Wheels Mfg. Shows Prototype Cranks, Headset & More (Plus New Tools) - Bikerumor

Nov 02, 2024

Wheels Manufacturing is branching out well beyond bottom brackets and shop tools. Their Sea Otter booth was packed full of prototypes aboard a gorgeous Salsa HeyDay fat bike (wrapped by Papaya Wraps Bikes), with cranks, pedals, a chainring bash guard, headset, and seatpost collar.

They also have new Solo Cog singlespeed cogs and adapters, and new shop tools, too.

They weren’t sharing a lot of info on the prototype parts, but the cranks look sleek and slim, with a bit of chiseling on the backside to save weight The topography details are machined in, not printed, which is a unique touch. Note that it’s also holding a Wheels Mfg. chainring, too.

The pedals have 11 pins per side and, possible, more or full size bearings both inboard and outboard judging by the bulge on the outside edge.

The bashguard is mounted to a BB spacer, but presumably they’ll have standard ISCG05 options, too. But, since they make the BBs, too, this is a cool option for fitting it to many bikes.

The seat collar is straight forward, with a nice cutout on the sides to save a few grams. The headset is…a headset. They weren’t saying much about what makes it special. Yet.

Last year, Wheels showed off their Solo-XD, a spacer and adapter kit that lets you mount one of their Solo Cogs to a SRAM XD freehub body. Now, they’re added the Solo-Spline, letting you mount their singlespeed cogs to a Shimano Micro Spline driver body, too. It’s still a prototype, but expect this to be available soon.

Their Solo-Cogs now come in more sizes and all the colors. Sizes now include 16/18/19/20/21/22/23. Some are available now, all will be out by end of June.

Shown on the top row, the new Axle Ruler Kit and Wide Bearing Press ease service efforts on the ever-growing number of axle sizes. The 12″ long Wide Hub/Suspension Press Kit fits everything up to 190/197 hub widths and includes two speed spacers and a press handle.

The Axle ruler (top left) has 13 different thread size and pitch “nuts” that let you test your axles to confirm what’s needed for a replacement. It also has imperial and metric rulers on it and is pegboard compatible. Available now, MSRP is $122.99.

On the bottom row are updated Vice Shaft Clamps. They’re designed for holding round objects, from dropper posts to suspension stanchions and air cans. The split in half and now have strong magnets on the backs so they’ll stay in your vice even as you open it to insert or release the part being serviced.

WheelsMFG.com