So at my new job there is a bunch of cool stuff laying around that i have access to. mainly a small TIG machine, a frame jig, and a small bench lathe (as well as a big CNC 4 axis that looks hard as **** to use). i have full access to do whatever i want.
what i really want is to make a front triangle that will work with an old morewood ndiza/shova swing arm i have kicking around (actually, i have 2). the ndiza i'm currently riding is a little too small and low, and i want something with more like 6" of travel that wont dance around as much on rough trails. basically, i want to make an orange alpine with a reynolds steel front triangle and a morewood swingarm, with my special geometry. i know enough suspension engineers and enough about shock tuning to get it to ride good, or at least as good as any other simple single pivot bike. my big hang up right now is heat treating as that makes it pretty cost prohibitive (and i have connections, my buddy manufacturers lots of cromoly parts for jeeps).
reynolds 853 or 651 air hardening steels seem like perfect choices, but where do you get these tubes, and are they available in big enough sizes to make an all mtn type frame? i could also go with some aluminum, my buddy is a master TIG guy, but i think steel would be radder..
share your thoughts or sources for better frame building discussion
what i really want is to make a front triangle that will work with an old morewood ndiza/shova swing arm i have kicking around (actually, i have 2). the ndiza i'm currently riding is a little too small and low, and i want something with more like 6" of travel that wont dance around as much on rough trails. basically, i want to make an orange alpine with a reynolds steel front triangle and a morewood swingarm, with my special geometry. i know enough suspension engineers and enough about shock tuning to get it to ride good, or at least as good as any other simple single pivot bike. my big hang up right now is heat treating as that makes it pretty cost prohibitive (and i have connections, my buddy manufacturers lots of cromoly parts for jeeps).
reynolds 853 or 651 air hardening steels seem like perfect choices, but where do you get these tubes, and are they available in big enough sizes to make an all mtn type frame? i could also go with some aluminum, my buddy is a master TIG guy, but i think steel would be radder..
share your thoughts or sources for better frame building discussion