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Homemade DH Bike - DC Special V3.0

Metal

President of FRONJ
Oct 17, 2001
542
7
Orange County, CA
I can't believe DCamp is still running that double-wide front wheel. I used that thing for a couple seasons and it just wouldn't die. He's had it for a couple as well.
The new bike is high-class homeless. I like it.
 

bikenweed

Turbo Monkey
Oct 21, 2004
2,432
0
Los Osos
That air assist on the fork is freaking dope. DCamp makes SRAM liability lawyers cry in their sleep.

I can't believe DCamp is still running that double-wide front wheel. I used that thing for a couple seasons and it just wouldn't die. He's had it for a couple as well.
The new bike is high-class homeless. I like it.
Some dude rode into Parkfield on a KTM 950 Adventure, we thought it was gonna be you!
 

dhkid

Turbo Monkey
Mar 10, 2005
3,358
0
Malaysia
anyone else have problems with loading it? i keep clicking on the article in littermag but it wont load.:help:
 

RMboy

Monkey
Dec 1, 2006
879
0
England the Great...
Looks cool for first time, hope i get to do that... seems to ride well, but would be better if we could see some close up shots of the suspension moving...

nice....:-)
 
Feb 10, 2003
594
0
A, A
this just in...minaar and fairclough to ride DC special 4.0 for 2008 WC circuit..
swapping the semi and trailer for a borrowed beach umbrella and replacing the factory mechanics and with a tool box containing a hammer, duct tape, and some vice grips. world champs winning equation right there...hahaha
 

Metal

President of FRONJ
Oct 17, 2001
542
7
Orange County, CA
Some dude rode into Parkfield on a KTM 950 Adventure, we thought it was gonna be you!
Not sure if you heard, but I was thinking about riding my KTM out there. I just bought a new one in Pittsburgh (hit a deer with the old one and it wa totaled) and rode it across the country. I wanted to still hit up Parkfield and it would be quicker to just ride there.
Well long story short I was just too tired and missed out. Sounds like I best some great riding. Oh well. I had a lot of stuff to catch up on.
Congrats on the win.
 

SPINTECK

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2005
1,370
0
abc
now that he has a proto, anyone know how much/where he could get it fabricated??

What's to keep a company from stealing his design??

the design is pretty cool, kind of reminds me of a Buell.


(reason I ask is that I have a frame in my head, but I can't draw and I'm scared to start making a proto b/c if it works i'd hate to have a big company take it form under me. )
 

4130biker

PM me about Tantrum Cycles!
May 24, 2007
3,882
447
Why don't you build your own god damn frame before you rip on his welds? Looks pretty rad to me, and I'm inspired to go for it now. Thanks DC.
 

no skid marks

Monkey
Jan 15, 2006
2,511
29
ACT Australia
So is it close to a vertical axle path?
Why not a longer stroke shock and shorter link at shock mount?
How much does it ramp up?
Looks like it'd pedal well(remain active),or does it squat a bit?
Figuring out the brake effects hurt my head,is it active or does it squat a touch?
Do you even read these forums?
Nice bike,interesting idea.
 

paranoid56

Monkey
May 23, 2004
179
0
San Diego, CA
Why don't you build your own god damn frame before you rip on his welds? Looks pretty rad to me, and I'm inspired to go for it now. Thanks DC.
i know this isn't directed towards me. but, dude, if you are going to weld together a bike, learn to weld first. its not hard. mig is the easiest to learn too. just need to set it up right and have at it. I don't think i would trust those welds. but thats just me..

Shane
 

dcamp29

Monkey
Feb 14, 2004
589
63
Colorado
Clean your welding surfaces better. That will help with spatter.

Looks good for homebrew. Nice job.
thanks- I sandblasted almost all of the weld areas- should I clean with something else? probably doesn't matter as I don't weld regularly.

NSM- I'm not telling:)
 

dcamp29

Monkey
Feb 14, 2004
589
63
Colorado
i know this isn't directed towards me. but, dude, if you are going to weld together a bike, learn to weld first. its not hard. mig is the easiest to learn too. just need to set it up right and have at it. I don't think i would trust those welds. but thats just me..

Shane
I don't have time to spend learning how to welding tubes together all day. I got plenty good penetration without burning holes in the tubes, so all should be fine (ugly, but fine).
 

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
I don't have time to spend learning how to welding tubes together all day. I got plenty good penetration without burning holes in the tubes, so all should be fine (ugly, but fine).
TIG will give you nicer welds, with more even penetration and much more control. It's also much more expensive to get a good setup than MIG.

That said, there is nothing in the rule books that say ugly welds won't necessarily hold.

Really bad welds though, they offer more points of failure and inclusion of materials other than the parent or filler metal. Something to think about.

Ugly and thin weld areas? Add another pass or learn TIG. Couldn't hurt.
 

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
thanks- I sandblasted almost all of the weld areas- should I clean with something else? probably doesn't matter as I don't weld regularly.

NSM- I'm not telling:)
For steel, no prob. Aluminum weld areas need to be abraded clean and free of any contaminants. A quick scrub with emery cloth and a dip in MEK works wonders. TIG welding w/ a squarewave AC power source works wonders as well.
 

trust4130

Monkey
Aug 16, 2005
203
0
Pennsylvania
Pretty darn cool, congrats.

Just one thing to add about welds in general: remember, weld penetration itself does not ensure proper fusion. (not a dig, just a friendly emphasis...)

Have fun with it!
 

Anvil

Chimp
Aug 14, 2007
46
0
I love seeing stuff like this. Good effort, but he needs help with the fabrication. That's not a criticism. It's hard to do it all on your own and of all the famous dual suspension bike designers you can name, how many of them have actually built a frame? Damn few.
 

SPINTECK

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2005
1,370
0
abc
I don't have time to spend learning how to welding tubes together all day. I got plenty good penetration without burning holes in the tubes, so all should be fine (ugly, but fine).
did you patent it?? once you have a proto, you can always just contract the work, but the intellecual design is the real value.
 

dcamp29

Monkey
Feb 14, 2004
589
63
Colorado
did you patent it?? once you have a proto, you can always just contract the work, but the intellecual design is the real value.
thats what i thought, then i realized it's a downhill bike. the time and effort to get a patent is too much (for me to take on right now) for how little money is in downhill bikes.
 

H8R

Cranky Pants
Nov 10, 2004
13,959
35
BTW -

DIY is the only way to go. Maximum satisfaction to do what you love with something you built yourself.

My kit I made this past year:
 

Lollapalooza

Monkey
Jan 22, 2007
527
0
Man, all the cool kids are making their own bikes now (and I've got one in the works). Glad to see you dropped some weight from the previous version. It's also more aesthetically pleasing. Are you riding/racing this full time now or are you on a V-10?
 

SPINTECK

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2005
1,370
0
abc
thats what i thought, then i realized it's a downhill bike. the time and effort to get a patent is too much (for me to take on right now) for how little money is in downhill bikes.
Thanks. That's a very cool exposure on Litter, i'd seriously put it on the resume. hell- i'd even try to pimp myself to C'dale, Specialized etc if i was your age.
 

SPINTECK

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2005
1,370
0
abc
BTW -

DIY is the only way to go. Maximum satisfaction to do what you love with something you built yourself.

My kit I made this past year:
all this band stuff. YOu have a link to some of your demo music and a cd??
 

ChrisKring

Turbo Monkey
Jan 30, 2002
2,399
6
Grand Haven, MI
after reading all of the post I thought the welds were going to be horible. They don't look that bad. They are better than I can do on thin tubing like that. It takes a lot of practice to be good.

Don't let the haters get you down. Most of them couldn't even build a fixture to weld it in.

Anyway, cool bike. I wish that I had built a DH bike for my design project in 1995 when I was a senior. It would have got me a DH bike sooner.

What are you going to school for? BSME?
 

4130biker

PM me about Tantrum Cycles!
May 24, 2007
3,882
447
i know this isn't directed towards me. but, dude, if you are going to weld together a bike, learn to weld first. its not hard. mig is the easiest to learn too. just need to set it up right and have at it. I don't think i would trust those welds. but thats just me..

Shane
Shane,

You make a good point about learning to weld first. I look at it like he's using the skills he has, doing the best he can, and improving each time.
I really admire people that have the balls to go for it on something like this:clapping:
-Scott
 

karpi

Monkey
Apr 17, 2006
904
0
Santiasco, Chile
man this is inspiring. Normally home built bikes use a single pivot, or tested out pivots... but pushing onto your own design is admirable. Hell, his welds aren't the best, but they get the job done... as we can see in the vid, he rides and testes out his bike. I doubt this will be his last version, so ultra good welding is really needed, and if he were to break it, it still plain steel, so welding it back togeather wouln't hurt a bit. In my opinion this bike is rad, IMO id have the geometry a bit different, but it still works well which is best. One question though, does it flex a bit, alot, or nadaa?
 

ridefast

Monkey
Jan 25, 2006
432
0
Not where I'd like
id love to see an animation or even a side on shot of the suspension as it moves through the travel

and its probably too late, but i would take your ideas to a professor in your department or possibly over to someone in the business school (if there is one at your university) and discuss the idea of getting some type of intellectual protection on your ideas...in the future anyways
 

dcamp29

Monkey
Feb 14, 2004
589
63
Colorado
id love to see an animation or even a side on shot of the suspension as it moves through the travel

and its probably too late, but i would take your ideas to a professor in your department or possibly over to someone in the business school (if there is one at your university) and discuss the idea of getting some type of intellectual protection on your ideas...in the future anyways
I go to university of colorado, so we have plenty of resources for patents and that type of stuff. I actually had a couple of lectures on patents and intellecual property earlier this year for our senior design class. Anyways the process is long and painful and i really don't have time for that right now. as for the animation-make a model out of paper and try it out (use push-pins for the pivots.)