TAIPEI, Taiwan (BRAIN) — Trudi is being enhanced a year after Berd, the carbon spoke folks, released the $6,999 table-top wheel building machine. The hardware and software makeover includes supporting more wheel sizes, including for e-bikes, and allowance for wider range of rim and nipple types.
All of the additions are backwards-compatible.
"Almost all of this is from customer feedback, and that's how you make a good product," said Charlie Spanjers, Berd CEO and co-founder at Taipei Cycle on Wednesday. "You get all this feedback from customers, and then you make it better."
Spanjers said Berd sold about 100 machines in the first year with 150,000 wheels being built on them worldwide. He said the priority thus far has been catering to wheel manufacturers. "The bigger companies producing a lot of wheels have tons of experience. When you get feedback from them on how to make a product better, you listen."
Chief among the additions is the new External Driver — Berd's spoke wrench — that allows tension to be adjusted on the exposed nipples without the tire needing to be removed. "This is one of the coolest additions," Spanjers said.
Also available now is a quick-change bit system to expand compatibility across different nipple types and configurations, including square, hex, and proprietary formats. The Universal Hub Mounting System allows for building wheels from 20 to 32 inches. Berd also introduced a Mini Tensionmeter that can measure within tight-spaced spoke patterns on smaller wheels and e-bike hub-powered wheels.
A suite of software improvements are being rolled out for high-volume users. Trudi now supports custom spoke profiles, giving manufacturers the option to create tailored builds for specific products and workflows. The expanded compatibility supports a wider range of spoke materials and patterns, including 2:1 lacing.
Spanjers predicted Trudi's presence will expand among manufacturers this year.
"We expect that we'll see a lot of growth from the manufacturers this year, and then as we move into next year, that's when we plan to go from the manufacturers to make it more of a ubiquitous tool in bicycle shops. So our strategy has been to develop all these procedures to fill the needs of the manufacturers first, and then cater more to retailers," said Spanjers, who estimated Berd sold about 75% to manufacturers and 25% to retailers last year.
Trudi debuted in 2025 at the CABDA Midwest show and globally at last year's Taipei Cycle, where it drew crowds as Berd staff systematically demonstrated how it's used to build, tension, and true. First it measures roundness, trueness and dish. Then the builder measures spoke tension that sends the measurement to the machine's software. The driver is held by the builder but controlled by the software to tighten or loosen nipples precisely. Generally, the machine can true a wheel in one rotation.
"It's getting a lot of momentum in the first year, but we're really excited to add all of these updates to make it work with all different types of wheels," Spanjers said.
