Your Cart is Empty
Craftworx began in 2012 as a custom wheel builder out the back of Mark's bike shop on Brisbanes north side. Taking rims and hubs from existing brands and building them into complete wheels, we filled growing market of riders who were not satisfied with the 'one size fits all' approach being offered by the big wheel companies.
After seeing what was being produced by rim and hub brands big and small, we set about trying to make something better. The cheap stuff was well, cheap, and the expensive stuff in many cases was only a bit better. No one was making rims and hubs that offered a balance of performance, durability, compliancey and price.
So we set about designing and developing a range of alloy road and mountain bike wheels that delivered the rider an amazing experience. We partner with industry leading manufacturers which gives us access to the best minds, materials and manufacturing to help turn our crazy ideas about how our wheels should work, into a reality.
Craftworx Alloy Wheels
These days, most brands produce alloy wheels for those rider who can't afford carbon, so they are designed with cost in mind so they can produce an inexpensive wheel with a lower spec hub at a more budget price.
Here at Craftworx, we look at alloy seriously. Using a proprietary alloy that has a higher strength to weight ratio than more commonly used alloys, we have designed a range of alloy rims that are first and foremost, very compliant, lightweight, strong and manufactured with the narrowest tolerances possible.
Our Ultima 25 SL wheel set for example weighs only 1396 grams and is as much at home on long solo ride on country roads as it is on the race track.
Craftworx engineers have worked closely with metallurgists and machinists to develop our Proprietary Hybrid Alloy, STSS. Material strengths and toughness were improved, along with machinability and weldability. Stronger, tougher materials are the key, however processing requirements are critical if they are to sustain their coveted properties through manufacture. By optimizing our rim designs we have produced rims that are up to 20% lighter and stronger than other manufacturers, while at the same time enhancing dynamic response and control creating a ride that is truly unique.
Our Craftworx Ultima Alloy road rims for rim brake are machined to tolerances not normally seen in the bike industry. Unlike most rims that are machined in one pass, our rims get machined twice to ensure accurate rim measurements. The result is wheels that are incredibly straight and provide an exceptional braking feel.
Aluminium rims are constructed from an extrusion that is rolled to form a circular shape and then joined in one of a number of ways. The lightest, strongest way to join the rolled extrusion is to weld it. Invisible Weld Technology refers to both the exceptional cosmetic finish of our rims and the uninterrupted load path delivered with this technology. To achieve maximum strength and fatigue properties in a rim, it is critical that the weld is as similar in properties and thickness to the parent material as possible. In addition to continuity of energy flow, on rim brake models, braking performance is enhanced and seamlessly smooth.
Tubeless ready gives the rider the option of setting up their wheels to run with or without an inner tube. To achieve this, the rim is designed slightly differently around the beading where the tyre and wheel come together to facilitate a more consistent seal and prevent burping of air under load.
All Craftworx Alloy road, road disc and mountain bike rims are tubeless ready.
Of course you can still run tubes if you like!
Craftworx expends significant time in QA to ensure all components are built to our exacting standards. During each stage of production, every alloy rim is visually checked and physically measured leaving nothing to chance. There are more than 10 QA checkpoints throughout production where skilled technicians monitor quality, ensuring every rim produced is perfect physically and cosmetically. QA doesn’t stop at a single component’s construction; we pursue it relentlessly through every component used to complete a wheel set and then through the final assembly process. The best demonstration of our QA process is the exceptional quality of our finished products.
Craftworx Carbon Wheels
Craftworx ULTIMA carbon wheels offer the next generation in Carbon Wheel technology and performance.
Designed to give you a serious competitive edge, they offer the very latest in carbon materials and manufacturing know how creating a range of carbon wheels that go every bit as fast as they look.
The Craftworx brand is synonymous with quality, performance and value, so it was a given that our Carbon Road Wheels would uphold our three core values.
"The focus at Craftworx, has always been ride quality. It's what makes our wheels special" "We were quietly confident we could compete with the big guys in the performance stakes."
"We were quietly confident we could compete with the big guys in the performance stakes."
We started off by researching what was already out there in the market and three things became obvious very early on.
1. The market is flooded with average quality carbon wheels.
2. Most of the carbon wheels were not as good as our alloy wheels
3. The wheels that were good were crazy expensive!
Our expertise and experience at that time was in Alloy technologies, so we set ourselves the task of learning about and understanding Carbon manufacturing processes and materials. The goal wasn't to become experts, that would take years.
What we needed to do was increase our knowledge and understanding to a level where we would be capable of finding the right manufacturer to partner ourselves with for this project.
During a trip to Interbike, the annual bike industry show in the USA, we had a chance meeting with Joseph. We liked Joseph from the start, he's a great guy, and the more we talked, the more certain we were; we had found the right guy for the job. Joseph's factories have been exclusively molding carbon products, both in and outside of the bike industry, for the better part of 30 years. Joseph was one of the original pioneers of carbon manufacturing in the sporting industry. His facilities are state of the art; the quality and attention to detail, second to none.
When we met Joseph, we already had solid idea of the rim designs we wanted to trial, so we immediately set to the task of producing and testing prototypes.
For 6 months we road tested the wheels, tuning and balancing the riding dynamics and responsiveness to the point where we were satisfied they would deliver the performance we, and our customers expect.
We're seriously impressed and very proud of the end result and we know you will be too.
Our Ultima Carbon wheels were sent to the Brake Pad manufacturers Testing Facility in the US where they were put through a series of heat resistance and brake performance tests. The brake pads supplied with your wheels will ensure you have maximum braking efficiency and minimal heat build up, in both wet and dry conditions.
This company have developed nearly 300 different compounds for carbon wheels over the years, so we didn’t just want to ‘pick one’, or go with the same pad that everyone else uses. We want the best! The results are better that we could have ever hoped for and the feedback from riders is validation that all the effort and time that went into this process was worth it!
“Solid as a rock and no problems braking, which was my biggest concern.” Daniel from Melbourne with his C50’s
“I was a bit worried about the braking performance of carbon rims but my concerns were put at ease on the first ride, not an issue, excellent braking performance” Mark from Melbourne with his Sprint SL’s
A set of the Ultima Carbon Brake Pads are included with every Craftworx Ultima Carbon rim brake wheel set and can be purchased separately. They are reasonably priced and far more durable than carbon brake pads tend to be!
To keep your warranty, you must use only Craftworx Ultima brake pads.
Producing carbon wheels these days is a relatively simple process that can be done quite cheaply. There are countless examples out there; manufacturers using old technology and cheap carbon fibre to produce low cost carbon wheels. If you have a very tight budget, these wheels can be very appealing, as they typically look the part. Unfortunately, they often fail to meet even the most basic QA tests and brake performance tests.
Producing high quality performance carbon wheels is a different matter altogether. You have to know which carbon fibres to use, how to use them, where to use them and how best to blend them to achieve the optimal result. It is a very technical process that requires a high degree of precision engineering.
We applied the Dual Carbon Layering Process in the design and manufacture of our Ultima carbon rims. Using the DLP process, we blend high-modulus and mid-modulus carbon fibres to create more dynamically balanced wheels. We use hi-modulus carbon to increased stiffness and optimise overall weight. Mid-modulus carbon is applied to key areas of the rim, strengthening fatigue zones, increasing durability and enhancing ride comfort.
Exactly what type of carbon do we use? We'll keep that one a secret.
One very noticeable difference when you compare Craftworx Carbon Wheels to most other carbon wheels on the road is the amount of noise (or lack there of) that our wheels generate.
No doubt, you have noticed how noisy many deep section carbon road wheels are compared to lower profile carbon and alloy wheels. Road noise resonates inside the hollow chamber of the carbon rims typically producing hollow rumbling, droning sounds.
Our Carbon Wheels use Noise Reduction Technology for a smoother, quieter ride. So quiet, the riders in front won’t know you are coming!
To use a wheel set in the top level of competition, it has to be tested and approved by the UCI, cycling’s governing body. This is testing protocol to ensure that the wheels have the strength to withstand a reasonable impact in racing conditions. The test involves a wheel being subject to an impact from a weight dropped onto the bare wheel. The wheel must not only withstand this impact and not show any signs of damage, but also stay straight and round within certain tolerance.
All Craftworx Ultima Carbon wheels for rim brakes are UCI Approved.
This approval is also valid for triathlon competition so if you are competing in tri’s, your wheels must be approved.
Now you may not need UCI approval, but it is comforting to know that the wheels have been approved to compete at the sports highest level.
Why do we reinforce around the valve hole?
This feature that has nothing to do with the way our wheels ride or handle. Reinforcing of the valve hole area strengthens a key stress point in the rim. When inflating tyres, the valve typically moves around, pushing up against the edge of the rim.
Over time, this repetitive action can stress and fracture the edge of the hole. To counteract this we re-engineered the valve hole area, adding additional carbon reinforcement.
This is when carbon threads are impregnated with resin as they are extruded.
RIT mixes the carbon and resin at a specific rate enabling us to optimize the amount of carbon and resin used in our wheels and to ensure that it is spread evenly throughout the rim.
When our rim moulds are exposed to intense heat and pressure, the resin melts and spreads throughout the carbon layers. As the rim cools, the resin hardens to form a solid rim.
The most common reason quoted by cyclists for buying carbon wheels is for improved aerodynamics and increased speed.
Our Seamless Transition Technology (SST) reduces wind drag and turbulence caused by air flowing over irregularities in the rims surface resulting in improved aerodynamics.
When you look at our wheels, you will notice that the braking surface and nose of the rim seamlessly flow from one to the other. Using SST enables us to integrate the braking surface with the rest of the rim creating a smooth seamless transition across the entire rim surface, producing less wind drag and increasing speed.
The angle the Spokes and Nipples connect with nose of the rim varies depending whether it is a front wheel, rear wheel, on the drive side or the non-drive side. These holes are drilled at precise angles to ensure no lateral stress is placed on the edge of the rim or the nipple, alleviating unnecessary stress on both the carbon rim edge and the nipple that protrudes through the hole.
The spoke hole area in the nose of the rim is significantly thicker compared to other sections of the rim; 4mm at the deepest point. We place additional carbon fibre in the nose section to reinforce key stress areas. This design has the additional benefit of assisting in distributing spoke tension load over a greater surface area improving the overall integrity and durability of our wheels.
"Since the beginning, our Craftworx Wheels have always been hand built. It's a big part of who we are and it's what we love doing."
Hand Building wheels, for us, is a passion; it's all about doing what we love. We started building wheels at a time when all wheels were hand built to order and even back then, it was an art that few mastered.
Quality hand built wheels ride better, they have a more dynamic feel to them and they are more reliable.
If you have ever owned at set of hand built wheels you will know what I am talking about but for those who haven’t, well you’ll just have to trust me on this one! Machines definitely have their place in our world but when it comes to performance bicycle wheels, Hand Built is the only way to go!
