Unless you've been living under a rock for the last two years, chances are likely that you already know a lot about the PLEGS. To sum it up, they are simple, cheap, light and STRUCTURAL plastic pegs. They aren't magic. They won’t pull the chicks in or make you invincible...

There may even be times when PLEGS seem too slippery for the trick you want to do, but we believe that once you try them that you'll probably want them on your bike more often than not. At just 4.3 ounces each (14mm version), or approximately half the weight of a light steel peg, you’ll probably decide never to go back to steel.

Now, if you set out to quickly wear the sleeve down, then guess what? You will! However, a replacement sleeve is half the price of an entire PLEG. When they are used sensibly, and rotated as necessary, they can last you a very long time.

So, why all the delays, you ask? To do it right, of course. We first showed the PLEG prototypes at Interbike ‘06, and at the time we genuinely thought they would be out by the end of that year. However, this project originally started back in 2001, when I made my first set of plastic pegs (designing them so the plastic took the loads, rather than needing an inner core of steel or aluminium). We re-focused on the concept in 2005, and since we started we have gone through three moulding companies, worked on two continents, made two tools, devised five or six tool modifications, and experimented with too many plastic alloys to count - all in an attempt to make them grind as smooth as possible, to maximize their life, and to keep the costs down. In early 2007 we started working with a very high-caliber moulding company, and now we've finally nailed everything down. So, while the latest samples may look identical to the ones we showed in '06, in reality they use a totally different plastic alloy, and they are coming out of a hugely modified tool. We are very pleased with the finished product, and we think you will be too.

So when can you buy some? Well, if you live in the US, the answer is, very soon. The first production batch just landed in California and cleared our final QC checks so they will be shipping out to distributors and shops right away. The approximate retail price is $12 per PLEG (choose from 3/8" or 14mm hardware – sorry, no 9/16”). And a pack of TWO replacement sleeves is also roughly the same price, $12. We're doing matte-black only to start, but other colours should be out later. Replacement sleeves will reach stores in January ’08. Complete PLEGS (with the axle hardware) are shipping NOW.

Availability is limited with this first shipment (due to space restrictions for the final container delivery of the year), so I would suggest getting your orders in right away if you've been waiting for these to be released.

Thanks for being patient with us on this project.

We believe that it was worth the wait.

Another product we showed at Interbike was our new spokes and taper hex nipples for 2008...

Well the problem with previous aluminium spoke nipples has usually been that they round off really easily, because although aluminium can be as strong as brass, it is a lot softer. When you slide a traditional square spoke key onto a square nipple, there HAS to be a little gap, if the spoke key fitted perfectly then sliding it on and off would be impossible. This little gap means that the key moves slightly round the nipple and just presses right on two opposite corners of the nipple. With nice hard brass this isnt usually a big problem, but with softer aluminium nipples they just cant take this and distort.

Our solution to this issue is to make a special hexagonal nipple and key.

Hexagons work better than squares for transferring torque. That's why most other nuts and bolts on your bike use them, but with a straight parallel hex getting the key to fit right would be even harder. But our nipples TAPER and so does our key. So the key slides on easy then as it slides down the nipple gets tighter and tighter fitting until ALL the gap is eliminated. This means that the key FULLY supports the nipple and spreads the load over FIVE of the six corners.

It is pretty hard to see the taper because it is very very slight, but this cad rendering might help show it.

The key itself has the matching female taper hex and is kept as simple as possible so you can keep it on your key-ring so it is always handy.

On the spokes themselves we wanted to save a little weight too, but without going as far as a traditional double butted spoke. Our solution to this was to make a very gentle transition and to reduce the section area by just 20%. We also kept the butting away from the hub flange where grind damage is most likely to occur.
We call this "semi-butting", though technically it is still a double butted spoke.
You are going to have to look pretty hard at the first photo to see the very gentle transition from one size to the other, but it is there and it saves about 15% off the weight of the spokes.

Combining these two, we can produce a weight saving of about TWO ounces per wheel. A little less on a 36, and quite a bit more on a 48. For a typical 36 front 3cross and 48 rear 4 cross you should see a weight saving of well over a quarter of a pound, without any difference in wheel strength, but that is a real pleasure to true thanks to the taper-hex nipples.

Anyway, raring to go now, so I WILL get some news up this week on all the new stuff we showed with plenty of details.

Plegs are STILL in development, but we are very close now. I am truely sorry for the ridiculous time that these are taking, but blending the polymers just right and designing the tooling to work as it should is a long and painstaking process. We hope to have them out around the new year but all bets are off until the production tooling starts spitting them out to spec.

Oh yeah the picture shows Jim Bauer jumping over Jim Cielencki.

It's finally here. The answer to ALL your hopes and dreams. The new smaller, lighter GLAND with bigger cable-tie-holes and BOBBLES!

Because GLANDs fix to, (and rotate with) the wheel they can use the very spokes they protect to help support them. This also means that they dont effect the dropout spacing or put any load on your hub axle. And because they are plastic they slide faster and are lighter too.

The BOBBLES! help to take some of the load off the cable-ties and keep the GLAND central, whilst still allowing the guard to fit virtually any hub, with any lacing pattern, front or rear.

And at just $11 they are probably the cheapest as well.

These have actually been available in Australia and some other countries for a while, but they are now in the Odyssey warehouse ready to ship to distributors, so North Americans should be able to satisfy their needs within a few weeks, and the rest of the world wont be far behind...

George

Blackout and QBP should have them in stock. International Distributors should be getting them sometime in the next few weeks. Or you can visit the Odyssey store to buy them direct here.

Details:
Same length and thread as the old stock Monkey and Marmoset 3/8" bolts but with a head to take a 17mm socket (rather than the old 9/16"). This allows you to use the same socket you use for your cassette hub. Broached the centre for a 6mm Allen Key.

First news of 2007, but what news!

On Saturday the 10th February, my girlfriend gave birth to our gorgeous baby girl Aurigny. (Yes we had to ask her her name a few times before we were sure how to pronounce it too... it's Oar-e-knee).

George

Another three post frenzy... you lucky lucky people...

Don't worry these bolts aren't really volcanos... or are they?!?!?

No. they arent...

What they are are smooth low profile bolts for the Marmoset and Monkey hubs if you aren't planning on using pegs.
6mm allen key sockets, slightly shorter than regular bolts to save that all important weight (about half an ounce per bolt) and with a big head to allow use in 14mm dropouts (with a suitable converter).

Sold as singles.

Should be available early in 2007.

With winter rapidly closing in here in Sheffield you have two choices... make a run for the sun like Mike and Joe, or put on some warmer clothes and put up with it.... So obviously this is the ideal time of year to bring out a new T-Shirt....

100% cotton.

This is something I have been asked for for many years. Custom Monkey and Marmoset bolts. Same length and thread as the old stock Monkey and Marmoset 3/8" bolts but with a head to take a 17mm socket (rather than the old 9/16"). This allows you to use the same socket you use for your cassette hub.

But there is more. We also broached the centre for a 6mm Allen Key.

These will be available soon as spares and will eventually come stock on new hubs sometime in 2007.

OK. Three new entries in one day is my limit....

George

Well this website has been up for a while with pegs listed under the product section, and this is what we have been working on all that time.

As some people may already know, I have been running "plastic" pegs on my own bike for about the last 6 years now, ever since I put a steel peg through the side of my hand and had to have an operation to fix it.

Plastic pegs have a lot of advantages, they slide faster than steel, titanium or aluminium on any surface. They dont damage coping (so they should help bikers get access to some parks). They are less likely to kill you if they hit you in the back of the head. And of course they are massively lighter.

The Pleg uses a special steel insert that reinforces the end of the Pleg and provides a solid engagement on the dropout, and a replaceable "plastic" sleeve that is cheap and simple to change.

Weight is around 4ounces (112g) per peg, which is about half the weight of a typical steel peg and lighter than most titanium pegs too.

Plegs are the standard 4 inch (100mm) length but are slightly fatter than normal pegs at 42mm (a typical steel peg is 38mm). This extra thickness covers more of the dropout so you ONLY grind Pleg not frame, and helps the pleg get over skate stoppers ....
That's right, we can actually grind skate-stoppered aluminium rails... and since they wont cause any real damage you dont even need to feel guilty about it.

With Plegs you can look at your streets in a whole new way. Rough concrete ledges, aluminium rails, rails with skate stoppers, wood, pretty much anything is now ridable.

So to the obvious question. Wear.
Yes, Plegs do wear out quicker than steel pegs, but who wants to cart around half a pound of steel you will never use? With normal use a set of Plegs will last a good year or more and when the sleeves get really heavily worn you can simply replace them.

Hopefully these will be available in early 2007.

George

Wham! Just two days since the last entry and here we are back with more!

We showed these babies off at Interbike so it seemed a good time to let everyone get a quick preview of the new GLAND3.
Smaller than the old GLAND but with much bigger cable tie slots and "bobbles" on the inside face which keep the GLAND from slipping about on the wheel and so reduce the stress on the cable ties.

This picture gives you some idea how they compare to the old ones for size:-

We are still in final testing but are shooting for a launch early in 2007.

More To Follow.

George

Yowzers!

Less than a month has passed since the last entry (and I have been away for 3 weeks of it) and already we have a new Blog entry!!!!

The long awaited RED Marmosets are now shipping to shops along with the Greys that arrived earlier on. So now anyone can recreate this moving scene of a Red and Grey Marmoset mating...

George