Monday, June 16, 2008

Grove Hot Rods...the time has come!

Hey guys...big news!


I know a lot of you folks have been patiently awaiting this announcement, so I am super stoked to be able to share that the committment to produce the updated Hot Rods cranks has come to fruition.

For those who like the "total story" here's the scoop;


Bill Grove designed the first two piece crank design in the late 70's as the lead designer and proprieter of Titron components. Bill took his design expertise and moved to Hutch BMX where he led the design and production of high end BMX equipment during the early 80's. Dissatisfied with the constraints of working for "the man", he strode off on his own and began Grove Innovations, leading a small contingent of creative fabricators to produce many ground breaking designs as well as to prototype products for many name brand companies.

One of the core products of his line were the two piece mountain crank, dubbed the Hot Rods. Lighter, stronger and utilizing a two piece integrated axel design not yet seen in the mountian bike industry, he spawned numerous copy cat competitors.

Bill's desire to return to the cycling industry has nagged him for a number of years now. After much thought and consideration, his decision to step back into the fray will be ear marked with the release of the updated Hot Rod crank.



The new Hot Rod has a new look and offers greater diversity in set up than it's predicessor. Here are the high lights;


- CNC and tubular 4130 chromoly Tig welded construction

- Two piece design compatible with Shimano style out board bottom brackets

- Tri-coidal polygon spidle/arm interface for superior surface area contact for greater strength

- relieved pedal shaft for lighter weight

- available in custom lengths

- available in standard black or silver powder coat, custom paint quoted individually

- available in Single Speed and multi-ring capability

- estimated weight at... 615 grams for cranks and hardware. Not uber light, but guarenteed to last :)


- BB30 option to come in 2009 :)

- rings not included


- Cost of each piece will be $385.00 in standard colors, $15.00 priority insured shipping.


(shown with single pinch clamp, the new clamp is a CNC 4mm dual bolt piece...nice and clean)


The initial run will be 50 pair, not a whole lot, but it is the right number to balance financial outlay/risk with available time to produce a first rate product. So, if you are interested, here's how things are going to shake out.



(backside relieved pedal shaft...weight removed where it is not needed)

I will be receiving email from interested parties to be placed on a reservation list. I will compile all the names, contact info, and crank specs for each interested party. Toward the end of June, we'll contact everyone on the list and ask for payment for each piece ordered with delivery scheduled for September...time for us to work these in around the other projects and still allow time for you to enjoy them on some nice fall singletrack. As always, progress shots will be posted up on a blog for you to enjoy and to keep an eye on us :)


I'm setting up a separate email just for the cranks to insure that I do not miss anyone. You can jump on the interest list at... info@grovecycledesign.com .


Should be a killer project...I've lusted after these since the early 90's when I could never afford to purchase them. I'm hoping I can weasle my way into a pair this time around ;)


cheers,




rody

1 comment:

dRjON said...

excellent!

is it possible to say what the spcaing from inner crank to inner crank would be for chainstay clearance?