**Shoutout to our friends Twisted Spoke CBD for bringing us these parts to lace up!**
Onyx and Berd pairing up may be an unlikely combo. Berd makes the lightest spokes on the market, often saving between 100-200 grams in a wheelset and Onyx makes some of the heaviest high end hubs on the market, but one thing both of these companies share is a willingness to think outside the box to try and bring a cool and truly unique product to market.
Unless you follow the bike industry closely, you are probably wondering “what is a hook flange hub?” The Onyx hook flange hub is purpose built to be laced with Berd’s unique Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) spokes. Oversimplified, UHMWPE is extremely strong cord most commonly known as Dyneema and Spectra to other industries and it is commonly used anywhere you need extremely strong yet flexible materials. It has extremely high tensile strength and is VERY resistant to fatigue.
When using UHMWPE / Berd spokes, you end up with a very lightweight set of wheels that are still surprisingly durable. It is not without compromise though, wheels built with Berd spokes tend to ride “softer” which is a love it or hate it feel for most riders and from a wheel building perspective, they are VERY tedious to build and you have to void the warranty on your hub to prepare the spoke holes for the new spokes chamfering the spoke holes. Simply getting all the Berd spokes into a hub usually takes longer than building an entire wheel with traditional spokes.
Onyx Hook Flange Hubs
Onyx Vesper J-Bend hubs with Berd Spokes
This is one area where the new hook flange hubs really shine. With these purpose built hubs there is no more tedious hub prep and lacing. They cut over an hour off our normal build time compared to Berd spokes with traditional hubs. From a riders perspective, they do make for a much cleaner finished product.
Are there any downsides to ordering hook flange hubs? If you are committed to Berd spokes on your build and like silent hubs then we absolutely would recommend ordering the hook flange hubs over more traditional J bend or straight pull hubs. Even if you think you may want to switch to different spokes in the future, the spokes and labor to build are expensive enough that we would most likely recommend just selling your complete wheelset laced with Berd’s and building an entirely new set of wheels rather than disassembling your wheels to scavenge parts.
If you are interested in getting a quote for your own build with hook flange hubs or just have any questions about them please reach out to us at the contact form below.