With the new year upon us, it’s a time to talk about new products coming out. Kink had the prototype version of this hub at Interbike to check out and now it’s close to release. With it being Kink’s first hub, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to ask a few questions about what it took to make it a reality. Check out some of the details about the hub, and what kinds of things make this hub unique from Kink’s product designer…

Name: Matt Antes

Years riding BMX? 8-9

Years doing design? 3

Years at Kink? 6

Did you go to college at all? For a semester and a half, haha.

Alright, so Kink is getting close to releasing its first hub, the Viridian. What made you guys decide to get into the hub market?
Basically just that I wanted to design a nice lightweight hub. That’s pretty much how all the new parts come about, myself or someone else here has an idea for something we want to make and we try to do it.

When the idea was first brought up, were there any specific features you had in mind that you wanted to do to separate the hub from others already available?
That it had a clean and simple design, small profile and lightweight but can still handle some peg and street abuse.

How long did the design process take? Who all had input for it? Is this anybody on the team’s signature hub?
I think from the time I started working on drawings for it until now has been about a year, so a little over a year by the time it’s available. A few of the guys in the office and the team have all put in their input and let me know what they thought or what needed to be tweaked.

The hub has been in prototype stages for a while now, and you guys showed it at Interbike. It seems like nothing comes out perfect the first time. What were some of the issues and changes that had to be made while approaching the production hub?
Honestly we haven’t changed a ton on the design since the first samples of this hub. I did make some changes to the bolts (to use an 8mm Allen key instead of 6mm) and we have tried a couple different bearings in the prototype hubs.

What is the advantage to running a one side fixed hardware design?
Basically I just did it to simplify the design a little bit and have less components overall. It’s nothing too revolutionary in the bicycle world but a nice design and not too common in BMX right now.

What about the advantage of running a wider distance between flanges?
Having the wider flange distance increases strength after it’s laced up and gives you a much stiffer wheel.

What made you guys want to go with the extra small and angled flanges? I figure that’s the place that takes the most abuse on a hub.
The small flanges keep them stiffer and prevent them from getting bashed so easily on grinds, and the optional hub guard can take care of your spokes if you need it. Angled flanges accommodate cross lace rims better and give you a better spoke line instead of the spoke bending over the edge of the hub flange.

What are the spoke and color options that will be available for the Viridian hub? What will it weigh in at?
The first batch will be available in black, red and white in both 28h and 36h. The final sample weight is 6.9oz.

This hub also comes with a hub guard specific to the hub. How does that work and what made you want to make a Viridian specific guard instead of one that could be used on any hub?
The hub guard is 7075 and replaces the non-fixed axle hardware, so it’s super simple. As much as I’d love to make one that works on all hubs, it just didn’t work out since front hubs can really vary in design.

When will the hub be available for purchase? Will you guys be doing some stuff with rims and spokes to build complete wheels at all?
The hubs are scheduled to be in our warehouse by the end of February so shops should be seeing them around then. We are also working on rims which you may have seen at Interbike, but those are still being tested by the team. As for complete wheels, it’s something we will most likely look into once the rims and hubs are available.

What kind of a warranty will the Viridian come with?
The Viridian hub warranty will be the same as our other parts and accessories. Lifetime warranty against material defects and workmanship defects, 1 year against breaks and cracks.

What is your next big project? A rear hub? Anything you can tell us about that doesn’t require special clearance?
There is a rear hub in the works but it has been nothing but hurdle after hurdle, so I don’t really have anything more specific then that right now!

Check out more products from Kink on KinkBMX.com