Hermes-Sport: Hand-built Wheels Made in Southern California

Fly like Hermes

Alex Webster is the man with the plan at this downtown San Diego wheel-building operation. Hermes-Sport channels Alex’s passion for cycling into high-performance wheels capable of handling the most challenging SoCal rides. Alex became a player in the local cycling scene while living in the Los Angeles Westside, riding the streets and hills of Santa Monica and frequenting the Encino and Carson Velodromes.

Alex began building wheels at an LA bike shop in 2006, but after graduating from UCSB, he wanted to build wheels that could deliver on local world-class routes. Hermes-Sport was inspired by Hermes, the speedy messenger of the gods in Greek mythology, offering SoCal-ites wheels built with them in mind. Hermes wheels are built right here in SoCal using high-quality parts from the USA and Europe. With a custom lightweight hub-housing, the wheels are designed with the stiffness required for high-performance. Hermes wheels can be found on a number of California custom bikes, as well as in stock on their website and with a select group of retailers.

Looking to Upgrade Your Wheels?

Once you’ve considered cost, here are some attributes to consider: 

STIFFNESS Many wheels can have a surprising amount of flexibility. A high-quality stiff wheel will result in better performance on fast descents and more power transfer while climbing.

WEIGHT A lighter wheel is easier to spin. In addition to the static weight benefit, a lighter wheel also requires less energy to rotate.

AERODYNAMICS The influence of aerodynamics on wheel performance has come a long way since first popularized in the 1980s. In contrast to the flat V-shaped rims of old, more complex shapes are now available and can be tailored to the bike’s intended purpose.