Press Camp 2013: Reynolds Factory Visit

Jun 24, 2013 at 9:24
by Richard Cunningham  
Reynolds Factory sign

Reynolds recently moved to larger digs in Sandy, Utah, a suburb near Salt Lake City. Pinkbike was invited for a quick tour of the facility during Press Camp, where we met Paul Lew, the mastermind who pioneered many of the techniques and processes that are used by Reynolds, and many other composite wheel-makers to produce carbon fiber rims. The new Reynolds building is used for research and development, and more importantly, to work out the bugs in the manufacturing process by running pilot production runs of new wheel products. Reynolds makes all of its molds in the factory as well, and when all is checked out, they send the molds and manufacturing protocols to China where the Reynolds-owned factory there takes over full-scale production, assembly and shipping.

Paul Lew stands before the pizza oven that he used to cure carbon wheels in the early days.

Paul Lew stands before the pizza oven that he once used to cure carbon wheels in the early days. Reynolds bought Paul's carbon wheel company and later, hired him for full-time creative duties. Lew says that he once owned a slew of them and that they were easily adapted to the task. Today, however, Reynolds uses purpose-built ovens for production.



Reynolds Factory pre-impregnated carbon and Gerber CAD cutting machine

Reynolds carbon wheels start life in a freezer, necessary to prevent the two-component resin system that is impregnated into the fibers from catalyzing. Reynolds buys the raw carbon from Japan and has its specially formulated resin applied in a US factory. Unidirectional fibers (lower right) are rolled, each layer, separated by a release tape. A computerized Gerber cutting machine is used to slice the multitude of shapes that eventually become a wheel.



Reynolds Factory Chief of Enginering

Kim Kington stands beside a newly machined mold-segment for an aero-profile wheel. Kington heads Reynold's Engineering department - which encompasses everything from stress-testing, designing carbon lay-up schedules, developing aerodynamic models for rim profiles, building molds and even hand-building pre-production parts. Kim came up the ranks in aerospace, building first-strike fighter jets.



Reynolds Factory molding process

Reynolds did not allow us to photograph the layup process, where pre-cut pieces of uni-directional fiber are laid by hand into the mold-halves in a very specific schedule. (Clockwise) A finished AM Carbon rim, nested into the lower half of its mold. Four ring segments are bolted around the mold-halves to form the bead cap (top). Each mold is cured separately in an oven at a specific temperature that causes the two-component resin to catalyze and harden. The tube extending from the center of the mold is used to pressurize an internal bladder to ensure the fibers are uniformly layered while the resin is cured.



Reynolds Factory AM rim comes out of the mold with a thick cap. which is machined off to present a perfect bead profile.

A secret that Reynolds holds dear is that they mold the rims with a thick outer cap, which is then machined off in a second operation, presumably to provide a perfect hook-bead profile. The AM Carbon rim as it comes out of the mold (left), compared to the finished product (right).



Reynolds Factory pilot wheel-building

Reynolds has a parallel wheel-building program (right) to dial in every aspect of the process, from spoke length and tension, to component compatibility, so that potential issues are sorted out well before the products are transferred to Asia for final production. Reynolds keeps its full-carbon wheel production (left) in-house, however, where carbon spokes are bonded to a molded carbon hub (top) and then trued on a special fixture (bottom), before being bonded and cured into one-piece carbon wheels.



Reynolds AM Carbon Wheel set

Reynolds completely redesigned its rear hubs, with a new free-hub ratchet that has 72 points of engagement. The each of the six-pawls have a pair of teeth, which minimizes the ratchet lag to only five degrees. Reynolds hubs come with a complete end-cap kit that will convert the front to QR, 15 or 20 millimeter axles and the rear to QR, or 12 millimeter axles.



Reynolds AM Carbon Wheel set

And, the final product emerges: Reynolds' AM Carbon wheelset has ten or 11-speed capability and also fits SRAM XXI freehub systems (all are interchangeable too). For the wheel-curious; there are 28, straight-pull butted stainless steel spokes in each wheel. The wheelset weighs 1600 grams in 26 inch and is available in 26, 27.5 and 29-inch sizes. The rim ID is 24 millimeters, with an OD of 31 millimeters - and the inner profile is designed to facilitate tubeless. Reynolds ships the AM Carbon wheelset with tubeless rim tape, valves and the afore-mentioned end-cap kits for $1900 USD.



Reynolds

Watch Reynolds' Freehub-Ratchet Testing Machine
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Author Info:
RichardCunningham avatar

Member since Mar 23, 2011
974 articles

72 Comments
  • 40 6
 $1900, hey..not gonna say they don't look nice but I bought my bike for $2000
  • 6 5
 I bout mine for just short of 2000 and I don't think that a carbon fibre rim is gonna improve you bike experience but I do like the look of that hub Smile
  • 15 6
 Have you ridden a carbon wheel set? Thy make a noticeable difference in the trail, even over a light set of aluminum rims. It's expensive for sure, but 2000 isn't bad if they perform half as well as haven carbons, enves, ec90s or some of the rovals.
  • 26 2
 Well yeah if you spend 2k on your bike these are not for you.
  • 22 3
 I was expecting the first comment to be about the price. Sure enough...
  • 1 0
 True that!!!
  • 1 3
 I now have four sets of custom built carbon wheels (built by me.) I have never had to true any of them EVER!!! I could not imagine going back to aluminum rims. I would much rather ride a $1200.00 catalog frame with carbon wheels, than a high end frame with traditional wheels.
  • 3 0
 Yeah it's not all about weight/cost ratio like some here think. There are other factors, stiffness, durability, ride quality, quality of materials.....
  • 10 1
 I really liked my Reynolds Topo Cs (first generation). Very stiff, light, and just felt fast (I can't explain it). On my first ride I thought I would ride gingerly since they were carbon but I completely forget and hammered them like metal rims. No problems. Ever.

Too bad Reynolds never responded to my questions about sealant, maximum tire width and maximum tire pressure, which I was cautious about since they were my first carbon wheels.

Impressed with the wheels, not impressed with the aftersales service.
  • 7 0
 I have a set....didn't think they'd hold up, but they have withstood far more abuse than aluminum rims, and aside from being fairly light, they are way stiffer. They legitimately translate to a tangible upgrade, and this is coming from a skeptic
  • 5 0
 I know it's not a chemistry web site but could you remove "catalyze" and replace it by "react" or "polymerize". Catalysis is something else. Could well be catalysis is involved but resins can't "catalize" together. Sorry for being picky.
Nice report BTW, and nice wheels.
  • 7 1
 You are right. 'Cure' would be more appropriate. Sure there is a catalyst in there so I understand where they may have got the terminology from. The black rolls you see are 'PrePreg' = carbon fibre (unidirectional from spools or multidirectional fabric) pre-impregnated with an epoxy resin matrix. In most other epoxy curing techniques you mix the 2 part base epoxy resin (itself probably a matrix of base epoxy and various additives) with a hardener (again, itself probably a matrix of more than one chemical) together and then have certain time to use the resin before it chemically sets/cures. Because the resin system in PrePreg is already mixed at the time of impregnation it cures on a different basis than just from mixing the 2. The resin and hardener are mixed, become pre-catalized during the impregnation process via modest the modest temperature used in that process and then is cooled in the right way to ensure that the resin system reverts to a 'gel' within the PrePreg laminate/roll. In storage it remains pre-catalized but will not solidify. Freezing or refrigeration help extend the storage life.
After the (wheel rim) component is laid up the mould is heated, often in a measured gradient, or steps of temperatures, and that triggers the full curing cycle and the component cures from gel state to hard.
I'm not sure I like the idea of them machining off a cap to make the bead hook. Shearing any fibres is always best avoided. But I am confident that they will have good reasons learned from experience of that specific rim application.
Nice rim width. Its a shame they are not proper UST or I'd buy some. Because they are not I will not.
  • 7 2
 And the longest ever reply.. Goes to you
  • 6 1
 At least he had something useful to say unlike you
  • 5 0
 If they can build a facility to do all this in the U.S., why can't they do production in the U.S.? If someone is already willing to pay 2k for wheels then they probably wouldn't mind a small increase to have them made in the U.S. I certainly wouldn't.
  • 2 1
 if they are sending their own molds and standards to their own factory in china, they will never bring production to the US. it's like they have all the quality assurances of US production with none of the labor costs. that's a pretty sweet situation for any manufacturer.
  • 1 0
 I agree. For two g's you think they could hire a whole union outfit ( no, i am not necessarily pro_union ) to build them. But who wants to feed their fellow countryman anymore. And we wonder how this country got so screwed. I would much rather buy american made.
  • 4 1
 Every thing is made in China these days. Except babies, they're made in vachina.
  • 1 1
 It's a global economy and I don't mind buying products from places that play fair and buy our products. China doesn't play fair, it's a one way door for them to take the U.S. for everything we got and do nothing in return.
  • 1 0
 Well put
  • 1 0
 Carbon fiber hand-layup is a very touch-time intensive process. It's literally what it sounds like - precut sheets of carbon fiber (called flags) are arranged by hand, one piece and one layer at a time, by hand. It's incredibly time-intensive, and requires a lot of manual labor - exactly the type of task that's cost prohibitive to be done in the US.

There are also some health and safety concerns having to do with carbon fiber manufacturing (both the fibers themselves and epoxy curing) that make it a bit of a regulatory nightmare sometimes depending on location, however one would hope they'd apply the same health and safety measures in their factories overseas.
  • 16 7
 $1900 hahahhhahaha
  • 5 0
 I don't know if this is a mistake or I don't understand, but 120 POE = 3 degrees (same as I9). If it is 5 degrees then it is 72 POE (same as Chris King hubs).
  • 2 0
 I was wondering the same thing,,,is it really a 120 POE as described or a 72 POE with 5 degrees of engagement ???...
  • 1 2
 It's not mentioned in the report but I assumed that the pawls are offset to make the stated engagement angles correct.
  • 4 0
 ???
  • 1 0
 360 divided by POE = degrees of engagement
  • 1 0
 Reynolds called in to say they gave us the wrong engagement info. 72 points.. five degrees.
  • 7 4
 Both carbon frames / wheels and the 27.5 thing are a testament to the power of marketing and the inability for people to think for themselves. Alloy frames and wheels can and do win races (Gee Atherton x 2, Fabien Barrel x 1 this year so far) and will last as long as carbon if well made. The weight penalty you pay for alloy over carbon in real terms is negligible at best. As for 27.5 wheels - my Lord - what a joke. It is SO SAD that mountain bikers the world over buy into this cr*p. And $1900 for a set of wheels that at the same weight as alloy AM wheels will provide no performance gain - what a joke.
Nico Vouilloz when interviewed during the EWS said that 27.5 wheels are faster. How much faster? "1 Second faster every three minutes race time" and he's a 10 time world champ! What difference will it make to mere mortals.......... NONE. Soon I'll have no choice but to buy into the 27.5 thing as fewer 26 inch parts become available. Great. The marketers and internet dweebs who shoved this crap down our throats win.

Here endith the rant
  • 7 0
 If I only go half the speed of Nico then I will take six minutes to do what he takes three. I will be saving TWO seconds over that six minutes, therefore 27.5 makes twice as much difference for me.

But seriously, I have a set of 26" XT wheels and a set of old Reynolds Topo C carbon 26" wheels. The weights are identical, but the performance is not. I would take a carbon wheelset over alloy any day. I will easily pass a double-blind test on which wheels I'm running. The carbon wheels are stronger, stiffer, and they feel faster.

I will be sad to sell my 26" carbon Topo Cs as my two race bikes are 29", and I will soon be getting rid of one of those for a 27.5. I don't care about marketing, I'm just trying out different shit. Who cares?
  • 2 0
 Gravityfreak: you are speaking like a true retrogrouch. All of the "advancements" such as disc brakes and suspension were rejected initially too. The real marketing joke was pushing aluminum frames. They have a much shorter fatigue life, and have minimal weight savings over a much more durable modern steel frame. Carbon has the weight and tunability advantage.
  • 1 0
 WTB I 23s with hope or dt 240 hubs will cost 3 times less than these, they are near the weight and the quality is top notch. You can make a wheel and say u know it costs 8000 dollars and they probably pricy for the manufacturers as well, but DO THEY REALLY WORTH IT? 1900 bucks although is still much is less than other manufacturers tho.
  • 1 0
 I've been riding the Reynolds 650b Carbon version for about 3 weeks now. I would consider upgrading to a carbon wheelset the next best thing to adding a dropper post to my bike. It's truly an amazing ride. I compared Reynolds to Enve and liked the fact that the Reynolds wheelset comes with all the adapters you would need to fit on all the available axle standards. Reynolds builds some very high quality carbon wheels. Try doing a comparison next to a set of Enve's and tell me what you think. Go Carbon if you can afford it. It's not meant for everyone.
  • 2 0
 Carbon fiber spokes????? I thought carbon fiber works great under tension but cant handle compression loads. Personaly I just trust stainless steel spokes.
  • 2 0
 Spokes work under tension. Just sayin'
  • 1 2
 When you land on your wheel from a jump the bottom of the wheel is in compression. The top spokes loose tension and the bottom spokes increase in compression.
  • 2 0
 I feel that the majority of the force that the wheel puts into the ground is done with tension. That is why spokes can be bent slightly when they are laced to the wheel. Otherwise, the bend would cause the spoke to break when it was compressed.
  • 2 0
 Twinfrock is right, The spokes in a typical spoked bicycle wheel are always in tension - just more or less tension depending upon the loads. The exception is when a wheel is built with thick column-type spokes like a wooden-spoked wagon wheel - or thick carbon spokes. Even in the case of a carbon spoke, however, the main loads are borne by the spokes in tension to the right and left of the impact, because when a vertical load is introduced to a spoked wheel, it tries to ovalize the rim, which increases the tension on the perimeter of the rest of the wheel.
  • 3 0
 I took a second look at the full carbon wheels. They are a single bonded unite. This could have been a carbon disk wheel. The "spoke" method is just lighter and stronger. Basically this is a monocoque wheel. So the whole wheel absorbs any loads applied.
So if you break a spoke. You have to buy a new wheel.
  • 2 0
 You are correct. But, Reynolds fixes them. They cut the broken spoke, grind out the rest of it from the entry points and bond in new spokes. It's a service they have been doing since day one.
  • 2 3
 I love my Reynolds 29er wheels. They made the ride of my Tallboy even better and they're holding up amazing well after 2 years of abuse. They're wide at 21mm inside width and set up tubeless beautifully.

I'd like to get another set except that the red hubs look terrible on just about any bike that doesn't have red. Reynolds needs to get with the times and realize that most bikes these days don't have red so offering up a black hub (like my current set) would allow them to match any bike.
  • 2 0
 Utah becoming the industry leader in carbon rims; Enve and now Reynolds, go Utah!
  • 5 3
 Hopefully they are better than the enve 29er carbon rims.
  • 1 0
 Bought first gen am wheel set they don't offer a free hub for xx1 does that make sense
  • 2 0
 Yes it does, because the wheels were designed BEFORE XX1 was designed.
  • 5 3
 Got the reynolds am carbon wheels love them
  • 3 1
 It would be neat to work at a place like that.
  • 1 0
 They look real nice and would look super sexy on my demo :-)
  • 1 0
 Now if only the video wasn't password protected...
  • 1 0
 Enve AM w/king hubs...27 in...= 1540gms....25 mm id
  • 2 2
 A bit long winded but excellent write up!
  • 4 5
 1900.... seriously?! thats going into road prices (not quite like reynolds RZRs fortunately)
  • 2 2
 $1900 is still cheaper than enve
  • 3 3
 US built wheels. Cool.
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