custom mountain frames

Might help if you let us know where you are!

There are normally a few good custom builders in each country

Carbon Fibre Jig!!! Sounds a bit risky using carbon on a full Susser, You dont NEED a bike builder, if you have all your details and geometry planed - but if you cant afford a welder your gonna struggle paying for someone to do it for ya

I personally favour the 'bolt-together' design. That is how my bike shall be assembled. Sure, it may very well weigh a little more, but it is worth it for ease of maintenance and its inherent versatility.

My own design shall be a kind of carapace setup. Ideally the side walls would be carbon fibre. Plate carbon fibre would be nice, as I think it can be used in the same way as steel or wood. Just having some 'stock' plate carbon fibre would allow me (if I am correct) to cut it and drill holes in accordance with the plans.

I was quoted £1,000's for just small pieces of plate carbon fibre, so it is highly unlikely to be used in the end. But if anyone here can advise me, or even recommend a cheaper source of this material, prey share your knowledge.

I live in Bonney Lake Washington USA.

Duckwah said:

Might help if you let us know where you are!

There are normally a few good custom builders in each country

Yeah, I believe that i have found a way to prevent damage to a carbon fiber frame. Well not make it totally bomb-proof, but make it a lot more resistent to abrasions and scratches which will cause failures. I have an Uncle who can weld just about anything very nicely, but no welder. Hence the reason for the carbon fiber setup.

budgetbikes said:

Carbon Fibre Jig!!! Sounds a bit risky using carbon on a full Susser, You dont NEED a bike builder, if you have all your details and geometry planed - but if you cant afford a welder your gonna struggle paying for someone to do it for ya

I just finished making a full sized wooden dowel model of the frame I've designed and it has THIRTEEN inches of travel! Granted, it will only have 8.71 inches of travel once squished down to actual ride height. The side effects of the design are strange. Pedal force will cause the suspension to try and lift the rider upward causing the suspension to stiffen. maybe that's not such a bad thing though. The force of braking may cause the rider to loose a little altitude, but even if a few inches of altitude were lost I don't think it would matter too much with so much travel to play with. Plus I certainly don't pedal much while braking, so ground clearance may not be that big of a problem there. Also, the rearwheel moves in a perfectly straight line so I had to very carefully place the pivot points so that the wheel wouldn't run into the downtube. (yeah it actually has a full length downtube) And the other thing is that the top tube had to be made so that the rider could step between the seat and handlebars and easily step onto the pedal to squish the bike to ride height. (Strange huh)

And probably the strangest side effect of the design is that it started out as an XC design! yeah, it's not XC anymore... an XC rider would be very confused about what she was going to do with THIRTEEN inches of travel. Anyone got any money for the "Budget Travel Foundation"? I am currently well beyond poverty level and need a loan...

Try this: www.bme.szm.sk. This is a homepage of Brano Meres, he made a carbon and even bamboo bike at home.