<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Words and Photos by Ryan Palmer&lt;\\/em&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Spoke manufacturer, Wheelsmith, has been making high quality stainless steel spokes in the U.S. Since the mid-nineties. Disc-brake company, Hayes acquired Wheelsmith in 2007 and moved production  from Montana to Hayes&amp;#8217; headquarters outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Wheelsmith now produces spokes for the Hayes-owned SunRingle wheel systems as well as the the OEM market and bike shops around the world. We stopped by the Mequon, Wisconsin plant and were lucky enough to see some pretty impressive machines in action. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;figure id=\\\"attachment_57773\\\" style=\\\"width: 630px\\\" class=\\\"wp-caption alignnone\\\"&gt;&lt;img src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/files\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-1.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" title=\\\"Wheelsmith-1\\\" width=\\\"630\\\" height=\\\"479\\\" class=\\\"size-full wp-image-57773\\\" srcset=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-1.jpg 630w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-1-118x90.jpg 118w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-1-100x76.jpg 100w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-1-200x152.jpg 200w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-1-160x122.jpg 160w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-1-320x243.jpg 320w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-1-480x365.jpg 480w\\\" sizes=\\\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\\\"wp-caption-text\\\"&gt;It all starts with a roll of stainless steel wire &lt;\\/figcaption&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n&lt;figure id=\\\"attachment_57775\\\" style=\\\"width: 630px\\\" class=\\\"wp-caption alignnone\\\"&gt;&lt;img src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/files\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-2.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" title=\\\"Wheelsmith-2\\\" width=\\\"630\\\" height=\\\"571\\\" class=\\\"size-full wp-image-57775\\\" srcset=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-2.jpg 630w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-2-99x90.jpg 99w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-2-100x91.jpg 100w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-2-200x181.jpg 200w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-2-160x145.jpg 160w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-2-320x290.jpg 320w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-2-480x435.jpg 480w\\\" sizes=\\\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\\\"wp-caption-text\\\"&gt;The wire is fed into the cutting machine&lt;\\/figcaption&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n&lt;figure id=\\\"attachment_57777\\\" style=\\\"width: 465px\\\" class=\\\"wp-caption alignnone\\\"&gt;&lt;img src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/files\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-3-465x640.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" title=\\\"Wheelsmith-3\\\" width=\\\"465\\\" height=\\\"640\\\" class=\\\"size-medium wp-image-57777\\\" srcset=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-3-465x640.jpg 465w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-3-65x90.jpg 65w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-3-73x100.jpg 73w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-3-145x200.jpg 145w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-3-558x768.jpg 558w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-3-160x220.jpg 160w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-3-320x440.jpg 320w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-3-480x661.jpg 480w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-3.jpg 630w\\\" sizes=\\\"(max-width: 465px) 100vw, 465px\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\\\"wp-caption-text\\\"&gt;This machine's job is to cut the wire into the determined length. &lt;\\/figcaption&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n&lt;figure id=\\\"attachment_57779\\\" style=\\\"width: 460px\\\" class=\\\"wp-caption alignnone\\\"&gt;&lt;img src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/files\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-5-460x640.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" title=\\\"Wheelsmith-5\\\" width=\\\"460\\\" height=\\\"640\\\" class=\\\"size-medium wp-image-57779\\\" srcset=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-5-460x640.jpg 460w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-5-65x90.jpg 65w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-5-72x100.jpg 72w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-5-144x200.jpg 144w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-5-552x768.jpg 552w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-5-160x222.jpg 160w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-5-320x445.jpg 320w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-5-480x667.jpg 480w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-5.jpg 630w\\\" sizes=\\\"(max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\\\"wp-caption-text\\\"&gt;If the spoke is going to be butted, it goes to the rotary swager. As the spoke is automatically fed through the machine, a set of dies hammer the wire to the desired diameter. The butted spokes drop into this catch bin.&lt;\\/figcaption&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n&lt;figure id=\\\"attachment_57781\\\" style=\\\"width: 630px\\\" class=\\\"wp-caption alignnone\\\"&gt;&lt;img src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/files\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-6.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" title=\\\"Wheelsmith-6\\\" width=\\\"630\\\" height=\\\"434\\\" class=\\\"size-full wp-image-57781\\\" srcset=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-6.jpg 630w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-6-131x90.jpg 131w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-6-100x69.jpg 100w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-6-200x138.jpg 200w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-6-260x180.jpg 260w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-6-160x110.jpg 160w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-6-320x220.jpg 320w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-6-480x331.jpg 480w\\\" sizes=\\\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\\\"wp-caption-text\\\"&gt;The extreme pressure from the swager leaves the spoke slightly warped. This machine re-straightens them before they head off to to the next step&lt;\\/figcaption&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n&lt;figure id=\\\"attachment_57783\\\" style=\\\"width: 406px\\\" class=\\\"wp-caption alignnone\\\"&gt;&lt;img src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/files\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-7-406x640.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" title=\\\"Wheelsmith-7\\\" width=\\\"406\\\" height=\\\"640\\\" class=\\\"size-medium wp-image-57783\\\" srcset=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-7-406x640.jpg 406w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-7-616x970.jpg 616w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-7-57x90.jpg 57w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-7-64x100.jpg 64w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-7-127x200.jpg 127w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-7-488x768.jpg 488w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-7-160x252.jpg 160w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-7-320x504.jpg 320w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-7-480x756.jpg 480w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-7.jpg 630w\\\" sizes=\\\"(max-width: 406px) 100vw, 406px\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\\\"wp-caption-text\\\"&gt;During the swaging process, the spoke can gain as much as 3 millimeters in length. This machine trims the butted spokes to their final length.&lt;\\/figcaption&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n&lt;img src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/files\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-8-464x640.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" title=\\\"Wheelsmith-8\\\" width=\\\"464\\\" height=\\\"640\\\" class=\\\"size-medium wp-image-57785\\\" \\/&gt;\\n&lt;figure id=\\\"attachment_57787\\\" style=\\\"width: 544px\\\" class=\\\"wp-caption alignnone\\\"&gt;&lt;img src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/files\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-9-544x640.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" title=\\\"Wheelsmith-9\\\" width=\\\"544\\\" height=\\\"640\\\" class=\\\"size-medium wp-image-57787\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\\\"wp-caption-text\\\"&gt;Finished spokes ready for packaging.&lt;\\/figcaption&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n&lt;figure id=\\\"attachment_57789\\\" style=\\\"width: 630px\\\" class=\\\"wp-caption alignnone\\\"&gt;&lt;img src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/files\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-11.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" title=\\\"Wheelsmith-11\\\" width=\\\"630\\\" height=\\\"627\\\" class=\\\"size-full wp-image-57789\\\" srcset=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-11.jpg 630w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-11-90x90.jpg 90w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-11-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-11-200x200.jpg 200w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-11-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-11-113x113.jpg 113w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-11-260x260.jpg 260w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-11-100x100.jpg 100w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-11-50x50.jpg 50w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-11-180x180.jpg 180w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-11-160x159.jpg 160w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-11-320x318.jpg 320w, http:\\/\\/www.bikemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/02\\/Wheelsmith-11-480x478.jpg 480w\\\" sizes=\\\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\\\"wp-caption-text\\\"&gt;Keeping the crew cool&lt;\\/figcaption&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.bikemag.com/news/exclusive-the-making-of-a-spoke/>