Station 210: Reinventing the wheel

"All bikes have at least one wheel," Louis-Robert Frigault observes with a laugh. "However, we know very little about them." The owner of Wheel Workshop Station 210 is right: when we talk about bikes, the attention is most often focused on the frame material, the transmission, the brakes, or even the saddle. But how many of us know how to evaluate a pair of wheels?

This article first appeared in the excellent magazine Vélo Mag, March 2024 edition.

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Louis-Robert Frigault became interested in bicycle wheels about ten years ago, when he was a volunteer for the Santropol Roulant organization in Montreal. In addition to devouring specialized books on wheel construction, he was involved in statistical analyses in public health for the City of Montreal. It was while passing by chance in the small village of Saint-André-d'Argenteuil, near Lachute, west of Montreal, that he and his partner fell in love with the old fire station. They opened a coffee shop less than a year later, in 2018, then the wheel workshop in 2020. (Respectively @station210.co et @s210atelierderoues on Instagram.)

The former Saint-André-d'Argenteuil barracks is now a store and wheel workshop.

Louis-Robert Frigault in his workshop.

Know a thing or two about it

At least two hours are needed for each wheel.

This life change is a tribute to slowness, according to the person concerned, who spends an average of two meticulous hours hand-assembling each of his custom products – a process that prevents some defects, he says. “On machine-assembled wheels, some spokes will turn during the screwing process,” he explains. “When you use the wheel, these spokes return to their original shape and eventually unscrew and become soft. On new bikes, you can also sometimes see from the visible threads that spokes were used that were too short, a problem that is sometimes camouflaged by using longer nipples.”

Starting with the cyclist's needs, Louis-Robert Frigault offers a range of solutions, from the width of the rims (depending on the desired tires) to the number of spokes. "There is a negligible difference in weight between 32 and 36 spokes," he tells me, "but a big advantage in strength. Manufacturers save money by cutting a few on each of the millions of wheels. On the other hand, for the individual, there is no risk - other than losing a little of the refined look - in choosing a few additional spokes."

Even the spoke diameter has an influence. “The tensions are not the same on both sides of a rim,” continues the craftsman. “At the rear, I often install larger spokes on the cassette side, so as to balance the tension. At the front, it’s the opposite, since it’s the disc on the left that imposes the greatest forces.” An asymmetrical rim, whose center is offset by a few millimeters, creates the same effect.

(Are you visual? Watch this short video on my YouTube channel!)

Even the spokes are custom cut and threaded.

A personalized product

In his workshop, Louis-Robert Frigault is surrounded by ultra-specialized tools, including an impressive German spoke threading machine, which retails for no less than $5000! This allows him to perfectly adapt his spokes – which he buys neutral – to the rim-hub combination. Recently, he also mounted a few wheels equipped only with Berd spokes, made of white polyethylene string; when these spokes are fixed to Onyx hubs, with hooks and completely silent, the result makes your legs tingle. “One of my clients is a coach for the Paralympic team,” the expert boasts. “He’s a strong guy with enormous thighs who was constantly breaking his spokes, so much so that he asked me for five replacements for each side of his new wheels. He hasn’t broken a single one in the 5000 km he’s ridden since then!”

I myself have custom wheels by Station 210 on 3 of my bikes, including this Tulipp….

and this Taiwanese neo-retro beauty.

His clientele is varied. His clients pedal on the road and on trails, on weekday evenings or for years. They have a dynamo, heavy luggage or electric assistance. In all cases, Louis-Robert Frigault takes the time to advise them on the most appropriate solution. Or simply to share his passion and knowledge that make them appreciate and know the wonderful machine that is the bicycle even better.

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For more information on making custom wheels, I suggest this video (in English with bilingual subtitles) on the famous Berd rope spokes, as well as a Encyclicals podcast episode where we received Louis-Robert.