Hiatus

February 1, 2025

Islandix has paused tool production in 2025. The environment created by the Trump trade war is not conducive to investment. Parts must be bought in volume and many are imported from the United States. The United States is also the destination for more than 50% of Islandix tools. The bike industry is navigating a downturn and neither Islandix nor bike shops have room to accommodate tariffs.

In the near term warranty service and technical support will continue with service reductions. Support via telephone, Instagram direct messages and WhatsApp is discontinued. Email is still a good means of communication.

Trump claims tariffs will cause companies to relocate to the United States. If you would like to prove it by acquiring the Islandix intellectual property for production in the United States, get in touch.

On failures

December 14, 2024

It feels good to write about positive performance indicators like new features, beating the competition, a growing userbase, and so on. On the other hand negative metrics aren’t discussed much in public, things like product failures and customer support. (Spoiler: also positive.)

Read more →

Last call

November 22, 2024

The year end is approaching and stock is low, three tools with Mitutoyo indicators remain. Because of the looming tariff situation extra tools are in production however you’ll have to source your own indicators after these are gone. Get them in the online shop.

Update: complete tools and partial kits are sold out for 2024.

Save watts

August 20, 2024

This year I learned about Holland Mechanics’ Pro Truer from two wheelbuilders looking at truing workstations. It’s a cool machine. Generally Holland tools are in a different category but there’s overlap between Wheel Analytics and Pro Truer, which they describe as a semi-automated truing tool. The economics of ownership are completely different, however.

I noticed Holland quotes 200 watts power consumption and got curious about the Islandix WA-1 controller, measured in the photo above. Power fluctuates for a few seconds on startup but stabilizes at less than a watt whether working or idle. Needless to say you can leave it plugged in 24/7 so it’s ready whenever a wheel walks in the door.

Reporting for duty

March 1, 2024

Wheel Analytics 1.3.1 is now available. This release enhances printable reports — Target Plot and Live Tensio now have a print button, which collects optional metadata for wheel traceability. Add details like the date, the name of the technician and a reference number. Use the reference number to tie the report to a build sheet, invoice or customer. It’s possible to use a barcode scanner to populate the reference field if you have one.

Reports automatically scale to any paper size configured on your computer. Reports are clear and legible even when printed on small stock, such as 100mm (4″) shipping labels. Labels have fun applications — for example paste them into a “wheel birth certificate” that documents how a wheel leaves your workshop. Your work differentiates your service so it’s helpful to show people what that means.

Check out example PDF reports for alignment and tension balance.

Bestest workstation

February 5, 2024

Many people ask about the best setup for running Wheel Analytics or think we prefer a particular setup because of a demonstration. The tablet configuration seen at trade shows is a good example.

The ideal setup is a personal matter. The Islandix recommendation is to build a workstation using parts you have already. If you have a tablet, for example one used for Di2 programming, try that. If you have a computer or laptop, try that. See what you like and what you don’t. These options are pretty different in terms of workbench layout.

Some readers find this advice unsatisfactory and ask a followup question: what would the ideal workstation look like if it was purpose-built from scratch? Arguments can be made both ways but I like computers better than tablets for a few reasons. First, screen size with a computer is unlimited, which means you can mount it further back. At the expense of space behind the truing stand you get less clutter in your near field with no loss of visibility. Second, computers have better browsers and better browser choice. We find desktop browsers have the best printing support, especially if you want to do advanced things like send reports to a label printer. Third, computers have USB support. The WA-1 controller can plug into a computer directly, receiving power and data over USB. It creates a tiny single-purpose network consisting of your computer and the controller, totally isolated from the rest of your network. A private USB connection does not suffer from interference compared to Wifi and seems to generate fewer support requests for this reason. Finally, for all these advantages a computer setup can be less expensive than a modern tablet. It’s perfectly acceptable to use a toy computer like the Raspberry Pi 400 to drive the big screen.

New for 2024

December 26, 2023

Warranty

Islandix products have proven robust in the field with a failure rate approaching zero. From 2024 the warranty term on Islandix-manufactured products will be upgraded to three years! This change is retroactive, applying to past purchases. The warranty on accessories, including Mitutoyo, remains one year.

The Islandix warranty is (and has always been) a return-for-repair service. Parts, labor and one-way airmail with tracking are included. If Islandix is mission-critical in your workshop, consider owning an expansion kit since that will keep you going even if a controller is sent for repair.

Premium support

When you have multiple wheelbuilders at multiple workstations, time is money. Islandix strives to keep prices affordable so little is built into the price for service luxuries.

2024 introduces IslandixCare, a premium service plan for manufacturing environments. It adds telephone and videoconference options on top of standard email support; includes warranty upgrades like expedited cross-shipment of replacement parts; and extends the guarantee on all Islandix tools in your workshop to lifetime warranty for the duration of your subscription. IslandixCare is $69 CAD per month (approx. $50 USD, €45 EUR). Every Islandix tool includes 30 days of complimentary IslandixCare.

Tablet mounting

November 1, 2023

There have been a few questions about the tablet setup shown at MADE and on Instagram. If you have a tablet in your shop, as many do for Di2 setup, dock it at your truing stand and have it work double duty.

How to make one? Browse photography accessories to find a holder that fits your tablet. The Islandix tablet is an older iPad mounted with an AliExpress tablet holder. The holder is fixed to the truing stand using an AliExpress clamp with articulating arm. The install required no modification to the Park Tool truing stand and doesn’t rely on pre-drilled holes.