CRAFTWORX

THE AUSTRALIAN WHEEL COMPANY

Bespoke Road, Gravel and Mountain bike wheels, hand built to exacting standards

DREAM, CREATE, RIDE

CRAFTWORX - Where it all began.

Founded in 2012, Craftworx started out as a custom wheel building workshop, the only one of it's kind, servicing local Brisbane riders.

In those early days, we sourced premium rims and hubs from existing brands like H-Plus Son, White Industries, DT Swiss and Mavic, tailoring our wheel builds to each individual rider. It satisfied a growing market of riders who were not happy with the 'one size fits all' approach being offered by the major wheel companies of that time. 

Word spread quickly, our business was growing, some would be happy with that but I wanted more.

Wheel builders are control freaks, to build the perfect wheel, you need to begin with components, manufactured to exacting tolerances and standards from the very best materials available. At that stage, we were already doing this but for me it wasn't good enough.

Designing and Manufacturing Craftworx Wheels

For me, as a wheel artisan, creating my own wheels from components of my own design is the Holy Grail of wheel building. Working with components of my own design brought a new dimension to our wheel designs, elevating Craftworx wheels to an entirely new level of performance and enjoyment for your clients.

In 2014 we produced the first of our alloy rims. Ultima 23 and Ultima 30 for road. X-Trail, Enduro, Gravity and Monster for Mountain. The results were amazing. The levels of compliance, lateral stability and torsional rigidity in our wheels improved dramatically and riders loved them.

In 2016 we launched the GEN1 range of Ultima Carbon road wheels. It didn't happen overnight, 18 months of R&D went into these wheels, I spent more time riding during this period than any other time in my life to that point, I kept riding, tweaking and testing until they were perfect.

Skipping forward to 2024, all of the original models have evolved and I continue to look for ways to improve the performance and value of my wheels.

RIDE DYNAMICS

If you are thinking about upgrading the wheels on your bike, do it, it will be the best money you ever spend!

Great wheels will transform the way your bike rides and handles. It's hard to explain until you try it for yourself.

When I was in my teens, I spent every dollar I earned on my Nishiki Olympic 12 Semi Racer, trying to make it better, to go faster. It wasn't until I bought my first set of race wheels that I realised I had spent a lot of money upgrading the wrong parts!

It was a light bulb moment that started my journey down the wheel building path. The wheels had transformed the way my bike rode and handled, I want to why, and more importantly, I wanted to know how to make it even better.

I discovered there are a lot of design elements that affect the way wheels ride and handle. When I started Craftworx I decided that it took far too long to explain them all to clients so I decided to simplify things and created one short phrase that explained everything and nothing, "Ride Dynamics".

If you are interested in upgrading your wheels and would like to know more about Ride Dynamics and how the wheels will transform both your bike and your riding experience, give me a call.

"Never do something simply for the exercise, do it with purpose and drive it with passion"

Mark Kirby - Founder of Craftworx

Hand Built is Better

"Since the beginning, Craftworx wheels have been hand built. It's at the core of who we are and what we love doing".

When we started Craftworx, wheel building was, at that time, a dying art. Mass produced wheels had entered the main stream. Wheel companies hated dealing with warranties and problems so most were manufacturing wheels that were designed around being rock solid and reliable, ride dynamics wasn't a priority and compliance was an undesirable outcome. As a result, most wheels looked fast but were and dynamically dull to ride on.

One wheel design for every rider simply doesn't work. Hand built wheels are better because all of the parts have been individually chosen with the rider in mind. Wheel building is an holistic process that considers the dynamic elements of the individual components selected and how they will interact and work together within the wheel as a whole to achieve the desired outcome.

This is something that mass produced wheels simply cannot do, it is unrealistic to expect that they can and why Hand Built wheels are naturally better.

Now for the disclaimer...

Unfortunately, there are very few wheel builders who are worth their salt and have this level of skill.

Hand built wheels will only ever be as good as the wheel builder is skilled. Wheel building is art, blended with science, holistic in nature and impossible to teach at an elite level, you either have a mind for it or you don't.

Over a decade ago now I coined the title/term "Master Wheel Builder". It's not an official title, you cannot go to university or do a course. I introduced the term to help differentiate the level of skill and ability we have developed over the last 35+ years.

So if you hear someone claim to be a Master Wheel Builder, bear in mind, the title has been self imposed and not necessarily earned. So you will have to me at my word, that I know what I am doing!

AT CRAFTWORX, WE ARE WHEEL EXPERTS

OUR HAND BUILT WHEELS ARE DESIGNED JUST FOR YOU, A TAILORED SERVICE MATCHING THE WHEELS TO THE RIDER AND THEIR BIKE.

Get In Touch

If you would like more information, or to discuss custom wheel building, give us a call on 0411 310 132.
For out of hours enquiries, fill out the form below and we will get in touch the next business day.