to see spoke cutting in action. These machines mesmerize children and adults.
Future?
The Mob flies under the radar—this is certainly the first time you’ve read an overview. Today's cycling has a green light for ecology, economy, and exercise. Spoke cutting fits—just in time supply, utilization of overstocks, flexibility for new wheel designs, increased resourcefulness at local shops.
How About You?
If you have a spoke cutting and threading machine, consider giving it more use. If it’s not reliable, get it serviced and get yourself better trained. Keep eyes peeled for used machines. Customize your offering to leverage this service, for example, consider specializing in just one or two spoke types so your inventory consists of a small range of blanks. A lucky auction purchase of liquidated spoke stock could set you up for life.
Future Spoke Cutting Mobsters—take the plunge and join this large but overlooked cult. Wheels are waiting!
Next: look for a series of videos exploring the current Wheel Fanatyk Spoke Machine. There have been some improvements and additions to discuss, plus pro tips for users.
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