2018 was our busiest season yet and there was no let up even over the festive period and the New Year. That said we are still working on new products to add to the Profin portfolio. Our shock bushes are proving popular Worldwide with a number of stockists taking advantage of our trade pricing and we have added 12 new sizes. That said shock bushes are only a tiny part of what we do. Not content being a one trick pony we are also working on a few other little gizmos:
Bikepackers, cycle commuters and audax riders can never have enough light mounting options, quite often luggage and accessories can take up light mounting space so we have been working on a solution.
Admittedly this isn’t the only product of it’s type available, there are a few, however we have spent a lot of time tweaking the size and shape of ours to:
- Maximise the mounting area.
- Ensure that the taper is generous enough to clear protruding dropouts etc.
- Make it as light as possible.
Our 26mm production models are all weighing in at 23g with a tolerance of +/- 0.01mm on the OD and +/- 0.05mm on all other dimensions.
They will be available in either “satin silver” or “darker than space black”.
More importantly this feature protects your hand in the event of an incredibly bad or drunken shot. The wider are also makes sure your hand always ends up in the right place, so you don’t have to fidget around before each strike of the hammer.
Previously we had been making these in “Clinical White” but now we are offering them in “Ageing Labrador Black”. MTB fork seal drivers in 32mm, 34mm, 35mm, 36mm, 38mm and 40mm. Price for each is £21-£23 including VAT and U.K. Shipping.
We want to start bringing mountain bike suspension servicing to the masses in 2019 and we decided to start with the Fox Float X2, there are plenty of them around and it’s a good candidate for the home mechanic in terms of difficulty.
That said the cost of shock specific tooling can make it a costly exercise so we decided the Fox X2 was first on the list.
We have machined some air sleeve clamps and we are retailing these at £45 including VAT (£54.17 if you are outside of the E.U.) v £99.99 of Fox part 803-00-968
We have added quite a few new sizes of MTB shock mounting hardware and offset bushings to our range. We think (though we are happy to be corrected on this!), that we have one of the biggest ranges of stock items on the web with over 4,000 kits now on the shelf ready for immediate dispatch.
We now have a good stock of the following sizes:
Standard MTB Suspension Bushes
- 6mm x 15.00mm
- 6mm x 20.00mm
- 6mm x 21.80mm
- 6mm x 22.00mm
- 6mm x 25.00mm
- 6mm x 25.40mm
- 6mm x 30.00mm
- 6mm x 41.00mm
- 8mm x 15.00mm
- 8mm x 15.75mm
- 8mm x 19.00mm
- 8mm x 20.00mm
- 8mm x 21.80mm
- 8mm x 22.00mm
- 8mm x 22.20mm
- 8mm x 25.00mm
- 8mm x 25.40mm
- 8mm x 30.00mm
- 8mm x 34.00mm
- 8mm x 35.00mm
- 8mm x 35.50mm
- 8mm x 40.00mm
- 8mm x 41.00mm
- 8mm x 45.00mm
- 10mm x 15.00mm
- 10mm x 20.00mm
- 10mm x 22.00mm
- 10mm x 25.00mm
- 10mm x 40.00mm
- 10mm x 50.00mm with 10mm offset spacers for Trek Slash, Fuel Ex etc.
- 10mm x 60.00mm
Offset Bushings Sizes
- 6mm x 21.80mm
- 6mm x 22.00mm
- 6mm x 25.40mm
- 6mm x 30.00mm
- 6mm x 41.00mm
- 8mm x 15.75mm
- 8mm x 19.00mm
- 8mm x 21.80mm
- 8mm x 22.20mm
- 8mm x 25.40mm
- 8mm x 30.00mm
- 8mm x 34.00mm
- 8mm x 35.00mm
- 8mm x 35.50mm
- 8mm x 40.00mm
- 8mm x 41.00mm
- 8mm x 45.00mm
- 10mm x 15.00mm
- 10mm x 20.00mm
- 10mm x 22.00mm
- 10mm x 25.00mm
- 10mm x 40.00mm
Now unless you are a bike mechanic you are probably not going to get all hot and bothered about a star nut tool, not being something you would use regularly. If however you are a bike mechanic you’ll know that the key to being able to actually make a living and pay the bills is efficiency.
Fitting star nuts to fork steerer’s has always been a peeve of mine, mainly due to the tooling. There are heavyweight unguided tools that require gentle taps before the inevitable long stare with a squinty eye to make sure it is going in straight or guided tools that are lightweight, partially made from cheap plastics and/or have a small area with which to grip them.
I decided to address this with the 1HW Star nut tool. The inner machined from nice and tough EN24T Steel, the same stuff they use to make crankshafts, which means it won’t deform and mushroom on the end with hammer strikes. The outer section is made from EN1a steel and is knurled for a nice firm grip. The M6 grub screw is also replaceable.
The result is that you can slide the tool over the fork steerer and hammer it all the way home in just a few hammer strikes – we managed 1 ridiculously aggressive hit with a lump hammer on the prototype tool and a scrap CSU, hence the name 1HW (One Hit Wonder). It’s a hefty lump, made to last a lifetime.
Professional Tools Fox, just £18 including U.K. Shipping
If you are going to service a pair of Fox Forks you need a damper and a spring release tool, at least if you are going to do it properly. The O.E. products cost £41.95 each at the time of writing which is not expensive when you factor in shipping and distribution costs etc.
However we decided that it was an obvious move to manufacture our own as without any sort of distribution network we could offer them at significantly less, £18 each including VAT and shipping to be precise for the 8mm spring and 10mm damper versions, £28 for the longer step cast version Fox parts 398-00-601A, 398-00-682 and 398-00-681 respectively.
Trade Pricing
All of the above products are being shipped Worldwide to the general public but also to the trade with discounting available, own a bike shop or repair business? Get in touch.
We have a few other irons in the fire, so there will be hopefully be a few new products into the spring. We are also looking at buying more machinery to help with production, stay tuned. ?
