Check out the custom bash guards a high school kid in Bellingham is making. They're really sick -- http://65.108.160.9/discuss/index.php?showtopic=40
Custom bash guard
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diamond plate - <thumbs up>
lexan - <thumbs down>
anybody want to take some bets on how long those lexan ones last??
lexan - <thumbs down>
anybody want to take some bets on how long those lexan ones last??
Which ones? The e13 ones or the new MRP ones with the aluminum inserts?dante said:
...the custom ones that this guy is making.buildyourown said:
oh. I missed the link. Yeah, machined lexan is a bad idea. So is his idea to machine his own custom discs. Good luck with that.binary visions said:
I made my own bashring, with the appropriate machinery and some thought it isn't too difficult to do, but not everybody has the right machinery. I made mine for the sole purpose of learning how to operate one of the school's CNC mills, if I were presented the opportunity to do it again, I'd buy a race face or truvative or some other brand. You just can't beat the annodized finish and for what it'd cost to get mine done locally I could buy a pocket full of brand name bashrings.
The edges on the one posted above look a little sharp too, I'd want a chamfer on the outer edge to save my ankle.
The edges on the one posted above look a little sharp too, I'd want a chamfer on the outer edge to save my ankle.
I make my own. I did a run of about 10 last fall. They all got snatched up though.
Lighter than e13, tougher than MRP. Just the right size based on chainring so you get max clearance.
Lighter than e13, tougher than MRP. Just the right size based on chainring so you get max clearance.
Those lexan ones will last quite a while, my friend tried to break a piece of it in half this morning and couldnt.dante said:
The lexan is strong... the discs are just an idea that I may or may not try.
I'll post a new pic of it. The edges are sanded and it is polished to look like chrome... I know what I'm doing. I can make a few of these for the price of a brand name bashring, and they work just the same.
Its not good to criticize if you dont know what you are dealing with. I know what I'm doing, I'm not dumb.
It's not rocket science or exotic materials...
I've yet to see a machine-cut Lexan ring hold up to continued abuse. The material is brittle and will end up cracking on hard impacts. Yours might be different and will hold up fine, but I would wait to see it before plunking down cash for something of questionable durability.dwaugh said:
We'll see... but as I said this morning we couldnt do any damage to the piece that we have left over and we were really beating it up hard. Plus, it still costs much less than other lexan rings.dante said:
dwaugh said:
Unless your formulating your own lexan, it's going to break.
woot for attitude!!!.
man chill out guys, and stop raggin on people. A bashguard is just a layer of protection for your chain, it's not like he's selling material that's going to kill someone if it does in fact fail.
man chill out guys, and stop raggin on people. A bashguard is just a layer of protection for your chain, it's not like he's selling material that's going to kill someone if it does in fact fail.
Probably, but props to Dwaugh for trying. That's how you learn. That's how I know that trying to make your own rotors is futile.Zutroy said:
Making stuff is fun and even if things don't work as well as intended, you learn a lot.
I tryed to build a full suspension bike when I was 13. My dad new it was never going to work. It didn't the result was hilarious in hindsite. There are a lot of issues you never would have thought of had you not tried.
nice work, but I'd spend my time and energy making something else. Seriously, how many bash guards does the industry need? How is this in any way better than what already out there? I'm all for making my own stuff, and not to be mean to you, as I see you've put many hours into this project, but I think E13, Blackspire, RaceFace, and MRP have pretty much every variation of the bash guard covered. How about a bolt on derailleur guard for DH, or some nice lightweight hand guards like they run in outdoor MX?
He isn't really making them to try and make money. He's doing them in HS shop. Bashgaurds are probably the easiest part on a bike to make, hence there abundance on the market. It's a good simple part to learn machining practices on. Besides, the diamond plate is cool if that's your kind of thing. I wouldn't run one, but it could be cool on the right bike.renegade999 said:
you could always do the tried-and-true method of bolting the bashguard to an old crankset and smashing it on a rock (or throwing it against a wall). would give you a reasonable idea of the force that you're going to be subjecting it too. Just remember, you're going to have ~200lbs coming down squarely on your bashguard at times.dwaugh said:
anyway, didn't mean to discourage you from experimenting, but selling large quantities over the net might be a bit premature. make some, ride 'em, have fun, and if they withstand a bit of abuse, see if anybody else would be interested. your diamond plate definitely looks good and will probably withstand anything you try to do to it.
Its just that the lexan stuff is a bit more complicated than cutting one out of a sheet.
they are also custom, you can get anything machiened into them you want, your name, flames, cats. that's what makes these stand out.buildyourown said:
I'm just selling a few, mainly the custom engraved ones which are the most custom you can get. I'm still not sure about the lexan, but as I was saying, we tried this morning. The piece we beat up is the cut out piece, and we were beating it hard on a steel table edge at the thinnest part and nothing happened to it. I have confidence in it, I'll see how mine holds up.Slugman said:
Anyway, here's a updated pic of the diamond plate...
Attachments
I give a CNC'd lexan bashguard 5 abusive rides before it fails. By abusive, I mean heavy landings on rocky trails, square edge impacts and the like. Is your swinging of the bashguard against a table the equivilent of 100kg of rider+bike smashing a rock at speed?
Don't sell them to people you don't know, until you actually do some proper product testing.
Don't sell them to people you don't know, until you actually do some proper product testing.
On a positive note...I don't know how it applies to people in the US but for me, a 32T BlackSpire bashguard is $40cdn plus taxes...his cooler looking diamond plate guard is $20us. I don't know about the lexan guards as I don't have any experience on them but what he's doing is cool.
Good luck with the lexan, but be careful - there's a reason that other bashguard companies don't use off-the-shelf lexan.dwaugh said:
Your diamond plate guard, however, looks very nice!
can you make one for a five arm crank?
geez guys, take it easy. he's not trying to put e13 out of business.
props to dwaugh for taking the initiative to make 'em. my only concern would be the amount of material around the bolt holes. very nice work though, that diamond plate one looks really cool!
props to dwaugh for taking the initiative to make 'em. my only concern would be the amount of material around the bolt holes. very nice work though, that diamond plate one looks really cool!
We already have a 5 bolt 110mm, for a 32t ring, diamond plate one made, but not yet sold. PM me if you want it and I can shine it up too.Geoff G. said:
Also, about the lexan. I'm not making these for DH riders only. I think that if a normal all mountain rider were to have one of these it would last just as long as any guard without the total abuse of DHing, etc. DH and rock gardens arent the only type of riding you know.
I bet the dimond plate ones will go over big in Texas. Those guys down there seem to love that stuff.
Anyway post some pics of the ones you did some engraving on. Do you do flames and stuff like that?
I make my own also. But I use an old handle machine. So that's why I'd like to see some of the wizzy stuff you cnc guys crank out.
Anyway post some pics of the ones you did some engraving on. Do you do flames and stuff like that?
I make my own also. But I use an old handle machine. So that's why I'd like to see some of the wizzy stuff you cnc guys crank out.
Alright, here's an ok picture of a custom one I did for a friend with his initials and flames. I did not shine this one up, at least not yet. It will probably look better if I do.spookydave said:
This board is so weak sometimes.
Critiquing stuff you obviously have no experience with? Why don't you just give him props for having the mechanical inclination to try fabricating something himself? And if you don't like it, don't buy it.
I suppose this IS an internet message board with bike dorks/E-engineers.
Critiquing stuff you obviously have no experience with? Why don't you just give him props for having the mechanical inclination to try fabricating something himself? And if you don't like it, don't buy it.
I suppose this IS an internet message board with bike dorks/E-engineers.
Matt D said:
I hope I didn't come off as being weak. I was trying to share my experiance in making my own bash ring and some of the hindsight I have now.
I've only got limited experience with machined polycarbonate but I'm assuming that peoples concerns are based on the fact that polycarbonate (lexan) is sensitive to stress risers, you can't have sharp radiuses or else the material will crack easily. When you machine lexan the tool leaves small ridges on the surface which under a microscope would look like waves, these are extremely small radiuses that are ideal sites for a fracture to propagate from. I know for acrylic there are special drill bits that cut at the tip and the sides rub as the bit is pushed through the plastic so that a small amount of the material around the hole actually melts and eliminates the microscopic waves that can cause cracking. Unfortunately you can't really accomplish this with an endmill. Injection molding polycarbonate can produce some darn strong stuff though.
I noticed that the newer e13 bashgaurds are injuection molded.Kornphlake said:
When we machine polycarb, we "flame-polish" the parts afterwards to restore optical clarity and remove those stress risers.
I'd really like to know how in the world you do it with a handle machine....spookydave said:
Other than that, lets settle the lexan dispute by saying that these will mainly sell to mountain riders who will not be landing the guard on rocks and will be using them for normal mountain riding use. I do a lot of different riding, I freeride, some dh stuff, hit drops and jumps regularly, and the only time I ever hit my bashring is when I am riding over too tall of a log or root.
I'm gonna do another custom one as soon as I can and when it's done I'll post a pic of it too.
mate keep up the good work they look awesome
This is why you should learn the fundamentals of conventional machining before they through you on the CNC.dwaugh said:I'd really like to know how in the world you do it with a handle machine....
Hint: It involves a rotary table and trig
you young guys ...........dwaugh said:I'd really like to know how in the world you do it with a handle machine....
Keep in mind that allot of nice parts were made way way way before the cnc area. Just look at the hardware on any airplane from the '40s. It's truly turning into a lost art. Just think how much better you would be with set ups / work holding if you started making things the old / hard way.
Don't get me wrong, I don't use a cnc only because I do not have one.
All you need to make a pretty slick bash guard is a basic milling maching and a rotary table / dividing head. Oh, and lots of time.
If you send out the parts for black anno before you engrave them it really sets off the engraving. Note my lack of wizy flames. Just a clean look that's easy to do on what I have.
And this is where a dividing head comes in handy. I bet this took an entire day longer for me to make then it would you on your cnc. I made 2 of them. The one I kept is just wall art now.
You guys that get to use cnc equipment are pretty lucky. I can't friggen wait to get one. I plan on getting a cnc lathe first but I know I would have more fun with a mill. I'll have both in time and when that happens all I can say is "let the chips fly"!!
Dave,
That's why I bought a CNC mill, to make bike parts. I bought mine about 4 years ago. It's paid for itself just barely. No it mostly just sits.
Fun toys for sure. They're cheaper than you think on ebay. I paid about about $10k for mine including all the tooling.
That's why I bought a CNC mill, to make bike parts. I bought mine about 4 years ago. It's paid for itself just barely. No it mostly just sits.
Fun toys for sure. They're cheaper than you think on ebay. I paid about about $10k for mine including all the tooling.
Oh I know, I've been looking at them. I'm out of space until I get a bigger shop. I'll start with a lathe so I can make some of the odd ball fittings I need.
So yours just sits most of the time hu? If my cnc guy does not kick into high gear real soon you'll be hearing from me.
10K is dirt cheep!! I bought my mill new and with a nice DRO and power feed it was around 7.5K. It's paid for it's self 50 times over at least.
So yours just sits most of the time hu? If my cnc guy does not kick into high gear real soon you'll be hearing from me.
10K is dirt cheep!! I bought my mill new and with a nice DRO and power feed it was around 7.5K. It's paid for it's self 50 times over at least.