Last year, Wheelworks NZ rolled out their own series of carbon wheels called Maker. They offered a fully customizable build with a carbon rim of their design, a lifetime warranty, and a lifetime of free replacement brake pads, all for $1,750 USD. And each pair is handbuilt in their Lyall Bay workshop.
Now, to make the set even more enticing, they’ve built their own UCI-compliant impact testing jig to obtain certification. Translation: As soon as the stickers arrive, you’ll be able to race them in sanctioned events. For most of us, that simply means more confidence riding over the roughest roads we can find.
Roll past the break to see the jig in action (high speed and slow motion)…
Tristan at Wheelworks says they’ve tested and submitted all the paperwork for their Maker 35, Maker 50mm, Maker Disc, and Maker AR wheelsets and that all should be approved for use in UCI events. About the jig, he says:
“The UCI test stipulates 40 Joules of energy with a weight of between 6 and 10 kg (13 to 22 lbs) and a corresponding height. A 20mm thick pad made of a specific ASTM rubber contacts the rim. After the impact there can be no visible cracks or delamination and the wheel must be true to within 1mm both laterally and vertically, and the rubber pad can’t be damaged. Our jig is just shy of 6 feet tall and we can test up to 10x the UCI specification.”
