24 October, 2019

Plans and Ponderings At VO

by Igor

This whole year has been a busy one: new Neutrino and Pass Hunter frames, fenders, rims, racks, and other projects you haven't even seen yet - well maybe keen Instagram story followers may have seen. I sometimes like to pull back the curtain on a few projects and happenings around Velo Orange World Headquarters. So here's a quick roundup!

Gearing up for Philly Bike Expo

We're getting things ready for the Philly Bike Expo (November 2nd and 3rd). In recent years, we've taken less individual products, and more complete bikes with our products integrated into them. The idea is that while we can't bring all 700+ skus with us, we try to create an atmosphere and buzz around our brand and general offerings so that people can check out the website if they are in need of something specific for their build or repair.


Basically, it's more of a showcase of the brand, identity, and new and prototype products rather than a flea market of everything we offer. It also makes it easier to contextualize design intentions when a product is actually on a bike rather than just sitting on a table or hung to a gridboard. Plus it makes our lives a ton easier for setup and breakdown of the booth. We also get a chance to ride our bikes around Philly!

Be sure to check out VO Island at booth 3004, close to the entrance. I think you'll have a hard time missing us.

Check out our previous PBE posts from 2018, 2017, and 2016.

Prototype Hubs



With the introduction of the newest form of the Pass Hunter, we've been working to update our rear and front hubs to be more future-proof with 12mm and 15mm thru-axle and QR compatibility. Simply pop the endcaps off and switch them for the included replacement ones. This custom hub shell is an homage to the 8-speed Campagnolo Record Hub. It will retain the tool-free disassembly as our current offerings. Sorry, no backwards compatibility.

Lucky Bars



These will have a lot of 8's in the design - deemed very lucky in Chinese culture. It's going to be perfect for more upright MTB and bikepacking bikes like the Piolet. Wide, nice rise, nice sweep. These are currently being prototyped using some really neat mandrel bending tooling. Basically, this style of bending allows for tighter and more consistent bends without the risk of stress risers or limited shapes.

Dropper Posts


These literally arrived minutes ago while I was writing this post (get it? Post, seatpost...) The good folks at Dajia Cycleworks thought we might like them, so we got a few samples to test out. They look really good. More details on these coming soon once we get them mounted up.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have been looking for some easily serviceable thru axle hubs looking forward to seeing more about your offerings, need 12x100 front and 142x15 rear. Both in speed.

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to more info on the dropper posts. Any idea what sizes are being considered?

Anonymous said...

Dig the smart discussion of your expo philosophy; always fun to get a peek behind the scenes.

VeloOrange said...

Right now, 31.6 and 27.2, but it's all still in the air.

-Igor

Anonymous said...

30.9 please please please

Justin said...

26.2 dropper! I know, too niche of size...

Anonymous said...

Perhaps a rim brake 650b frame to compete with the Soma Grand Randonneur and the Surly Pack Rat?

bsimon said...

XXL Neutrino!!!

Iridesteelbicycles said...

Pretty please, let’s see a proper mechanical 27.2mm dropper Seatpost. Especially one that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, and doesn’t wiggle around after one ride! That’d be an exciting day =D

KHavener said...

Can't wait to see the specs on the Lucky bars. Need some of those. Specifically interested in the rise. Tried to make do with an ultra long stem, but the shallow head tube angle puts the quill far too close to my seat. Need something that can raise the grips from a middling long quill. But I will be ordering some Klunker bars until then.