[buckoW]

Yes it is a 19mm or 16mm tube. Still deciding on size. Asfor pierced I am still deciding. Not sure my trigonometry is up to it but will decide soon.

Cool! I was thinking like a 25.4 through a 31.8mm tube. Is your top tube a 25.4mm? I’d think 19 would be better. My trig is non existant and I do everything by eyeball and margs.

Tigs are looking tight!

Thank you! I think I will warm up to these new pulse settings I’m using and get better each time.. hopefully.

 

[Westy]

I do everything by eyeball and margs.

 

[rideit]

It’s all about…the hot, hot penetration.

 

[buckoW]

It’s all about…the hot, hot penetration.

And deep.

 

[sikocycles]

Cool! I was thinking like a 25.4 through a 31.8mm tube. Is your top tube a 25.4mm? I’d think 19 would be better. My trig is non existant and I do everything by eyeball and margs.

TT is 31.8. I may drill for 16mm and if I screw up I have room for the 19mm

 

[buckoW]

TT is 31.8. I may drill for 16mm and if I screw up I have room for the 19mm

Good strategy! There’s always 22.2 if the second try is also sub optimal. Good luck!

We were having some very nice snow up on the mountain for a few days until the rain came. So, I spent some time in my shop. If I make another mountain bike then it would be only a small revision over my last one and I wanted a bigger challenge. Therefore, I think I’ll try to make an ebike. I have an old friend from the freeride movie days who now makes electric motors and I ordered a battery from CYC in China.

I’m working on an ebike concept with 200mm of travel, a throttle, 52v battery with Samsung 40t cells and a 4.5hp motor. I was thinking twin top tubes with a trellis design up until last night. I think the top tube hump could look nicer and be a lot less work. Twin top tube will have to wait for another day.

The battery mount is welded to a long gusset that I will stitch weld along the sides of the DT once I figure out the placement. The motor mounts will be next. I’m unsure how I will be aligning the chain. Some amount of adjustment should help my squint eye engineering style.

 

[buckoW]

I’d like to make some motor and controller mounts welded onto the down tube in order to ditch the black plates connecting the motor to the bb.

 

[sikocycles]

Damn dude very cool

 

[shirk007]

Nice, I dig how the top tube looks like it will match the angle of the rocker.

 

[buckoW]

Nice, I dig how the top tube looks like it will match the angle of the rocker.

Yeah, I like the form too and got there because I wasn’t convinced on the twin 19mm tubes and trellis design. In the photo it’s a 38mm down tube presented as a top tube so I think I will bend a piece of 31.8 or 35mm to a similar shape. I might go 35x1.5mm on the top tube to make it stronger? Seems like a lot of weight hanging off of this thing. Maybe a tighter radius to hug the battery more? A tubing bender at home would be nice.

 

[sikocycles]

Alignment before I finish welding.

 

[slimshady]

Wey started laying the tubes in the jig today!

That was a dummy BB because our friend who was supposed to do it along with the headtube in the lathe got COVID, so next week with some luck we will have them.

In the meantime, we used a couple dummy tubes to eyeball the ones of the main triangle.

We still have to bend the dropouts to meet the stays at 45°.

Next week we will probable finish it, once my friend gets back at the shop.

For the deffinitive version I will surely order a 4130 headtube and a BB Shell from bikefabsupply. I'm also in the process of locally procuring 4130 tubes for the rest of the frame.

EDIT: Fuck Google's keyboard, it somehow forgot I write half in English and half in Spanish so I had to correct/rewrite about 40% of this fucking post.

 

[sikocycles]

Bike academy jig?

 

[slimshady]

Bike academy jig?

100% self made by my friend !!!

 

[sikocycles]

Very cool

 

[shirk007]

There is a new forum started that is dedicated to frame building.

Custom Framebuilding Forum

Framebuilding Community

forum.customframeforum.com

A mix of pro's and garage builders. Lots of good info shared so far.

 

[jdcamb]

I know people. The Bridgestone is being repaired as we speak. So cool! I love that bike. I am dedicating a whole month to getting it right. Any of the current parts I can update I will. Except the XT canti brakes and levers. We are keeping them.

 

[sikocycles]

Here is another

Framebuilders - Google Groups

groups.google.com

 

[buckoW]

@slimshady Yeah buddy! That’s rad! Are you going to use a lazer to line things up?

Here’s where I left off on my current project. The motor mounts, cable guides and lower shock mount are the last things to do.

I know ebikes are a hot topic but I would like to experience things for myself. I’m curious about what each version of the e things will look like in the future. As a design exercise for my own entertainment (nobody cares about these things) I want to mix power to weight and drivetrain limitations to see what are the weaknesses and strengths. Chains are a limiting factor for lighter systems but stronger chains like a 420 are are heavier and relegated to single speed designs. Then you need a lot of power and heat capability. So rather than speculate I’d like to snap some Mtb chain.

This one is half way between my emoto and Scott Ransom ebike. They are like 3 different sports and very different to Mtb or Moto, imo.

 

[slimshady]

@slimshady Yeah buddy! That’s rad! Are you going to use a lazer to line things up?

I have to be honest, I'm learning as I walk. My friend is doing most of the advanced stuff, so once we reach the point of alignment i'll report back!

 

[sikocycles]

This link shows Alec building with the bike academy jig. Maybe you can get some ideas

 

[englertracing]

I dont check this thread for a few months and half of ridemonkey had built frames

 

[HardtailHack]

I dont check this thread for a few months and half of ridemonkey had built frames

And buckoW has made me think every time I go for a ride on my noodle bike that I should read up on how to make a jig.
We have a little Lincoln MMA welder at work, I should have a go at TIG welding in the Christmas break.

 

[buckoW]

And buckoW has made me think every time I go for a ride on my noodle bike that I should read up on how to make a jig.
We have a little Lincoln MMA welder at work, I should have a go at TIG welding in the Christmas break.

Go for it @HardtailHack
Modifying an existing steel frame is easier than making a new one. Toss some pink Marino gussets on her!

 

[jdcamb]

Got the Bridgestone frame back. All the parts I needed to fit back on did. The weather and amazon have prevented me from being able to claim victory. Porch pirate prevented me from success again. I got a good pic of her this time. Trap being set.

 

[slimshady]

We made some progress today. Cut, mitered and tacked the front triangle together, prepared the rear dropouts and cut the stays/downtube gussets. On Wednesday's evening we will bend/finish the stays and *maybe* weld the frame. With some luck the final alignment and finishing touches will be done this Friday.

 

[slimshady]

Tacked, taken off the jig and roughly assembled to check components fit/interference. So far, so good. We'll do some more welding today, then finish it tomorrow and assemble it to have a victory lap before the final embellishments.

EDIT: Just checked the numbers: 70° HA, 75° SA, 23" TT, half inch BB drop, 14.5" chainstays slammed.

 

[shirk007]

Looks fun.

 

[buckoW]

@slimshady Awesome! Nice work.
How did you bend your stays? I like tube bender pics!
Are you mitering on a drill press or with files? Tell me more!
Congrats.

 

[jdcamb]

Got all the parts to finish the Bridgestone up. Stand ready to qualify. I want to properly test ride her before I put her in the trainer again. Properly serviced and inspected both wheels. 22 year old shimano XT Bottom bracket still perfect. 8 Speed was the epitome of Shimano quality. I bought a set of cool stop pads. Kind of cool Cool Stop is still around.

 

[jdcamb]

Problem solvers package was hijacked. They FedExed the order overnight for the win. So not only did I get it a day early. I got a credit too. I keep winning. No input on my stupid ass.

 

[jdcamb]

Going to be 57 tomorrow in December. Proper test ride is planned.

 

[slimshady]

Looks fun.

If it's half as fun to ride it as it was ti build it, I'm calling it a win!

@slimshady Awesome! Nice work.
How did you bend your stays? I like tube bender pics!
Are you mitering on a drill press or with files? Tell me more!
Congrats.

Hey Ben, thanks ! We are using a manual tube bender, I'll get a couple pics later when I go to my friend's shop to finish the frame.

We are manually mitering/filing (I'm particularly proud of the seatstays to seat tube/top tube junction I created yesterday), and for the tube deformation/flattening my friend 3D printed some mandrels tu use in the vise.

Again, I'll get some pictures later today.

 

[slimshady]

Problem solvers package was hijacked. They FedExed the order overnight for the win. So not only did I get it a day early. I got a credit too. I keep winning. No input on my stupid ass.

WE WANT PICTURES!!!!

You're being such a tease with all the posts about the parts gathering!!!

 

[slimshady]

...and it's alive! I still need to get a taller and wider handlebar, but the initial sensations are awesome. 13.3kg for the proto, most likely the final version will be lighter as we will use thinner 4130 tubing.

Thanks to all the Monkeys who have thrown their experiences and tips in this thread, they were really helpful!

EDIT: After the definitive version of this dirt jumper, we were thinking of jumping shark and go for a 150mm single pivot. Shall we use a bottom bracket as the main pivot?

 

[buckoW]

Bravo @slimshady !!! Fuck yeah! Getting a good miter is the best feeling and it’s so much easier to weld too.

@jdcamb We’re still waiting for our Bridgestone pics.

I finished my ebike project yesterday and immediately dropped it off at the body shop for paint. The painter doesn’t enjoy painting my frames but when the metal is fresh and clean he can’t resist saying yes and doing a good job.

Starting to make motor mounts

Here goes nothing.

Hmmmmm, how do I get this straight?

Something like this? There is no chance of me getting this straight but I’ll just “piss with the cock I’ve got”

Oh well. I hope it doesn’t derail….

I think it worked out. I overheated the headtube with the lower gusset. I hope it works out when the reamer comes out.

 

[HardtailHack]

Where does the drink bottle go?

I reckon I've bought frames with welds not as nice as them, well done.

 

[buckoW]

Where does the drink bottle go?

I reckon I've bought frames with welds not as nice as them, well done.

Thanks! I’m really pumped on my weld progress. I still have a long way to go but I understand more what I need to do.

 

[OGRipper]

Nice work fellas, impressive stuff all around! I've definitely paid for shittier welds than some of these!

 

[sikocycles]

I built a stand for my jig. Will finish today and paint when it’s warmer. May shorten the legs and clean up the sharp edges before paint