Paul Components WORD Disc Hub Review: Part 1

This arrived on Saturday.....

 Since mid-2021 I have been keen on getting the Twin Six Standard Rando v2 on a single speed specific rear wheel set up. That was after I swapped back to a drop bar set up and I realized that this bike makes a great purpose-built single speed. 

But as I have stated in another post, finding a 12mm through axle, single speed only hub is not an easy task. Ten, maybe fifteen years ago, when single speed was in its hey-day due to the popularity of single speed 29"ers, you could find a lot of single speed specific rear hubs. However; those were almost always just quick release, or a combination of that and bolted on options. Neither will work on a through-axle frame like the Standard Rando v2. 

I knew Paul Component Engineering made one, and it was a thread-on free wheel style hub, which actually is what I'd rather have than a truncated cassette style. That is because the thread-on style usually is made in such a way that the resulting wheel build has a zero dish set up. That is "stronger" and "stiffer". Both good things on a high-torque situation as with single speed bikes. Now, Paul Components are not cheap, in terms of dollars, so I was waiting to see if I could somehow score one via the old shop job. Well, that never happened. So, I ponied up my own funds via some income from RidingGravel.com, and I got a hold of that hub this past weekend. 

So, in this post I wanted to document my experience with ordering this hub, because it was pretty good for these times, and also Paul Components does a really great job with the process and experience in general. As most of you probably do these days, I order a lot of stuff online, so when I have a great experience and good service, I will tell you about it, as long as it is bicycle related. I should say that Paul Component Engineering doesn't have any idea at all that I am doing this and that I paid full retail for the hub. Okay, here we go in pictures.....

Scared of clowns? Don't look too closely at this box's graphic design! 

No plastic- everything sent to me besides a vinyl sticker was recyclable

It may seem silly to some of you, but a nice "thank you" and a treat of hard candies goes a long way.

And of course, the WORD Disc Hub itself was in there.

When I ordered this hub I saw warnings and received another when I placed the order that it may take a few weeks - or more- depending upon COVID and whatnot, to get this hub. Of course, I had been on a waiting list for months, since last Summer. (That's why I didn't get the shop discount) So, I was okay with that. But all along afterword Paul Components sent out regular updates to me and thanked me for my patience. That was greatly appreciated and I never felt at any point that my order had been neglected or that I had been forgotten about.

Tracking of the package once it was in the USPS system was flawless. This is generally NOT the case with USPS as I can attest to. I have parts coming for my amplifier repairs (guitar stuff) and that at the same time as the Paul order and USPS tracking is about as good as detecting ghosts in the attic. I'm not sure if Paul Components took cookies down to their local USPS office for the Holidays to 'grease the wheels', but that tracking experience was top notch. 

The manual with the hub has all the dimensions you need to build up a wheel

Another nice touch, besides the things shown above, was that the manual which came with the hub had all the hub dimensions necessary for me to calculate spoke lengths. All I required was the ERD measurement for the Velocity Blunt SS rim, which Velocity publishes on their site, and a short innergoogles trip to the United Bicycle Institute's spoke calculator page later and I was set. 

Then I visited my stash of Wheelsmith spokes and nipples and I found that I had all the things I needed to build up this wheel. So, I Spoke Prep'd the Wheelsmith spokes I pulled for this job on Sunday and laced this wheel up. But before I get into all of that....

Disc WORD Hub = 200 grams

Velocity USA Blunt SS 700c rim = 420 grams

Okay, so I decided to go with my "Guitar Ted Productions "Standard Build"" design which is all silver spokes on one side and all black spokes on the other side. This time I used all silver brass (natch) nipples. Being that there was no dish on the build to accommodate for a cassette or for the disc brake, the wheel was simple enough to build up and it looks as though it should tension up very well. 

So far- so good.

I'll likely have tensioned this up by the time that you are reading this on the post date. Next after that will be swapping over my White Industries freewheel. Then taping, valve stems, tires, sealant, a rotor, and I'm good to go. That will cover the rear wheel.

Then I'm going to take the Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2 and do a rim swap from the Spank 350's to my set of 28 hole Velocity Blunts. Then I will have a single speed rear which will stay with the Standard Rando, but the front could come off, be paired with the cassette rear, and set up on the BMC or the Noble bike, or whatever may come in the future. That will make the DT Swiss 350 hubs useful also instead of sitting around on rims too wide to use on my gravel bikes. 

Then, in the future, I will probably get some Boost spaced hubs, lace those Spank rims to those, and maybe build up a modern day MTB-ish bike. But we'll see. As for this hub/wheel here I will give a progress report on the final details on the set up. That will be coming soon. Then at some point I'll do a ride report on the hub. So, as for now, I can recommend the Paul Component Engineering ordering experience and the experience of receiving the box and contents was very nice. Stay tuned......

Paul Components WORD Disc Hub Review: Part 1

This arrived on Saturday.....

 Since mid-2021 I have been keen on getting the Twin Six Standard Rando v2 on a single speed specific rear wheel set up. That was after I swapped back to a drop bar set up and I realized that this bike makes a great purpose-built single speed. 

But as I have stated in another post, finding a 12mm through axle, single speed only hub is not an easy task. Ten, maybe fifteen years ago, when single speed was in its hey-day due to the popularity of single speed 29"ers, you could find a lot of single speed specific rear hubs. However; those were almost always just quick release, or a combination of that and bolted on options. Neither will work on a through-axle frame like the Standard Rando v2. 

I knew Paul Component Engineering made one, and it was a thread-on free wheel style hub, which actually is what I'd rather have than a truncated cassette style. That is because the thread-on style usually is made in such a way that the resulting wheel build has a zero dish set up. That is "stronger" and "stiffer". Both good things on a high-torque situation as with single speed bikes. Now, Paul Components are not cheap, in terms of dollars, so I was waiting to see if I could somehow score one via the old shop job. Well, that never happened. So, I ponied up my own funds via some income from RidingGravel.com, and I got a hold of that hub this past weekend. 

So, in this post I wanted to document my experience with ordering this hub, because it was pretty good for these times, and also Paul Components does a really great job with the process and experience in general. As most of you probably do these days, I order a lot of stuff online, so when I have a great experience and good service, I will tell you about it, as long as it is bicycle related. I should say that Paul Component Engineering doesn't have any idea at all that I am doing this and that I paid full retail for the hub. Okay, here we go in pictures.....

Scared of clowns? Don't look too closely at this box's graphic design! 

No plastic- everything sent to me besides a vinyl sticker was recyclable

It may seem silly to some of you, but a nice "thank you" and a treat of hard candies goes a long way.

And of course, the WORD Disc Hub itself was in there.

When I ordered this hub I saw warnings and received another when I placed the order that it may take a few weeks - or more- depending upon COVID and whatnot, to get this hub. Of course, I had been on a waiting list for months, since last Summer. (That's why I didn't get the shop discount) So, I was okay with that. But all along afterword Paul Components sent out regular updates to me and thanked me for my patience. That was greatly appreciated and I never felt at any point that my order had been neglected or that I had been forgotten about.

Tracking of the package once it was in the USPS system was flawless. This is generally NOT the case with USPS as I can attest to. I have parts coming for my amplifier repairs (guitar stuff) and that at the same time as the Paul order and USPS tracking is about as good as detecting ghosts in the attic. I'm not sure if Paul Components took cookies down to their local USPS office for the Holidays to 'grease the wheels', but that tracking experience was top notch. 

The manual with the hub has all the dimensions you need to build up a wheel

Another nice touch, besides the things shown above, was that the manual which came with the hub had all the hub dimensions necessary for me to calculate spoke lengths. All I required was the ERD measurement for the Velocity Blunt SS rim, which Velocity publishes on their site, and a short innergoogles trip to the United Bicycle Institute's spoke calculator page later and I was set. 

Then I visited my stash of Wheelsmith spokes and nipples and I found that I had all the things I needed to build up this wheel. So, I Spoke Prep'd the Wheelsmith spokes I pulled for this job on Sunday and laced this wheel up. But before I get into all of that....

Disc WORD Hub = 200 grams

Velocity USA Blunt SS 700c rim = 420 grams

Okay, so I decided to go with my "Guitar Ted Productions "Standard Build"" design which is all silver spokes on one side and all black spokes on the other side. This time I used all silver brass (natch) nipples. Being that there was no dish on the build to accommodate for a cassette or for the disc brake, the wheel was simple enough to build up and it looks as though it should tension up very well. 

So far- so good.

I'll likely have tensioned this up by the time that you are reading this on the post date. Next after that will be swapping over my White Industries freewheel. Then taping, valve stems, tires, sealant, a rotor, and I'm good to go. That will cover the rear wheel.

Then I'm going to take the Project Wide Gravel Wheels v2 and do a rim swap from the Spank 350's to my set of 28 hole Velocity Blunts. Then I will have a single speed rear which will stay with the Standard Rando, but the front could come off, be paired with the cassette rear, and set up on the BMC or the Noble bike, or whatever may come in the future. That will make the DT Swiss 350 hubs useful also instead of sitting around on rims too wide to use on my gravel bikes. 

Then, in the future, I will probably get some Boost spaced hubs, lace those Spank rims to those, and maybe build up a modern day MTB-ish bike. But we'll see. As for this hub/wheel here I will give a progress report on the final details on the set up. That will be coming soon. Then at some point I'll do a ride report on the hub. So, as for now, I can recommend the Paul Component Engineering ordering experience and the experience of receiving the box and contents was very nice. Stay tuned......

Friday News And Views

"Grax" Chain Lube from Allied Bicycle Works

 Allied Bicycle Works Debuts New Gravel Specific Chain Lube:

It was only a matter of time, but now we have a specific lubricant just for gravel travel. It is a wax based lube, so 'gravel' + 'wax' = 'Grax', I guess. (Note- I'm not going to dig all the way into their technical docs, but feel free to if that is your jam) 

Ironic, innit? I juuust got underway with another round of the 'Lube-Off' and here we have a perfect contender to check out. So, I figure here we are, all set up for Round 2 of 2021 since I have been requested to try the Silca lubricant and now this looks like ........well, I have to test this, right? 

They also purport to have an excellent chain cleaner, so maybe that will have to come along with the "Grax" stuff for further review. The lube is said to last for up to 350 miles. In 'extreme' conditions that goes down to 100 miles. It costs about a buck an application. (20 bucks for what Grax says is a bottle worth for 20 applications.) 

They say this is better than most stuff out there. Hmm...... Maybe we will see. Maybe......

Andy's Bike Shop Adds Spoke Cutting Machine:

New Tool Day was Tuesday this week. Andy ordered in this brand-spankin' new Wheel Fanatyk Spoke Cutting Machine. Now we can cut and roll threads on spoke blanks in most any size for bicycles that you can imagine. 

This is cost effective if Andy's sticks with it long enough to make not having to order in specific spoke sizes worth the machine's cost. That should pan out since we need spokes for repairs all the time. Now instead of boxes and boxes of spokes in black and silver in sizes from 250mm to over 300mm in 2mm increments, or serially in some cases, we can now just have one box of each color and order more as needed.  

And of course, if you are a fan of mechanical gizmos, this thing is right up your alley. One lever cuts the spoke to length according to a gauge you set for length. The other lever rolls the spoke threads. Andy and I figure that one could cut a wheel's worth of spokes and thread them in less than five minutes using this machine. 

It even has a port where the cut ends are directed down a PVC tube to a receptacle which you can place underneath the 'exhaust' tube and you could collect scrap for recycling. It is all rather well thought out, and very well executed, from what I can see. I really am looking forward to using this machine on a wheel build soon. 

This will also come in super handy when we get weird requests for spokes such as recumbents, BMX bikes, or for odd wheels on older bikes. This machine will also cut a heavier gauge spoke for HPC (e-bikes to you) vehicles and the like. So, I think we will have spokes covered in terms of needs at Andy's. 

Now there still are the really oddball spokes, like straight pull, double threaded, ball end spokes, bladed spokes, and probably a few more I am forgetting that this machine won't help with, but if you are running something like that, you shouldn't expect to find 'unicorns' just anywhere. So, there is that.....

Redshift Sports Kitchen Sink Bar Review Up On Riding Gravel:

Well, if you have not seen this, I finished up my review of Redshift Sports Kitchen Sink Handlebar on Riding Gravel recently. Short version: I really liked it. Longer version: It is a must to incorporate the grips called "Cruise Control" grips when you get this bar. The real benefits come with the total package.

One thing I thought about afterward was how I missed elaborating upon the "Really Long Bar Tape" which Redshift has for this set up. As far as bar tape goes, it is definitely longer in length, so those big, wide drop bars that are out now would be no match for this tape. It'll cover it. But that is not what impressed me about that tape. 

I tried some tape from Marque Cycling, an offshoot of Irwin Cycling, and it was a grippier tape with these little 'nubs' every so often that gave your mitts more 'traction' for the action. In fact, it is still on the bars I am using on my "Orange Crush" BMC bike. Anyway, that tape has a remarkable resemblance to this 'Really Long Bar Tape', minus the nubs. This Redshift Sports tape is very grippy, just like the Marque tape, and the finishing strip has a very strong resemblance to the Marque finishing tape. 

My guess is that Marque/Irwin makes this for Redshift, but I don't know that for sure. And whatever, right? the point is that that Redshift tape is some really grippy, nice bar tape. And I just wanted to get that out there. I'd buy it for my other bikes too, but I only wish that they had more colors than black and grey. I like my colors.

So, Kitchen Sink Bar- grips, bar tape..... Good stuff. Read that review. Nuff said......

B.O.G. Series Drawing To A Close:

Two more weeks to go and I'll be through all I have to say in my beginner series for gravel going cyclists that I dubbed the 'B.O.G. Series'. I figure on wrapping up everything on May 19th. 

When the series concludes I will set up a page with links to every article in the series for future reference. That way if you, or anyone you know, is looking for a good guide for starting out with rural cycling, you could maybe point them in this direction. 

I've received some great feedback on the series every week, and some great criticisms and suggestions were also dropped my way. My plan upon ending the series is to review all of that feedback and write any follow-up articles as necessary. So, if you had a comment in regard to deeper dives on certain subjects I touched on here, I should be responding to those in the near future. That probably will continue as a Wednesday thing until I feel I have exhausted all the inquiries and suggestions. 

What then? Who knows? Regular postings should not cease regardless. So, don't worry about missing daily content just yet. Thanks as always for reading 'Guitar Ted Productions'!

And that's a wrap for this week. get out and breathe some fresh air on a bicycle ride this weekend.

Friday News And Views

"Grax" Chain Lube from Allied Bicycle Works

 Allied Bicycle Works Debuts New Gravel Specific Chain Lube:

It was only a matter of time, but now we have a specific lubricant just for gravel travel. It is a wax based lube, so 'gravel' + 'wax' = 'Grax', I guess. (Note- I'm not going to dig all the way into their technical docs, but feel free to if that is your jam) 

Ironic, innit? I juuust got underway with another round of the 'Lube-Off' and here we have a perfect contender to check out. So, I figure here we are, all set up for Round 2 of 2021 since I have been requested to try the Silca lubricant and now this looks like ........well, I have to test this, right? 

They also purport to have an excellent chain cleaner, so maybe that will have to come along with the "Grax" stuff for further review. The lube is said to last for up to 350 miles. In 'extreme' conditions that goes down to 100 miles. It costs about a buck an application. (20 bucks for what Grax says is a bottle worth for 20 applications.) 

They say this is better than most stuff out there. Hmm...... Maybe we will see. Maybe......

Andy's Bike Shop Adds Spoke Cutting Machine:

New Tool Day was Tuesday this week. Andy ordered in this brand-spankin' new Wheel Fanatyk Spoke Cutting Machine. Now we can cut and roll threads on spoke blanks in most any size for bicycles that you can imagine. 

This is cost effective if Andy's sticks with it long enough to make not having to order in specific spoke sizes worth the machine's cost. That should pan out since we need spokes for repairs all the time. Now instead of boxes and boxes of spokes in black and silver in sizes from 250mm to over 300mm in 2mm increments, or serially in some cases, we can now just have one box of each color and order more as needed.  

And of course, if you are a fan of mechanical gizmos, this thing is right up your alley. One lever cuts the spoke to length according to a gauge you set for length. The other lever rolls the spoke threads. Andy and I figure that one could cut a wheel's worth of spokes and thread them in less than five minutes using this machine. 

It even has a port where the cut ends are directed down a PVC tube to a receptacle which you can place underneath the 'exhaust' tube and you could collect scrap for recycling. It is all rather well thought out, and very well executed, from what I can see. I really am looking forward to using this machine on a wheel build soon. 

This will also come in super handy when we get weird requests for spokes such as recumbents, BMX bikes, or for odd wheels on older bikes. This machine will also cut a heavier gauge spoke for HPC (e-bikes to you) vehicles and the like. So, I think we will have spokes covered in terms of needs at Andy's. 

Now there still are the really oddball spokes, like straight pull, double threaded, ball end spokes, bladed spokes, and probably a few more I am forgetting that this machine won't help with, but if you are running something like that, you shouldn't expect to find 'unicorns' just anywhere. So, there is that.....

Redshift Sports Kitchen Sink Bar Review Up On Riding Gravel:

Well, if you have not seen this, I finished up my review of Redshift Sports Kitchen Sink Handlebar on Riding Gravel recently. Short version: I really liked it. Longer version: It is a must to incorporate the grips called "Cruise Control" grips when you get this bar. The real benefits come with the total package.

One thing I thought about afterward was how I missed elaborating upon the "Really Long Bar Tape" which Redshift has for this set up. As far as bar tape goes, it is definitely longer in length, so those big, wide drop bars that are out now would be no match for this tape. It'll cover it. But that is not what impressed me about that tape. 

I tried some tape from Marque Cycling, an offshoot of Irwin Cycling, and it was a grippier tape with these little 'nubs' every so often that gave your mitts more 'traction' for the action. In fact, it is still on the bars I am using on my "Orange Crush" BMC bike. Anyway, that tape has a remarkable resemblance to this 'Really Long Bar Tape', minus the nubs. This Redshift Sports tape is very grippy, just like the Marque tape, and the finishing strip has a very strong resemblance to the Marque finishing tape. 

My guess is that Marque/Irwin makes this for Redshift, but I don't know that for sure. And whatever, right? the point is that that Redshift tape is some really grippy, nice bar tape. And I just wanted to get that out there. I'd buy it for my other bikes too, but I only wish that they had more colors than black and grey. I like my colors.

So, Kitchen Sink Bar- grips, bar tape..... Good stuff. Read that review. Nuff said......

B.O.G. Series Drawing To A Close:

Two more weeks to go and I'll be through all I have to say in my beginner series for gravel going cyclists that I dubbed the 'B.O.G. Series'. I figure on wrapping up everything on May 19th. 

When the series concludes I will set up a page with links to every article in the series for future reference. That way if you, or anyone you know, is looking for a good guide for starting out with rural cycling, you could maybe point them in this direction. 

I've received some great feedback on the series every week, and some great criticisms and suggestions were also dropped my way. My plan upon ending the series is to review all of that feedback and write any follow-up articles as necessary. So, if you had a comment in regard to deeper dives on certain subjects I touched on here, I should be responding to those in the near future. That probably will continue as a Wednesday thing until I feel I have exhausted all the inquiries and suggestions. 

What then? Who knows? Regular postings should not cease regardless. So, don't worry about missing daily content just yet. Thanks as always for reading 'Guitar Ted Productions'!

And that's a wrap for this week. get out and breathe some fresh air on a bicycle ride this weekend.