Interview with Greg Hudson

Sim: Hi Greg, how are you today? First of all, I would like to know about your background.

Greg (hereafter G): Hello everyone in Japan! I'm Greg Hudson, you can call me Greg. Previously, he was the main wheel builder for CORSA CONCEPT, a wheel company based in Portland.
Based on my experience in CX & ROAD racing, I thought that at that time (around 2007) there was no wheel that could be used in a race, yet had a strong and unique presence anywhere in the market, so I launched this CORSA brand. is.
CORSA also uses CK HUB as a hub option, and I often went in and out of CK. After that, at the invitation of Dylan, who was working at CK at the time, I decided to join CK in order to start up the wheel department at CK from scratch.

Also, before the launch of CORSA, I had experience as a sales and mechanic at REI, and I simply liked disassembling, maintaining, and assembling bicycles by myself.
I was particularly interested in the structure of wheels, and when I tried to dismantle and reassemble by myself, but it didn't work out, I asked a local bike shop to fix it. . . I believe that this personal experience is the starting point of who I am today.
The first wheel I built myself was a Mavic CXP33 + Surly SSP Hub that I built 15-16 years ago, but I'm sure I still have it at home. . . HA HA HA

Shim: Please tell us about the flow from joining CK to starting Wheel Dept.

Gu: In the first two to three weeks after joining CK, I learned manufacturing on the shop floor, especially from a thorough understanding of hub+driveshell construction. After that, I experienced the assembly department and learned what kind of troubles are common and how they are used. After that, I did a little bit of the Sales + Shipping department, and I understood all the departments like the structure of a wheel. It is not a full-time wheel builder like my previous job, but it is important to plan Wheel Dept, build a department, promote, and how to relate to Rim + Spoke Manufacture. I am making full use of my professional experience.

Shim: What do you pay particular attention to when building wheels?

Gu: When assembling a wheel, the details such as how the spokes are woven, the spoke tension, and the position of the logo are also very important, so we make sure to repeat confirmation after confirmation at every step from start to finish. CK is not a so-called bike shop in the city, so even if there is an initial swing, we can't ask CK to bring it back to us. We are striving to deliver even more perfect products so that there will be no defects. For that reason, I asked King to make a machine that applies pressure to the wheel from the side, and I check the error of the tension meter every morning without fail, and maintenance of the tension meter is also indispensable. All of these tasks require specialized tools, so we should choose tools and methods that we can confidently say are good, or create our own and use them correctly, without compromising on the tools. I cherish it very much.

Sim: It seems that you also accompanied the Tour de France this year, do you have any interesting episodes?

Gu: I think the reason why R45 hubs suddenly became famous is because Wiggins used R45 during his SKY era, but from there, the current champion Froome also wanted to use R45, and it became a hot topic. It happened. Upon hearing this, Cavendish seemed to be somewhat dissatisfied with the hubs supplied by the team, and requested ENVE, the team's wheel support company, to prepare wheels made of R45. I think that's why the R45 became a hot topic in this year's tool. Originally, Jonas (Unfortunately, he was raised to be the successor to CK, but died suddenly due to illness in July of this year... We were also saddened.) was going to go. However, for some reason, I went to France for training at MAVIC, which I bought ENVE from in May of this year. Another important mission this time was to teach the team mechanics of Dimension Data, the only team support team on site, how to maintain the R45. As I found out when I went to the site, the wheels were not assembled by the team mechanics, but the ones that were assembled by ENVE, so in addition to all those wheel checks and adjustments, Cavendish was hurriedly installed. It was a very good experience for me to make an offer to let me build a few sets for business, and to rush to build them locally. I'm really glad that I was able to accomplish my purpose in a short stay!

Sim: What are your future prospects and plans?

Gu: Personally, I plan to get married in September. I don't have many visions or ambitions, but what I want to cherish is "always looking fault ". It is certain that repeating such simple things accurately will lead to the best results. But in order to understand what the customer wants and to respond flexibly to new standards, I think we have to keep a firm eye on the market.

Sim: Thank you so much for your hard work today! I will continue to introduce the wheels that Grek assembled as much as possible, so please continue to support me. Also, a word to Japanese cyclists.

Gu: My Pleasure. We couldn't do Gourmet Century in Japan this year, but SimWorks is really indebted to Chris King, so we want to work even harder as a team. Chris King's hubs are the culmination of the best materials, technology and ideas, so I hope that many people in Japan will use them. So when that happens, I want to go mountain biking with everyone in Japan! Thank you for your support of Chris King Wheel Dept, which will start in Japan from now on!