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Narrator:
THESE ELITE-LEVEL RACING WHEELS
ARE MADE OF ALUMINUM.
THEY'RE DESIGNED
TO GENERATE A SMOOTH RIDE
WITH OPTIMUM RESPONSIVENESS
TO THE RIDER'S ACCELERATION.
WORKERS LOAD ONE EXTRUDED TUBE
AT A TIME INTO A METAL BENDER.
THE MACHINE COILS THE TUBE
AROUND AND AROUND,
FORMING FOUR CONNECTED RIMS.
THEY MOUNT THE COIL TUBE
ONTO A CUTTER.
WITH A SINGLE DOWNWARD SLICE,
IT SEPARATES THE FOUR RIMS.
FIRST, THE RIMS NEED A BATH
IN A TANK OF ACID.
THE ACID REMOVES DUST
AND OTHER CONTAMINANTS
AND ETCHES THE SURFACE
OF THE METAL,
BOTH OF WHICH HELP ENSURE
FULL ADHESION
OF THE ANTI-CORROSION COATING
THEY LATER APPLY.
NEXT A MULTIPHASE
HEAT-TREATMENT PROCESS.
THIS RESTRUCTURES
THE ALUMINUM MOLECULES,
MAKING THE METAL HARDER
AND STRONGER.
THEY JOIN THE TWO ENDS
OF THE RIM
BY RIVETING ON
AN ALUMINUM CONNECTOR TAB.
THEN THEY WELD THE JOINT
TO REINFORCE IT.
NOW FOR THAT
ANTI-CORROSION COATING.
THE PROCESS
IS CALLED ANODIZATION.
IN A TANK,
THEY PLATE THE ALUMINUM
WITH A PROTECTIVE CHEMICAL,
USING AN ELECTRICAL CHARGE
TO DRAW THE COATING PARTICLES
ONTO THE RIM SURFACE.
FOR THIS MODEL,
THE ANODIZED COATING IS BLACK.
HOWEVER,
THERE ARE SEVERAL COLOR CHOICES.
NEXT A COMPUTER-GUIDED MACHINE
SHAVES OFF A MINUTE AMOUNT
OF ANODIZED METAL
FROM NEARLY A THIRD
OF THE RIM SURFACE.
THIS CREATES A SMOOTH,
PERFECTLY FLAT AREA
FOR THE BRAKE PADS TO GRIP.
THE NEXT COMPUTER-GUIDED MACHINE
DRILLS HOLES
FOR THE TINY ALUMINUM NIPPLES,
WHICH HOLD THE ALUMINUM SPOKES
TO THE RIM.
NOW IT'S TIME
TO ASSEMBLE THE WHEEL.
THE FIRST TECHNICIAN
INSERTS A SPOKE INTO EACH SLOT
OF A CARBON-FIBER-AND-ALUMINUM
FLANGE --
PART OF THE HUB
AT THE CENTER OF THE WHEEL.
ONCE EVERY SPOKE
IS IN ITS RESPECTIVE SPOKE SEAT,
AS IT'S CALLED, HE SANDWICHES
THEM WITH A LOCKING RING.
NOW FOR THE RIM END
OF THE SPOKES.
THE NEXT TECHNICIAN
PLACES A SMALL STEEL PLUG
INSIDE A SPOKE NIPPLE
TO MAKE IT MAGNETIC.
THEN SHE PUTS THE NIPPLE
INTO THE RIM,
AND, USING A MAGNET,
DRAWS IT TO A SPOKE HOLE,
THEN THROUGH THE HOLE
TOWARD THE INSIDE OF THE WHEEL.
THEN SHE REMOVES THE STEEL PLUG
AND INSERTS THE FREE END
OF A SPOKE INTO THE NIPPLE.
SHE REPEATS THE PROCEDURE
FOR EACH SPOKE HOLE.
THIS IS KNOWN
AS LACING THE WHEEL.
THE NEXT TECHNICIAN
HOLDS EACH SPOKE STEADY
WHILE TIGHTENING ITS NIPPLE
WITH A SPOKE WRENCH.
TIGHTENING THE NIPPLE
STRAIGHTENS THE SPOKE.
THE PROCESS OF PERFECTLY
ALIGNING THE WHEEL
BY STRAIGHTENING EVERY SPOKE
IS CALLED TRUEING THE WHEEL.
THIS GAUGE TELLS HIM
WHEN THE WHEEL IS FINALLY TRUED.
FOR QUALITY-CONTROL ASSURANCE,
THIS ROBOTIC MACHINE
INSPECTS EACH SPOKE
AND MAKES ANY NECESSARY
TENSIONING ADJUSTMENTS.
DEPENDING ON THE MODEL,
A HIGH-END BICYCLE WHEEL
CAN HAVE ANYWHERE
FROM 10 TO 46 SPOKES.
DIFFERENT SPOKES
FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS.
