I installed an SRM crank that a customer brought in onto their bike.
I initially thought this was a 9000 crankset that SRM had done secondary machining on...
But looking at how the chainring clearance fits and the surface finish, it really doesn't seem like secondary machining.
Then I noticed something:
↑The crank arm shape is completely different from the start.
You can't machine a concave curve into a convex curve.
The printing on the crank arm isn't Dura-Ace either.
Looking at the part number, it was a custom order from Shimano.
I'm not sure what minimum order quantity would get them to do this,
but it's impressive.
Now that I think about it, the old 7700 hubs had
front round-hole specs in 36, 32, 28, 24H,
front slot-hole specs in 32, 28, 24, 18, 16, 12H,
rear round-hole specs in 36, 32, 28, 24, 20H,
and rear slot-hole specs in 32, 28, 24, 20, 16, 12H
as catalog specifications.
It's funny how 20H existed in the rear but not the front—there's room to complain about that.
But the 7700 hub allowed custom spoke hole counts in very small quantities,
maybe 10 or 15 units at a time.
Even now with 9000, front 20H isn't available,
and that's a significant loss of opportunity.
When hand-building, you use 20H more often than 18H,
and I've had plenty of conversations that ended up going toward DT hubs
just because customers didn't want mismatched hub manufacturers front and rear,
and DT happens to have 20H without 18H.
Also, if Ultegra-grade hubs had front 20H and rear 24H options
(even just the round-hole versions)
that would be really helpful...
↑This is also a wheel I built in the past—
a Dura-Ace Track large-flange hub
HB-7600 with custom 24H spoke count.
Since it wouldn't be used as a W-cog, I built it Italian-style.
At that time, a distributor had placed a small-lot custom order with Shimano and kept it in stock,
so the shop could buy even just one unit from them—that's how I got it.
I initially thought this was a 9000 crankset that SRM had done secondary machining on...
But looking at how the chainring clearance fits and the surface finish, it really doesn't seem like secondary machining.
Then I noticed something:
↑The crank arm shape is completely different from the start.
You can't machine a concave curve into a convex curve.
The printing on the crank arm isn't Dura-Ace either.
Looking at the part number, it was a custom order from Shimano.
I'm not sure what minimum order quantity would get them to do this,
but it's impressive.
Now that I think about it, the old 7700 hubs had
front round-hole specs in 36, 32, 28, 24H,
front slot-hole specs in 32, 28, 24, 18, 16, 12H,
rear round-hole specs in 36, 32, 28, 24, 20H,
and rear slot-hole specs in 32, 28, 24, 20, 16, 12H
as catalog specifications.
It's funny how 20H existed in the rear but not the front—there's room to complain about that.
But the 7700 hub allowed custom spoke hole counts in very small quantities,
maybe 10 or 15 units at a time.
Even now with 9000, front 20H isn't available,
and that's a significant loss of opportunity.
When hand-building, you use 20H more often than 18H,
and I've had plenty of conversations that ended up going toward DT hubs
just because customers didn't want mismatched hub manufacturers front and rear,
and DT happens to have 20H without 18H.
Also, if Ultegra-grade hubs had front 20H and rear 24H options
(even just the round-hole versions)
that would be really helpful...
↑This is also a wheel I built in the past—
a Dura-Ace Track large-flange hub
HB-7600 with custom 24H spoke count.
Since it wouldn't be used as a W-cog, I built it Italian-style.
At that time, a distributor had placed a small-lot custom order with Shimano and kept it in stock,
so the shop could buy even just one unit from them—that's how I got it.