We are excited to offer a scholarship to our special Women’s Wheel Building Foundations class!
The upcoming session is comprised of the following classes: July 10 from 9am-5pm and July 11-13 from 6pm-9pm
This class is an intimate, hands-on setting with just five students at a time taught by Sugar Wheel Works founder Jude Gerace.
No prior mechanic experience needed. The class covers instruction and parts are offered at a 20% discount if you want to take the wheels home with you. All spots in the class are reserved for scholarship students.
Participants must be willing to commit to all days of class and must be 18 years or older.
Apply for a scholarship using the form below. Please spread the word!
To be a great custom bicycle wheel builder, you need to build great wheels every time.
Every. Dang. Time.
That’s why we believe in consistency and we create every Sugar Wheel Works handbuilt wheel as though it is a masterpiece. With this attitude and dedication, every wheels turns out the very best it can be.
We build bicycle wheels day in and day out. It would be easy to become complacent in our work, but we love what we do and we have a passion for the craft. We carry out every wheel build with unwavering quality, with a consistency we can be proud of and that results in you having the best when possible.
In fact, we log all of our wheel builds. Each wheel we sell comes with a serial number and is stored in our database along with important notes about that specific wheel. We love our babies and want to keep track of every single one.
So when it comes time for you to get some fresh hoops, come to Sugar Wheel works. We’re always ready to handbuild the best wheel so you can have a sweeter ride.
Much like a great concert pianist is trained but ultimately must have that special touch to perform beautiful music, such is the art of building bicycle wheels. Books and instructors can teach you a lot, but only about 80% of the required skills can be obtained through instruction.
That other 20% is what we call the pinch of salt. It’s that little something extra that comes only with time, experience, thoughtfulness, patience and a true love of the art.
Aspiring wheel builders and hobbyists wanting to work on a home bicycle wheel building project often ask us how we do what we do, and we love that question! We are so supportive of helping more people learn. In fact, we even offer wheel building classes at Sugar Wheel Works on a regular basis.
So if you’re building up a bicycle wheel and you ever find yourself frustrated in the process, don’t worry – this is natural. All the book learning in the world can’t prepare you for that pinch of salt. Keep at it if you want to be the best! Or, you can simply bring your work to Sugar where we do this all the time, all day long.
When I started Sugar Wheel Works on April 1, 2009, I had this line in the mission statement “to be an asset to our community both globally and locally.” Today is a good day to reflect on our success as a team, and as a community. Since 2011 we have been working with United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) which has helped us hire and train an individual with developmental disabilities.
Dan has a wide variety of responsibilities at the studio, including (but not limited to!) preparing boxes for shipping, cleaning the windows, and bundling spokes. Dan also keeps us up to date on the latest cuisine, holiday preparations around town, and emergency rescue vehicles. If you find yourself in the shop during Dan’s shift, expect to answer one his favorite questions: “What year did you graduate high school?” Or, “What do you think you’ll be doing in ___ number of years?”
I want to take a moment to acknowledge the team of people that have helped this program be successful in our shop, and in our lives. Hereâ’s to the fine staff at UCP, Xochil, Jesse, Michelle and Donna, who have helped us forge such a unique relationship. I’d also like to thank Jason and Dan for their hard work. I’ve never worked with finer people.
This video is Dan Waugh’s segment. It’s a promotion (and inspiration) for the Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities. They selected Dan for this video series because of his great work.
