5DEV - Space Grade Bike Parts Made In California

How Do You Make High End Parts In California? 5Dev Knows A Thing Or Two

If you are a bike nerd like myself, then you love to see amazing new machined parts, especially if they have a unique look or design. 5DEV does exactly that, making high-end CNC machined bike parts in San Diego, CA using the same machines and materials that actually go into space. When you first look at some of their products they immediately stand out from the plastic and carbon bits that totally saturate the current world of mountain bikes. Some raw machined cranks or pedals will certainly catch your eye. I was lucky enough to get a full factory tour a few weeks ago, and got to see the machines that make all the parts and a few parts that were mid-way through the manufacturing process. They even took a chainring out of a stack of freshly machined and finished chainrings and gave it to me to ride. A brand has to have complete trust in their equipment, machines, and design in order to do something like that. They also built up a pair of pedals right in front of me, not something you get to see or watch every day. 

Who Is 5DEV?

5DEV is a division of 5th Axis, a world leader in manufacturing complex components for the aerospace and medical industries. Because 5th Axis makes so many parts, the facility is massive, with well over 20+ CNC machines for just about every need. Making some small bike parts is where the founders of 5th Axis and 5DEV can have fun and make their passion projects. 

While I was down there, Chris and Will were not only stoked to show me around but were also just stoked to talk bike parts. They were excited to talk about what other kinds of applications their machines could have for new parts and what kinds of neat or fun ideas they could come up with. We talked about anodizing all sorts of different colors, and while I’m a big fan of raw/silver machined parts, something purple or bronze could look rad, too. 

Products:

5DEV currently has a solid line of products ranging from cranks for both standard and E-bikes, chainrings, pedals, and a stem. All of 5DEV’s parts are made in San Diego, CA. 

Cranks:

5DEV offers a few different types of cranks. You have your standard cranks that come in a ton of different lengths (155mm, 160mm, 165mm, 170mm and 175mm) as well as two different spindle types, 29mm “DUB” boost and 30mm boost. Their main two colors for cranks are Raw/Clear and Black, but 5DEV is always making limited colors of cranks like Purple or Kashima and more. The design behind the cranks is not only for strength but 5DEV wanted something that could be manufactured in a shorter period of time, allowing the cranks to be a bit more affordable and making the production cycle shorter. While the look is polarizing, I personally love it. I think the cranks look amazing and like nothing else you see on the market. One of my other favorite parts of the cranks is the extremely low-profile crank arms. This helps reduce pedal strikes and allows you to pedal through more sections. I recently installed a pair of 165mm 5DEV cranks on my bike, replacing the 170mm carbon cranks with a crank arm boot. Between the 5 mm reduction in length and the smaller profile of the 5DEV design, I was able to get about 12-15 mm more clearance when you take into account the rubber crank boot as well. 12-15mm might not seem like a lot but it has significantly reduced the number of pedal strikes I experience while giving me the confidence to pedal through some more sections that I would normally be afraid of striking my pedals. 

5DEV also has E-bike crank options as well. These are great to replace your stock cranks, especially if they are carbon and you are riding that E-bike hard. As E-bikes develop more, they are starting to be ridden like a self-assist DH bike, rendering the stock equipment not quite strong enough. The 5DEV cranks are great replacements for Specialized or Bosch systems as well as Shimano EP8 (5DEV cranks are not yet compatible with Specialized SL systems). The E-bike cranks are offered in 160mm and 165mm crank lengths and have the same Black and Raw colors as well as the occasionally offered limited color. 

Chainrings:

5DEV has three chainrings to choose from. They offer the classic chainring made from 7075 aluminum currently only available in 32t, the Spacely Sprocket which is a solid ring made from 6061 aluminum, and the oval chainring currently only available in 30t. The chainrings use a SRAM 3-bolt design so you can easily put the 5DEV rings on your SRAM, Cane Creek, or other cranks that use the SRAM 3-bolt pattern. The classic ring has a ton of colors to choose from: black, raw, Kash (bronze), purple, red, orange, blue and teal. Weighing in at a mere 58g, these rings look as good as their quality. 

Pedals:

The pedals 5DEV makes are a work of art. With a fully CNC machined body and a low profile, if you are a flat pedal rider these should certainly be at the top of your list. The pedal is made from 6061-T6 alloy with a platform size of 106mm x 110mm. 10 pins per side keep your foot on the pedal. Available in the same colors as the chainrings: black, raw, Kash (bronze), purple, red, orange, blue and teal. 

Stems:

The last product currently in 5DEV’s lineup is their 2-bolt titanium stem. Yes, a 2-bolt stem machined from titanium. This is about as high-end and unique as you can get when it comes to stems. With a bar diameter of 35mm and a length of 32mm, the titanium stem brings a retro look to modern mountain bike standards. The titanium stem is certainly where 5DEV likes to have fun and develop something just about as crazy as they can, so no expense was spared in the creation of this piece of art. 

What's Worldwide's Takeaway?:

Worldwide Cyclery loves to find brands that offer something unique to the bike industry, and 5DEV is clearly one of those brands. They make extremely high-quality bike parts just a couple hours south of us in San Diego, California and compete on pricing from comparable products made overseas. To me, my favorite product is their cranks. The craftsmanship, look, slim design to prevent crank strikes, and the available options in lengths, spindle, and colors put these almost in a league of their own. Being able to pair these with colored chainrings or pedals that also are made in California rounds out how great the 5DEV product range is. With passionate workers having decades of combined experience with CNC machines, 5DEV might be new but their products will be around for a long time to come.