With the race season rapidly approaching, we are honored to have Zipp move all of their disc wheel production to the new SILCA adapters.
I wanted to give a huge thanks to our ST friends as apparently people were calling them and requesting the new parts, and especially to JackMott who was actually mentioned by name as somebody putting the pressure on them to include the worlds greatest adapter!
As we all know, it’s a small thing, but small things add up to make great differences!
is it the $30 disc adaptor shown on your website? I need to search, but want to be sure to get the right one, so why not ask again.
Very cool…
How’d a little start-up company manage to strike a deal with such a reputable brand?
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So, you see…it’s a really long story…
Funnily enough, it actually wasn’t as easy as you (or I for that matter) would expect… Zipp has taken on a strong aerospace industry qualification system for new parts and vendors over the last few years. It has actually taken a few months to complete all of the quality related audits, paperwork and testing…yes, testing, to become ‘qualified’. All of which is separate from the environmental qualifications, which are something that I really am happy to see them take on and hope to see other companies adopt in the future. Essentially we have to have our products tested to prove that they contain no banned or cancerous/harmful materials, and as they have put in place a system which requires their suppliers to prove this, we have had to put in place a similar system for our suppliers to comply and eventually if enough companies get on board, the world will be a better and cleaner place! The right thing to do, but not always the easy or quick option!
Best
I did what? lol
That’s actually good to see…as you well know, suppliers in the bike biz (especially those overseas) can have a pretty spotty environmental record. One of my biggest issues with overseas production (for any industry, not the just the bike biz).
Many, many retailers and companies have made great strides at forcing improved work and environmental conditions on their suppliers, but the bike biz has seemed to lag behind a bit in this regard. Glad to see Zipp / SRAM working to change this.
Also glad to see you get a good platform for exposure on the new adapter.
Congrats. Very cool.
I know some of you have met Josh in person, but those who have not, there is a pic of Josh within this gallery.
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Lifestyle/2014_NAHBS_impressions_4218.html
Power13, I agree completely…
For a while I was chairman of a sub-committee within the WFSGI, which is the worldwide federation of the sporting goods industry. While my committee was focused on changing the rules and relationship with the UCI, the most interesting meetings were those regarding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and it was really amazing to hear experienced CSR experts from companies like Nike and Adidas as well as from NGO’s, governments and other groups fighting to improve situations in the low cost manufacturing countries. The environmental issues were particularly fascinating and downright scary at times, particularly in areas of composites manufacturing and electronics as both have major environmental impact with composites having large potential health risks primarily due to dust, and electronics having heavy metals.
I was very proud to be representing SRAM/Zipp in these meetings as they were the first company in the bike industry to step up in a number of these areas in regards to worker safety, but also the first to require full disclosure history on Tin, Tantalum, Tungsten and Gold the so called 3TG materials, which are often referred to as Conflict Minerals. It is often very easy to forget about what we call ‘The very high cost of low cost,’ but when you really understand the situations in many of these countries you begin to see how ours behaviors and buying choices can dramatically affect others.
We have worked very hard to wrap these lessons into a coherent value system at SILCA with en eye on sustainability and minimal impact beginning at the design phase, and carrying through to our choices in packaging materials and designs, to shipping partners to deliver the goods.
ps, I love your signature line. I have spent many hours in meetings with Mr. McQuaid and had him wave his finger in my face as he lectured our industry many, many times!
We are probably venturing into Lavender Room areas now, but this is an area where I have spent a lot of time, both inside the bike biz and in other consumer product categories. I find it frustrating when others tout the “we are exploiting overseas workers” argument when the reality is that it is the Western companies who are helping to fuel the changes in sustainability and workers’ conditions overseas.
The examples you cite from Zipp / SRAM are just a few of the ones that Western companies are doign to improve things overseas. We are currently going through social audit issues with a major national retailer. Even though we comply with local laws re: working hours and overtime (all of which is voluntary), they have requirements which exceed local laws. This retailer could easily just accept adherence to local laws, but are pushing for something else.
Like I said…probably fodder for the LR.
Side note - even though McQuaid is gone now, I just love that quote from Greg, so i keep it as my sig. What a colossal train wreck that guy was for the sport and the industry (along with Verbruggen)
Agreed, probably lavender room territory, but it is nice to see some large western companies working pro-actively to improve the situation, but still a hard sell to many consumers, which will continue to make it a hard sell to any great number of companies. Ultimately it is on all of us as consumers to truly drive change.
In the mean time, we have taken it to heart and are only US made and certified materials, holding our suppliers responsible for their environmental policies, and have converted all of our grease/lubricants to environmentally save variants which are FDA approved safe for food contact. Every little bit…
Other than replacing my new Zipp disc wheel how else can I get hold of the adaptor…urgently?
order online.
i did on a friday and had it on monday
my queston is…how long will the red gasket last from everyday type use?
no, but it looks like it might make a good daily use pump head, if one were so inclined. I am not, but was curious as to longevity
Congrats!
And great to hear of another bike biz company doing US production.
So when are you guys going to re-start production on Silca’s simple and elegant line of frame fit pumps … ?
order online.
i did on a friday and had it on monday
my queston is…how long will the red gasket last from everyday type use?
Where, from Zipp?
You can order them directly from us here: http://silca.cc/products/disc-wheel-mini-chuck
On the question of everyday use, its hard to say how long that will be for you. We know that the red gasket material lasts about 5X as long as the previous material in testing, but we don’t have good real world life expectancy data for frequent use, but anecdotally I’d say you probably get a few years of daily use. Your valve stems and tightness also play into it, Tom is right that setting it at the minimum for it to seal properly will extend the life.
Thanks
So it will definitely stay on without being held?
Hey Josh…can you only ship these to the US? I was hoping to get one for my wheels here - but live in frosty - arctic-like Calgary…any sympathies? 
Tried to order one online - but only gave me US as shipping option.
Cheers!
JR
CrashMaster: The problem is that there are WIDE variations in valve stem geometries. In our testing we see everything from 100-300+psi without holding the adapter, but as with anything, we can’t control the other half of the equation. From experience, it holds best on non-removable valve core stems as they do not have the two flats on the top threads, and amongst RVC type stems, we see wide differences in both size and shape. Continental stems seem to hold better than most, Vittoria stems tend to be more toward 100-120psi. For best results, you can install the thing and then tighten it 90degrees, I am yet to find a stem I can’t get at least 120psi in if I tighten after install.
JAR, please email us at sales@silca.cc for Canada shipping. We aren’t sophisticated enough on the website yet to handle international shipping!
Best
Josh