White Industries has purchased long-time “partner” brands Rolf Prima and Astral Cycling, bringing rim and wheel expertise under the same roof as their legendary hubs and headsets.
Well, technically, they’ll still be under separate roofs, as White Industries will remain in Petaluma, CA, and Rolf Prima/Astral will keep their facility in Eugene, OR. The companies have collaborated on wheel builds for decades and are intimately familiar with each other’s operations.
The pairings became more apparent in 2017 when Rolf’s CEO Brian Roddy launched Astral to make domestically manufactured rims, giving White the ability to offer complete wheels with parts made just up the road. Astral offers a few additional accessories, their most unique being the O.N.S. seatpost with emergency safety kit stored inside.
Alec White examining an Astral carbon rim.
White Ind. also makes bottom brackets, cranks, chainrings, and other small parts. Founded by Doug White in 1978, the company has been co-run by Doug and son Alec for as long as we’ve known them.
Rolf Prima, started more than 20 years ago by Rolf Dietrich, is best known for their paired spoke wheels, and has been using custom-made White hubs for many of those years. Check our Rolf factory tour if you’re not familiar with their designs.
Here’s the full press release:
On January 1st, after nearly two decades of close collaboration and partnership, White Industries of Petaluma, California has purchased “sister” wheel brands Rolf Prima and Astral Cycling of Eugene, Oregon. Alec White and Doug White, owners of White Industries, will take full ownership of both Oregon wheel brands as former owner Brian Roddy moves on to new ventures.
Founded in 1978 by Doug White in his garage in Marin County, California, White Industries is best known for their precision-made hubs, bottom brackets, freewheels, headsets, and cranksets, all of which are designed and machined at their shop in Petaluma, California. Daily operations of the company are now run by his son, Alec White.
“I’ve been working in my family’s business for as long as I could tie my shoes, and for nearly all that time we’ve been collaborating with Rolf Prima on their custom hubs,” says Alec. “When the opportunity presented itself to take on these companies, it was an easy decision. We’re both small companies that have similar values, strong relationships, and awesome crews. There’s a lot of exciting new opportunities for us to pursue together.”
Alec will oversee all three brands, while Jimmy Krigbaum, the Oregon brands’ General Manager, will continue to lead the Rolf Prima/Astral Cycling team in Oregon.
“We have been working together on a regular basis for a long time and in a lot of ways it’ll be business as usual,” says Krigbaum. “But it opens the door for exciting collaborations. We’re all just bike nerds that want to make rad stuff and now our ideas and approaches will flow back and forth seamlessly.”
Rolf Dietrich, the inventor of the unique paired-spoke wheel construction, founded Rolf Prima alongside Brian Roddy and others in Eugene, Oregon over 20 years ago. Roddy and climbing partner, Steve Cash, bought Rolf Prima upon Rolf’s retirement and Roddy has operated Rolf Prima since. In 2017 he launched…
In 2017 he launched a second brand, Astral Cycling, with product development focused on rims, traditionally-laced wheels, and adventure components. Beyond Roddy’s departure, no personnel changes are planned at this time.
Brian Roddy of Rolf Prima will remain on for the coming months to ensure a smooth transition. “I couldn’t ask for a better partner to continue the vision of Rolf Prima and Astral Cycling than the team at White Industries. We wanted someone who understood what is special about what we do and wanted to build it with our team here in Eugene, and that’s exactly what’ll be happening. I’m proud to see the team we built and Alec carry on and grow this business.”
