Paragon Machine Works makes their own Spline Head thru axles & Bubble Blowers?

Written by Zach Overholt Oct 29, 2018 3:00 p.m. ET

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For the longest time, Paragon Machine works has been making all of the little components that custom frame builders turn into finished bikes. That includes all of the drop outs for use with various thru axles. One thing they didn’t offer though, was their own adjustable thru axle to use with all of those dropouts. At least, until now.

Called the Spline Head for the hidden splines that allow you to rotate the position of the lever wherever you want, the axle functions most like a DT Swiss RWS. Simply twist to tighten, and then pull on the handle to disengage it from the splines and position it where you’d like.

PMW will offer it in both 12mm and 15mm sizes for various frame dropout widths and forks including Fox, RockShox, and ENVE. Pricing starts at around $36, available now.

In terms of the dropouts themselves, PMW owner Mark Norstad tells us that he is offering more options with eyelets for racks and fenders and flat mount disc brakes to keep up with current trends.

And since it’s legal in California now… PMW has added to their accessory collection with their new “Bubble Blowers.” Offered in two lengths (2.5″ or 3.5″), the stainless steel pipes disassemble for easy cleaning, and sell for $15.

paragonmachineworks.com

Zach Overholt

5,631 articles

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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Shafty

5 years ago

Do those bubble blowers have an anti-choke hole?

Record11

5 years ago

Reply to Shafty

Still a violation of Federal Law (then again, California needs to be tossed from the Union)…cant say I would ever purchase ANY of their products.

Dockboy

5 years ago

Reply to Record11

Illegality is a poor justification for something being wrong. Laws should be descriptive of our social mores, and if the only harm caused by breaking them is their violation itself, they are a poorly set rule.

Marijuana was prohibited in the United States primarily as a tool to keep Mexican and black people out of towns, under the false pretense of violence (come on!) and other fictitious assaults on upstanding (white) people.

Crossover products happen a lot. Many component manufacturers make other products and the bike side is more of a passion project. Thomson, Industry 9, and others are MUSA examples of these companies, but you can bet there are countless factories in Asia, etc, that make bike stuff as supplements to their usual catalog. This pipe fits in with a substantial portion of their customer base, as evidenced by bikes with pipes in their top tube, or bottle openers all over the damn place, or flask cages… cannabis just isn’t the demon it’s made out to be.

record11

5 years ago

Reply to Dockboy

I agree with you 100%. Many of our facilities now have it in RX form. That said, those same facilities now have to have armed guards any time staff is there.

It to me is more a mindset. While removing hard liquor ad’s and tobacco ad’s from Television and Radio has done not a darn thing to limit their use (if anything, it has gone up). It seems to me that a large portion of the MTN bike folks in my area are pot heads first and then MTN riders. It is not uncommon to have to ride past clouds of pot smoke just to continue on a trail (me, aerobic or anerobic when they decide they just have to have a hit some three miles into a trail system). Odd, very odd.

Oh, and just wait a few years. Watch the Lung Cancer rates sky rocket. It shocks me how many folks seem to think it ‘does no harm’….uh huh, and road cyclists used to smoke tobacco to ‘Open’ their lungs…

reverend dick

5 years ago

Reply to record11

Obviously, you’re not a golfer.

PEE WEE

5 years ago

Reply to record11

Marijuana does not cause lung cancer. Find one legitimate study…oh right, you can’t.

Robin

5 years ago

Reply to PEE WEE

The jury is still out on that because there are not exactly a lot of studies out there looking into that. You might want to investigate how hard it is to actually get permission to do marijuana research.

I suspect you can’t provide any evidence that there is a consensus on whether or not smoking marijuana causes lung cancer.

PEE WEE

5 years ago

Reply to Robin

The consensus is that people who only smoke marijuana, don’t smoke it in quantities that lead to lung cancer. And furthermore there is no conclusive evidence that links marijuana to lung cancer.

Dominic

5 years ago

Reply to record11

two things:
1- if there weren’t the aversion in the US to legitimization that there is, it might be more common knowledge amongst detractors that canabis is heavily studied, and despite having a higher number of chemicals, reasonable dosage regular use is so far not associated with lung cancer.
2- Paragon Machine Works is a supplier to frame builders, and not generally in the habit of selling product to people who buy complete frames. Two tubes stuck together by a supplier to a supplier does not a mass market push make.

and third- can we now go back to talking about thru-axles?

FFM

5 years ago

Hey there aspiring cyclist, possibly a child, I hope you like drugs and alcohol because that’s apparently what cycling is all about.

Record11

5 years ago

Reply to FFM

Amen

Matt

5 years ago

Reply to FFM

Raise your kids to think for themselves and make good decisions and it won’t matter.

Shafty

5 years ago

Reply to FFM

Ya know how beer is legal, and in some states, mj as well? Sometimes it’s fun to make stuff that increases your enjoyment off the bike too. Your mention of children is hollow virtue signaling at best. PMW making a few trinkets isn’t endangering the lives of minors, and it’s certainly not an indication of pervasive addiction in the cycling industry. If ya don’t like it, don’t buy it.

Have a beer, don’t have a beer, whatever, and maybe lighten up a little, dude.

Thisguy

5 years ago

Reply to Shafty

Maybe *light up a little.

blahblahblah

5 years ago

Reply to FFM

hey most of, if not all off the greatest music,novels,art,thought,discoveries…..the list goes on are a direct result of those two things

Marc Smith

5 years ago

Reply to FFM

I am going to guess this is a USA comment: Focus on your guns… I have 4 kids, cannabis is legal in my country and we drink wine at home. 1 kid is a pro cyclist. We have healthy discussions on drugs and alcohol. As we do on sex.

kyle

5 years ago

Reply to Marc Smith

kaboom. seriously. every american is a fool.

Rod

5 years ago

Reply to Marc Smith

Bang! (on the comment. I take no joy at people putting holes in each other even if they don’t live where I do).

Legalized here recently as well. Still not a smoker, still don’t know any “new” smokers that didn’t have to buy it in the dark before.

And very excited about a variety of thru-axle option, having had to shorten and re-cut threads on a couple of DT Swiss TAs to make them work with my fat bike and ‘cross bike (both prototypes from a local brand).

Dockboy

5 years ago

Reply to FFM

At least it isn’t a car tie-in. Those things are deadly! Promoting car culture is bad for the environment, dangerous for cyclists, and has put huge costs on the infrastructure.

And N+1 is waay harder with cars.

Pynchonite

5 years ago

All I can think of when look at those hitties is “burnt fingers.” Granted, as someone who doesn’t drink or smoke, I get kinda tired of having bottle openers thrown at me from every angle as swag, but that doesn’t mean that others can’t have their fun. I wonder what the weight on those TA’s will be.

Robin

5 years ago

Reply to Pynchonite

Stainless steel is pretty poor conductor compared to other metals (like aluminum and copper). I imagine the enterprising user can wrap the handle with something to slow conduction of heat to one’s fingers.

Richard

5 years ago

Wrong message to be sending… Great going Paragon machine works & Bike Rumor or should I say weed Rumor.

Inetzwhiny

5 years ago

Let the whining over minor deviations from the own narrow-minded way of life begin!!!!!1111

5 years ago

BR, I come here to see bikes not MJ and alcohol related items, there are plenty of sites already dedicated to them. Stick to your core theme and audience.

Brad

5 years ago

Weed bad. Guns good.

Dominic

5 years ago

Jezus christmas! You’d think the BR comments were being brigaded by the creators of Reefer Madness here.
Can one of you explain why it’s more socially acceptable to be just this side of severely alcoholic, than to be an once-in-a-while toker?
(Said as a once-in-a-blue-moon puff puff passer, who’s post-ride beer count alone exceeds total lifetime tokes)