Above 1200 Sq/FT The Action Sports Garage
- Thread starter Grant Gunderson
- Start date
Wokspaces above 1200 squarefeet.
rbkool
Active member
Interesting to see the average speed (5.3 mph) on the ride you posted. I am definitely not criticizing, but genuinely interested as at your experience/fitness level + E-bike, I would have expected a higher average speed. What am I missing? Are they super technical/slow trails? lots of rest breaks? quickie in the woods?? lol...
OP
Grant Gunderson
Well-known member
Haha. It’s a combination of it being very steep and technical on each end of the loop, the Bosch SX motor she was in was a dog and..
That was a test ride. We wanted to see how her bring on one of the lighter weight low power e-bikes would do for her as her biggest issue with e-bikes is the weight and most of that is in the battery. The Bosch SX only had 60nm of torque vs the 150nm the Avionox has. So I had to stay in eco snd she krpt going from trail to boost as the Bosch is just way under powered. Plus you could feel a ton of grit / internal resistance in the motor on the Bosch demo. After that test it sealed the deal to get her a Crestline. Full power, more travel and with a 600wh battery it ways about the same as the Bosch with the 400 as the Avinox batteries are more power dense. Right now if you were to buy an e-bike I wouldn’t look at anything other than Avinox. It’s just that much better.
The guys from Litespeed dropped off a few titanium bikes at my shop today. This is bike ****. I really wanted one of these as a kid that was really into bikes in the 90s but couldn’t afford it.
And then their this this titanium 32” wheel monster!
They are **** as hell jamie and I took the hard tail out for a ride this evening. We both always wanted a Litespeed. It climbs amazingly well but the head tube angle is firm the 90’s still. It’s way too steep to be enjoyable. If they would slacken the front end it would be a fun bike to add to the quiver.
Ideally I’d love it if they made a titanium version of the transition sentinel.
I told the guys I’m bored of modern trail bikes, but if they did a 150mm full suspension titanium bike with modern geometry I’d buy one in an instant.
We both thought the new XT brakes were way better than the mavens on our rbikes and the shimano wireless shifting seems better than SRAMs.
hardtop5000
Well-known member
I recall finding a bare Litespeed frame at an MTB swap-sale event in the late 1990s. I picked it up and it just didn’t make sense to my senses. It looked like metal tubing but it felt as light as cardboard.
OP
Grant Gunderson
Well-known member
I do recall reading that thread. He did great work. Paul Brodie has a great you tube channel on MTB and motorcycle frame building too. Back in the day Jamie owned a ti frame from Seven as well.
I’d love a ti bike but for that kind of $$ it’s got to have good geometry. It’s like none of the ti guys have updated the geometry since they began. Most likely because it’s a lot of work and money to build new jigs.
That 32” is lighter than a lot of road bikes. It’s mind blowing but being fully rigid and single speed it’s a nitch that I don’t care to fill. That being said 32” wheels are interesting.
Jamie had a great point yesterday that doesn’t matter how light it is. If it’s too steep of a head tube it’s twitchy and thus slow. She was riding for the Juliana factory team (Santa cruise) when she won nationals and a lot of that is they had some of the best geo of the time. She won worlds when she was on a specialized s-works…. Those were stupid light full suspension bike but with decent geometry
Cdubu52
Well-known member
Mmmm. Lightspeed. When I saw the picture before I read the post, I said to myself "Dream Bike". I used to ride MTB back in the college days and fresh out of school. I havent been on a mountain bike in years, but as soon as I saw that pic, It brought back those memories!
OP
Grant Gunderson
Well-known member
All I can say is it’s been a crazy ride since the Tuneup in Bellingham when I got a surprise visit from head of Shimano NA, head of motor design and another guy (board level)from the head office. Pretty sure they walked in to the shop thinking we need to shut this guy down from doing unauthorized repairs.
I gave them a tour of the process, showed them all of the custom tooling I’ve made and discussed failure modes with them. I then gave them 5 random service reports from various motors I’ve rebuilt. Their head of motor engineering told me those were more detailed than anything they had internally. One of them mentors isn’t a bike repair shop it’s an engineering laboratory.
Next day I get this:
“
Grant san,
Thank you very much for your time today.
We are very impressed by your skills, product knowledge, and vision for the future.
Also, I would appreciate it if you could let me know if you discover any new issues with our products.”
A few days pass and the main guy sends me a copy of the site visit report he’s presenting at the head office in Japan and asked if I had any insights about motor design I could share. I then presented him with a 25 page report of what Ive learned from all of our motor rebuilds and the database I’ve kept of every one. Complete with failure analytics, graphs, charts correlations, and of course photos.
I then got the following response:
“Thank you, Grant san.
I'm completely wordless.
This is the first time I’ve come across an external party that has conducted such a thorough analysis and summary of our products.
Given my current position, I can’t offer any advice or opinions on the content of your report, but I’m simply amazed.
For now, I’ll suggest to our headquarters in Japan that a senior engineer from our team visit you once.
Kind regards”
Coming from a board level director I’ll take that as a very positive sign. I’m starting to get the impression that I changed their mind that motors are not repairable but that there is significant value to them in long term data of having a well equipped service center repair their and others motors.
Stian and I took off to bike on the east side for the weekend. 60+ miles in 3 days. I’m really enjoying how well the Avinox motor performs. It’s very natural feeling with its higher resolution sensors. Had zero issues toeing the kid too! In fact Stian went from saying sad go faster to dad this is too fast!
We had a great trip!
And meet Lucas, he’s going to be our full time dedicated suspension tech and he’s factory certified with fox, Rockshocks and Ohlins. He will be part time a few hours a month this summer while he relocates to Bellingham from Portland but will be here full time this fall. Looking forward to having some really good help. I’ve been very slow with hiring help as I’d rather be slow then brining the wrong person on. In my mind it’s all about, attitude, mindset and being able to enjoy being around who you are working with. I’m glad I’ve found the right mix.
I gave them a tour of the process, showed them all of the custom tooling I’ve made and discussed failure modes with them. I then gave them 5 random service reports from various motors I’ve rebuilt. Their head of motor engineering told me those were more detailed than anything they had internally. One of them mentors isn’t a bike repair shop it’s an engineering laboratory.
Next day I get this:
“
Grant san,
Thank you very much for your time today.
We are very impressed by your skills, product knowledge, and vision for the future.
Also, I would appreciate it if you could let me know if you discover any new issues with our products.”
A few days pass and the main guy sends me a copy of the site visit report he’s presenting at the head office in Japan and asked if I had any insights about motor design I could share. I then presented him with a 25 page report of what Ive learned from all of our motor rebuilds and the database I’ve kept of every one. Complete with failure analytics, graphs, charts correlations, and of course photos.
I then got the following response:
“Thank you, Grant san.
I'm completely wordless.
This is the first time I’ve come across an external party that has conducted such a thorough analysis and summary of our products.
Given my current position, I can’t offer any advice or opinions on the content of your report, but I’m simply amazed.
For now, I’ll suggest to our headquarters in Japan that a senior engineer from our team visit you once.
Kind regards”
Coming from a board level director I’ll take that as a very positive sign. I’m starting to get the impression that I changed their mind that motors are not repairable but that there is significant value to them in long term data of having a well equipped service center repair their and others motors.
Stian and I took off to bike on the east side for the weekend. 60+ miles in 3 days. I’m really enjoying how well the Avinox motor performs. It’s very natural feeling with its higher resolution sensors. Had zero issues toeing the kid too! In fact Stian went from saying sad go faster to dad this is too fast!
We had a great trip!
And meet Lucas, he’s going to be our full time dedicated suspension tech and he’s factory certified with fox, Rockshocks and Ohlins. He will be part time a few hours a month this summer while he relocates to Bellingham from Portland but will be here full time this fall. Looking forward to having some really good help. I’ve been very slow with hiring help as I’d rather be slow then brining the wrong person on. In my mind it’s all about, attitude, mindset and being able to enjoy being around who you are working with. I’m glad I’ve found the right mix.
Attachments
Congrats, that is awesome feedback and ultimately the attention from Shimano. I can speak from years of working for a Japanese company, its rare, but great to get that kind of feedback!
Sounds like you just solidified yourself as a key technical resource for them!
Sounds like you just solidified yourself as a key technical resource for them!
cccoltsicehockey
Well-known member
That is extremely cool to get what you have been working on to be noticed and so well received by a major OEM. Hope it creates more psoitive direction for your business to become a major national service center.
rattle_snake
Well-known member
Grant-san,
Very difficult to impress and receive positive feedback like that from a major Japanese company. They are all about the details.
At my work we get the other type of feedback.
Very difficult to impress and receive positive feedback like that from a major Japanese company. They are all about the details.
At my work we get the other type of feedback.
Nobody-named-Olli
Well-known member
Reads like you’ve been “knighted”, Grant! Very impressive!
Kind regards,
Olli
Kind regards,
Olli
Horror Business
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2014
- Messages
- 515
Excellent updates!
OP
Grant Gunderson
Well-known member
Thanks guys!
I finally got caught up on motors other than the Brose ones we are waiting on custom bearings to come from Germany for. So finally got to start organizing some of the drawers. I’ve been working out of drawers with tools just tossed in them and it’s amazing how much productivity that’s cost. So it feels really good to get a few drawers organized. Blind bearing puller drawer and bearing press tools.
E-bike locknut sockets, and more bearing tools.
Screwdrivers and hand tools for the motor workstation. PBSwiss has a bunch of the new hex drivers back ordered. I will say those new micro Snapon ¼ impacts are one of the best tool investments I’ve made in a long time! I’ll also add that’s saying something as I’ve been spending a fortune on tools lately!
Pico scope and other random e-bike tools.
Speaking of tools I spent more money today on ski tuning machines then I did on my first house. We are going to be a full Reichmann shop with a Profi 4 base grinder a DS2 race edger, and their binding tester. They should arrive mid September if everything goes well. Hopefully we have power and the restroom for water installed by then. I’m starting to loose my patience with the landlord and city permits on the TI’s. The ski tunning side is what I feel is the scariest investment for this entire project. Especially with a super elninno forecasted that typically means a bad winter for here. But those machines are a long term investment. As long as we maintain the historical average of only 1 total bust of a season a decade it will be fine. Even 2 bad years will be ok.
And if that wasn’t enough money for one day I ordered most of the parts to start building a dyno so that I can load test all of the motors. That’s going to be quite the project!
Canadian Cycling Magazine ran a story on the shop today too.
I gotta say this last few months has felt like I’ve been riding a rocket ship. I’m exhausted, but it’s nice to see that all of the hardwork is getting noticed and things are trending the right direction. I will say, I’m pretty sure I’m ahead of the curve on the motor thing, and that feels good. It reminds me a lot of photography where it requires having a vision and being able to anticipate what’s next and understand will make some mistakes along the way, but as long as we get more right then wrong it will work out. Just gotta keep a finger on the pulse.
I finally got caught up on motors other than the Brose ones we are waiting on custom bearings to come from Germany for. So finally got to start organizing some of the drawers. I’ve been working out of drawers with tools just tossed in them and it’s amazing how much productivity that’s cost. So it feels really good to get a few drawers organized. Blind bearing puller drawer and bearing press tools.
E-bike locknut sockets, and more bearing tools.
Screwdrivers and hand tools for the motor workstation. PBSwiss has a bunch of the new hex drivers back ordered. I will say those new micro Snapon ¼ impacts are one of the best tool investments I’ve made in a long time! I’ll also add that’s saying something as I’ve been spending a fortune on tools lately!
Pico scope and other random e-bike tools.
Speaking of tools I spent more money today on ski tuning machines then I did on my first house. We are going to be a full Reichmann shop with a Profi 4 base grinder a DS2 race edger, and their binding tester. They should arrive mid September if everything goes well. Hopefully we have power and the restroom for water installed by then. I’m starting to loose my patience with the landlord and city permits on the TI’s. The ski tunning side is what I feel is the scariest investment for this entire project. Especially with a super elninno forecasted that typically means a bad winter for here. But those machines are a long term investment. As long as we maintain the historical average of only 1 total bust of a season a decade it will be fine. Even 2 bad years will be ok.
And if that wasn’t enough money for one day I ordered most of the parts to start building a dyno so that I can load test all of the motors. That’s going to be quite the project!
Canadian Cycling Magazine ran a story on the shop today too.
I gotta say this last few months has felt like I’ve been riding a rocket ship. I’m exhausted, but it’s nice to see that all of the hardwork is getting noticed and things are trending the right direction. I will say, I’m pretty sure I’m ahead of the curve on the motor thing, and that feels good. It reminds me a lot of photography where it requires having a vision and being able to anticipate what’s next and understand will make some mistakes along the way, but as long as we get more right then wrong it will work out. Just gotta keep a finger on the pulse.
Last edited:
Johanfpa
Well-known member
Great article and I expect a lot more work will find its way to you because of that. All well deserved I have to say having followed your journey through this forum. It has been very interesting and educational for me to read about all your projects on here, all supported by fantastic & detailed pictures which made it easier to follow & understand the engineering behind it.Thanks guys!
I finally got caught up on motors other than the Brose ones we are waiting on custom bearings to come from Germany for. So finally got to start organizing some of the drawers. I’ve been working out of drawers with tools just tossed in them and it’s amazing how much productivity that’s cost. So it feels really good to get a few drawers organized. Blind bearing puller drawer and bearing press tools.
E-bike locknut sockets, and more bearing tools.
Screwdrivers and hand tools for the motor workstation. PBSwiss has a bunch of the new hex drivers back ordered. I will say those new micro Snapon ¼ impacts are one of the best tool investments I’ve made in a long time! I’ll also add that’s saying something as I’ve been spending a fortune on tools lately!
Pico scope and other random e-bike tools.
Speaking of tools I spent more money today on ski tuning machines then I did on my first house. We are going to be a full Reichmann shop with a Profi 4 base grinder a DS2 race edger, and their binding tester. They should arrive mid September if everything goes well. Hopefully we have power and the restroom for water installed by then. I’m starting to loose my patience with the landlord and city permits on the TI’s. The ski tunning side is what I feel is the scariest investment for this entire project. Especially with a super elninno forecasted that typically means a bad winter for here. But those machines are a long term investment. As long as we maintain the historical average of only 1 total bust of a season a decade it will be fine. Even 2 bad years will be ok.
And if that wasn’t enough money for one day I ordered most of the parts to start building a dyno so that I can load test all of the motors. That’s going to be quite the project!
Canadian Cycling Magazine ran a story on the shop today too.
I gotta say this last few months has felt like I’ve been riding a rocket ship. I’m exhausted, but it’s nice to see that all of the hardwork is getting noticed and things are trending the right direction. I will say, I’m pretty sure I’m ahead of the curve on the motor thing, and that feels good. It reminds me a lot of photography where it requires having a vision and being able to anticipate what’s next and understand will make some mistakes along the way, but as long as we get more right then wrong it will work out. Just gotta keep a finger on the pulse.
Looking forward to your Reichmann ski service setup and hope the landlord & city permits come through so not to delay your product.
mercracing
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2015
- Messages
- 164
That's a pretty cool article Grant! Keep up the amazing work!
OP
Grant Gunderson
Well-known member
I picked up a set of Arizona Transmission bearing drifts. At Mike’s advice. These are really nice for larger bearings. Especially when you need to press them on over a shaft.
merkyworks
Well-known member
Man, Grant always with the best tools and organization! 
mercracing
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2015
- Messages
- 164
How are things in your neck of the woods Grant? Any luck with the city permits?
OP
Grant Gunderson
Well-known member
Been busy as hell. Got the alarm system in, front gate in and we got permits. Bathroom / compressor room is framed in and we are closed today while they wire in the new panel. I’ll post pics next week.
Picked up an XS carbon sentinel for Stian so we are headed to Whistler for a long weekend of riding.
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Grant Gunderson
Well-known member
Jamie and I took the kids to Whistler for a 3 day weekend since they needed the power off all day at the shop to switch us over to the new electrical panel. We ended up riding Squamish on the way up, but even the trails the kids used to do were a bit much on their new bikes given that it was pretty wet. The rock slabs there actually stay pretty grippy when wet but the kids were not confident in it. Which is pretty understandable.
Next day jamie took Evelina to ride see colors and puke while Stian and I did a full bike park day. That was exactly what they each needed to get confident in their new bikes. Perhaps too confident. At 9 Stian is now officially going bigger than dad on the bike park jumps. It’s cool as hell to see, but a bit scary for dad as I know it’s only a matter of time till a crash happens.
Yesterday we towed them up to micro climate. I think we should have taken them over to dark crystal instead. But they rode most of it. Didn’t get pics of them as they were not stopping!
I did get a shot of jamie. It’s pretty cool the kids are riding this stuff at 9. However to put it in perspective they are both on better trail bikes than anything we had as kids or even Jamie’s and my current trail bikes. Stian’s carbon sentinel is as good as bikes get and dads a bit jealous they were sold out in my size!
I haven’t been taking much for photos at the shop on my phone as I’ve switched everything over to our shop account there. I’ll see if I can get some progress photos and post today.
I’m also finding I need to be cautious of what I share now. We have had a ton of people reach out after our last magazine article wanting to buy or license our IP and I’ve seen a few websites popping up of people trying to offer competitive services. I knew that was coming, and I know we are way out ahead with the custom stuff we are having made for us and our upcoming plans for tooling etc, but still need to be cautious. My biggest fear is guys not knowing what they are doing trying to offer these services and having that erode the inroads I’ve made with the manufacturers about making these motors more serviceable / reliable for the end user with the goal they will actually eventually start selling parts.
I also hired an engineering grad from western who has been working full time on helping me get the shop organized/ setup and he will be working on some tooling and part design projects in addition to helping out with the ski side of things. He’s got 7 years of experience making skis for a smaller boutique ski brand so he’s a great addition to the shop and along with Lucas I’m really grateful I’ve been able to assemble a solid crew.
I’ve been so pinned with getting the shop going and bike services I’m way behind on ordering stock for the ski side of things and I gotta say it’s a bit nerve racking placing large product orders not exactly knowing what our volumes will be. I have to hit MOQ’s for each binding brand to get the shop certified/ indemnified so it’s a large cost to pay to play. Thankfully tho, I’m doing it all with cash so I don’t have to go down the credit trap that eventually crushes most retailers. But the counter side to that is it makes you more cautious with your product orders…which I don’t think is a bad thing. I have no desire to do much retail, and want to keep it service focused but you still need product on hand.
Next day jamie took Evelina to ride see colors and puke while Stian and I did a full bike park day. That was exactly what they each needed to get confident in their new bikes. Perhaps too confident. At 9 Stian is now officially going bigger than dad on the bike park jumps. It’s cool as hell to see, but a bit scary for dad as I know it’s only a matter of time till a crash happens.
Yesterday we towed them up to micro climate. I think we should have taken them over to dark crystal instead. But they rode most of it. Didn’t get pics of them as they were not stopping!
I did get a shot of jamie. It’s pretty cool the kids are riding this stuff at 9. However to put it in perspective they are both on better trail bikes than anything we had as kids or even Jamie’s and my current trail bikes. Stian’s carbon sentinel is as good as bikes get and dads a bit jealous they were sold out in my size!
I haven’t been taking much for photos at the shop on my phone as I’ve switched everything over to our shop account there. I’ll see if I can get some progress photos and post today.
I’m also finding I need to be cautious of what I share now. We have had a ton of people reach out after our last magazine article wanting to buy or license our IP and I’ve seen a few websites popping up of people trying to offer competitive services. I knew that was coming, and I know we are way out ahead with the custom stuff we are having made for us and our upcoming plans for tooling etc, but still need to be cautious. My biggest fear is guys not knowing what they are doing trying to offer these services and having that erode the inroads I’ve made with the manufacturers about making these motors more serviceable / reliable for the end user with the goal they will actually eventually start selling parts.
I also hired an engineering grad from western who has been working full time on helping me get the shop organized/ setup and he will be working on some tooling and part design projects in addition to helping out with the ski side of things. He’s got 7 years of experience making skis for a smaller boutique ski brand so he’s a great addition to the shop and along with Lucas I’m really grateful I’ve been able to assemble a solid crew.
I’ve been so pinned with getting the shop going and bike services I’m way behind on ordering stock for the ski side of things and I gotta say it’s a bit nerve racking placing large product orders not exactly knowing what our volumes will be. I have to hit MOQ’s for each binding brand to get the shop certified/ indemnified so it’s a large cost to pay to play. Thankfully tho, I’m doing it all with cash so I don’t have to go down the credit trap that eventually crushes most retailers. But the counter side to that is it makes you more cautious with your product orders…which I don’t think is a bad thing. I have no desire to do much retail, and want to keep it service focused but you still need product on hand.
OP
Grant Gunderson
Well-known member
Compressor room on right. ADA restroom on left. 
Offset studs for noise reduction.
New panel is in.
They still got to run all of our additional circuits.
They condensed the light switches from 8 to 4.
Old panel is now a large junction box.
Now the funny part. I called them in this 9 months ago. Kept asking for plan copies etc, yet the landlords GC and second architect still landed the bathroom wall in the middle of a window.
Idiotic when they could have easily bumped it over to land between the windows.
If I was paying for it you bet I’d be raising hell, but at this point I just need it done so I can get up and running.
Offset studs for noise reduction.
New panel is in.
They still got to run all of our additional circuits.
They condensed the light switches from 8 to 4.
Old panel is now a large junction box.
Now the funny part. I called them in this 9 months ago. Kept asking for plan copies etc, yet the landlords GC and second architect still landed the bathroom wall in the middle of a window.
Idiotic when they could have easily bumped it over to land between the windows.
If I was paying for it you bet I’d be raising hell, but at this point I just need it done so I can get up and running.
cccoltsicehockey
Well-known member
That is awesome to hear how well both kids are doing with the riding.
Crazy how fast news of someone doing something new creates people trying to take it over to capitalize on it in even the smallest way possible these days.
Not surprised by anything that architects fail to notice anymore. Wish you had the time to save the window as that is unfortunate to cover it up.
Crazy how fast news of someone doing something new creates people trying to take it over to capitalize on it in even the smallest way possible these days.
Not surprised by anything that architects fail to notice anymore. Wish you had the time to save the window as that is unfortunate to cover it up.
OP
Grant Gunderson
Well-known member
The last few months have felt like I’ve been riding a rocket ship non stop. The business is growing faster than I anticipated despite me doing zero advertising. It’s all been referrals from customers we have serviced their motors for and now it’s coming from several bike manufacturers.
I’ve also have had a bunch of people reach out wanting to to help me scale the business. And no not those obviously online scammers either. One was a guy that started one of the more prominent bike brands.
It’s an interesting scenario as I dint need financing, so no reason to dilute my ownership, but having advice from guys who’ve built similar engineering companies/ bike brands is very valuable. I need to figure out how to explore having some advisors.
Today felt like a monumental step forward. I haven’t heard anything from Shimano since that last email. Then today o got a call from the rep that Shimano has officially given me the green light to be a dealer / the only recognized motor service center globally. So we are paving the way for a service center model. I won’t know for sometime how exactly that’s going to pan out and what level of support we will get for internal parts, but it’s a big step in the right direction. Especially from such a large corporation.
I’ve been buying tools non stop too. I just picked up these new Mitutoyo digital micromoters. They are a massive step up from the old analog Starrett I’ve been using.
The suspension side has been nuts too. That combined with the motors has honestly been too much but will be perfect once Lucas is here full time. We are now fully equipped to do everything but EXT and Push ( I can do push but they don’t sell parts so I don’t like to). Above is a Cane Creek Tigon. We are the only place around here that can service them and I gotta say they are a pleasure to work on.
It took a lot of patience and research as Brose doesn’t sell bearings or sprag clutches, but I managed to figure out there OEM and get a run of custom bearings and sprags made for their motors. They use a plastic carrier that tends to fail. I have sourced a much stronger all metal version.
As you can see once dirt and moisture gets in it doesn’t take much to destroy the sprags.
I’ve already torn down an Avinox too.
Their gear assembly is pretty robust and they actually sell these to us as a service item.
However there weak point is going to be their shaft seals, and a plastic carrier sprag similar but different to what Brose uses. Yet no replacement parts for these. So I’m having a beffier version custom made.
They also use a totally custom thrust / needle bearing combo. It’s a pretty smart application, but given its location in the motor it’s going to need to be replaced and they don’t sell these. So I’m having them custom made. They are going to be a pretty intensive job to change out as well. So that’s job security.
Their electronics are very good. You can tell they have learned a lot about vibration, etc from their drone business.
They use a similar torque sensor to shimano. I’m a bit worried about this component as it’s not serviceable, even less so than Shimano.
It’s interesting seeing all of the different approaches each manufacturer takes and the similarities across each. I can confidently say tho, there is no golden goose and they all have similar issues.
I’ve also have had a bunch of people reach out wanting to to help me scale the business. And no not those obviously online scammers either. One was a guy that started one of the more prominent bike brands.
It’s an interesting scenario as I dint need financing, so no reason to dilute my ownership, but having advice from guys who’ve built similar engineering companies/ bike brands is very valuable. I need to figure out how to explore having some advisors.
Today felt like a monumental step forward. I haven’t heard anything from Shimano since that last email. Then today o got a call from the rep that Shimano has officially given me the green light to be a dealer / the only recognized motor service center globally. So we are paving the way for a service center model. I won’t know for sometime how exactly that’s going to pan out and what level of support we will get for internal parts, but it’s a big step in the right direction. Especially from such a large corporation.
I’ve been buying tools non stop too. I just picked up these new Mitutoyo digital micromoters. They are a massive step up from the old analog Starrett I’ve been using.
The suspension side has been nuts too. That combined with the motors has honestly been too much but will be perfect once Lucas is here full time. We are now fully equipped to do everything but EXT and Push ( I can do push but they don’t sell parts so I don’t like to). Above is a Cane Creek Tigon. We are the only place around here that can service them and I gotta say they are a pleasure to work on.
It took a lot of patience and research as Brose doesn’t sell bearings or sprag clutches, but I managed to figure out there OEM and get a run of custom bearings and sprags made for their motors. They use a plastic carrier that tends to fail. I have sourced a much stronger all metal version.
As you can see once dirt and moisture gets in it doesn’t take much to destroy the sprags.
I’ve already torn down an Avinox too.
Their gear assembly is pretty robust and they actually sell these to us as a service item.
However there weak point is going to be their shaft seals, and a plastic carrier sprag similar but different to what Brose uses. Yet no replacement parts for these. So I’m having a beffier version custom made.
They also use a totally custom thrust / needle bearing combo. It’s a pretty smart application, but given its location in the motor it’s going to need to be replaced and they don’t sell these. So I’m having them custom made. They are going to be a pretty intensive job to change out as well. So that’s job security.
Their electronics are very good. You can tell they have learned a lot about vibration, etc from their drone business.
They use a similar torque sensor to shimano. I’m a bit worried about this component as it’s not serviceable, even less so than Shimano.
It’s interesting seeing all of the different approaches each manufacturer takes and the similarities across each. I can confidently say tho, there is no golden goose and they all have similar issues.
Horror Business
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2014
- Messages
- 515
Congratulations on being the sole Shimano service center!