Press Release

Mike Levy

Starting We Are One was part of a much larger vision. Manufacturing in Canada is possible if the scale makes sense. We are not looking to become a significant OEM player or have distribution all around the world. The company's goal is to make the best possible carbon products and sell them to a niche market that understands quality, demands the best from their products and wants it backed by a manufacturer that they can pick up the phone and have a conversation with. We have everything possible to grow into other sectors of the market and intend on exploring them with our potential. It is just the beginning. — Dustin Adams , CEO

Design Head composites engineer Fraser Andrew brought his experience working at Rolls-Royce and is putting it to work at We Are One. Armed with the knowledge of building structural composite components for the engines on both Airbus and Boeing aircraft, Fraser brought a wealth of ideas and knowledge to the team.

Machining Our workhorse mold machine is a HASS VM3 vertical CNC mill. Having a former Canadian National XC racer and 15-year mold machinist run it is even better. Gilles Corbeil heads up the machining department. Having our mill in-house allows us to make changes within hours, and the versatility is unprecedented.

LAYUP

Each rim layup is CNC cut and hand laid into the mold. Our layup crew consists of two sturdy ex-pro DH racers. Shane "Showtime" Jensen and Wayne Parsons bring a long history in the bike industry, and both have knowledge from product testing and years of competing.

TESTING

Impact testing was one of the main focus points with our design. We looked to set new boundaries and design the rim structure to absorb impacts in order to withstand them.

Lateral testing of the Agent 27.5 rim. Non-destructive and destructive tests are used to see how each change in layup made the rim behave, and they used the data to confirm and improve their FEA modeling.

The testing of carbon rims has become a bit skewed. There are so many variables to take into account for a consistent, fair result. Tire pressure, tire type, impact height increments, and weight and style of the testing rig, just to name a few. Building all of our testing platforms and using a consistent testing method, we were able to collect accurate data from each test. This has allowed us to test our products and the competition's on our testing rigs. We took all the marketing out of the equation and dove into the actual comparable results. We believe with all of the testing our design is the toughest 30mm wide rim on the market. — Fraser Andrew , Lead Engineer

Team rider and product tester Brendon Edgar pushes The Agent to the limits on Vancouver's infamous North Shore

The Result

The Agent - 27.5" or 29" Rim

Check out how Canadian Made CAN compete

The Agent is designed for the enduro market. Both 27.5'' and 29'' are built up for the most demanding days. The layup difference between the 27.5'' and 29'' has rewarded the 29er with only a 10-gram increase in weight per rim. This keeps the ever popular 29er at an even better advantage. The goal for the 29'' rim was to get the weights as close as possible and keep the ride feel and strength virtually on par. The shallow depth and layup design have alleviated the typical rigid/harsh feeling most have come to discuss carbon rims as feeling.

Agent Rim

• Internal width = 30mm

• Depth = 25mm

• Weight = 480g for 27.5'' rim, 490g for 29'' rim (+/- 10g)

• Holes = 32

• Tire Size = 2.35-2.6"

• MSRP: $575 CAD, $430 USD

• Contact:

• Internal width = 30mm• Depth = 25mm• Weight = 480g for 27.5'' rim, 490g for 29'' rim (+/- 10g)• Holes = 32• Tire Size = 2.35-2.6"• MSRP: $575 CAD, $430 USD• Contact: We Are One Composites

The Agent is the trifecta of design. A shallow 25mm rim depth gives an active ride feel on the trail. The depth is supported by stout 3.5mm thick rim lips that are engineered to absorb impacts. The internal rim width of 30mm will allow you to confidently run 2.35 - 2.6 tires from all your favorite brands. The spoke holes are all angle drilled and offset by 2mm to make for optimal spoke angle and increased nipple engagement.

The Agent - 27.5" or 29" Wheelset

All the bells and whistles

When searching for a reliable hub match for The Agent, we tested multiple companies offerings. The final decision was Project 321. They offered a low overall weight, durability in both bearing life and construction, and most of all, a partner that shares similar beliefs in manufacturing. The 216 point of engagement, magnetic pawl drive system comes in either a loud or quiet setting. It truly is as instant engagement as a pawl hub can get with only 1.8-degrees of ramp. All of the hubs have Japanese-made EZO bearings, and the hubs are made in the USA and are laced up using Sapim's Race spokes and the industry leading Sapim Double Square Secure-Lock nipples.

Agent Wheelsets

• Internal width = 30mm

• Depth = 25mm

• Weight = 1810g for 27.5 and 1840g for 29 rims (+/- 10g)

• Holes = 32

• POE = 216

• Tire Size = 2.35-2.6"

• MSRP: $2,175 CAD, $1,625 USD

• Contact:

• Internal width = 30mm• Depth = 25mm• Weight = 1810g for 27.5 and 1840g for 29 rims (+/- 10g)• Holes = 32• POE = 216• Tire Size = 2.35-2.6"• MSRP: $2,175 CAD, $1,625 USD• Contact: We Are One Composites

The Agent wheelset is built for the most demanding of riders. The 29er comes laced 2-cross for added support and lateral stiffness, and the 27.5'' comes 3-cross laced for a traditional build. All the wheels are pre-taped and have custom valve engraving available.

There's no shortage of carbon rim and wheel options out there, with prices ranging from "maybe one day" to "maybe if I win the lottery,'' but the majority of them are manufactured overseas to try and keep margins up and retail costs from rivaling a week-long vacation in Monaco. Instead, they only cost as much as two-week vacation Mexico, which is a little better, I guess. We Are One Composites is a new player, and they're doing things a bit differently by building their rims in their Kamloops, B.C., facility in Canada using only fiber that's been sourced in the United States.You'd be forgiven for thinking that approach would add up to a set of 'lottery wheels' with a sticker price around or above the $2,500 USD range, much like ENVE's wheels or Bontrager's new US-made Line XXX wheelset. But you'd be wrong - We Are One's Agent wheelset goes for $1,625 USD, and an Agent rim costs $430 USD. Yeah, those are still much higher numbers than an aluminum wheelset, but they're also pretty impressive for Canadian-made carbon components with materials sourced in the United Staes.There's an interesting narrative behind We Are One Composites and why they're taking a route that's arguably more difficult in many ways than sourcing an overseas-made carbon rim, and we'll be visiting their factory soon to tell that story. For now, though, you can read about their first products in the press release from We Are One Composites below. - We Are One Composites is growing 'The Movement,' the movement towards manufacturing in North America and re-firing a shrinking local industry. By starting up Canada's first carbon fiber rim manufacturing facility in Kamloops, B.C., we are going to challenge industry norms and bring a whole new level of product and customer service to the market. Below, we peeled back the layers to show you some of the changes we have brought so you can learn more about our "built in-house" policy.All of our rims began with extensive FEA design process. We utilize the software to engineer the layup design, and precise ride characteristics we want to achieve from the rim. The analysis allows us to pinpoint the initial layup design and use it as a baseline for testing and confirming if we are on target. With the design of The Agent, we worked for months on our model's just to come up with a baseline for where to begin and before any molds were even cut. This powerful software allows for inputs like resin characteristics, fiber type, and orientation. All of this data was used to fine tune the Agent rim's layup.The largest portion of any carbon manufactured part is the mold machining and the post-cure labor. We have a full machine shop in-house that allows for precision mold making. Having complete control over the molding process has cut the need for 90% of the post-mold labor and has created the ability to produce perfect naked parts. That means no fibers are disturbed by additional sanding or touch ups. Lean manufacturing is also implemented throughout our entire process.While We Are One is trying to be as transparent a company as possible, there are some things we need to keep behind the factory doors. What we can share is that our layup consists of fiber that is made in the USA by a supplier that known for their aerospace expertise. We Are One has signed contracts with our provider and must not sell any fiber to outside countries, and this raw material is not available outside of North America. The advanced engineering that our supplier brings to the table has provided some great insight on many elements of the layup design. The rest is, well, "Mum's the word!"