Rob Leech

Heya chap, to keep them in line I just turned a piece of ally tube down to the same size as the carbon and used it as a spacer whilst i welded it up . I turned the headtube down from a section of round bar, would be easier to get a section of tube close to the correct size and just bore it to suit, but i couldnt find any at the time . Nah, had worse . Cheers, Josh.

ayyyyy, he's back on a bicycle! Looks awesome matey Cheers, Josh.

Cheers adam, not sure on the weight side yet, im not looking to go too light with it as i'm trying to concerntrate purely on strength atm, but may well put it all on the scales tomorrow just to get an idea. Having to make all the moulds myself as it's not all standard to the drawings, everything that i've done with it so far is here if you want to have a gander- http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150221908510853.346974.559375852 It's not acctually going to be acting as a cage, im putting a hard top with gullwings on it but yes, there is a good bit more triangulating and gusseting to be done in a few areas on it, mainly the back end as i've not gotten that far with it yet. I could also add a steel cage when it's done if need be. Have got a little update in 2 mins. Cheers, Josh.

Updated

I've got that covered, all will be revealed soon enough . Cheers, Josh. BTW, will hopefully have another update tomorrow, been a bit busy on the proper work side this week . Oh, and i think you'll be surprised at how easy it is to do a decent repair on carbon tube, so if a crack/smash does occur, it can be repaired .

Think you might need to look into it a bit more before you go buying tubing me old chum . but just in case- http://www.aluminiumwarehouse.co.uk/ , probably the best on't tinterweb. Try looking locally, you'll usually come across somewhere nearby that will supply tubing . Cheers, Josh.

Updated

Will get a pic of it later on, did it a while ago, think you'll like it . Cheers, Josh.

Cheers ali, yep, have made it so i can weld up all the sections individually and then bond the carbon in once they've been treated and anodised, I've got it all in the jig whilst im fabricating the parts, just to make sure everything fits and find out if anythings not going work . Cheers, Josh.

The mounts will be on an inbuilt booster welded to the seat stay yoke and also bonded to the carbon section in the seat stay . Hopefully not, i've spent quite a bit of time looking into different joint designs for this and the double tube option seems (to me anyway) to be the best choice, especially when you feel just how stiff the carbon is, feels like you could snap it with one hand, but it has no flex what so ever . Cheers, Josh.

I was thinking exactly the same thing, it'll probably take a trip to the anodisers before it gets bonded together .

How do all, seeing as everyones loving carbon atm, thought i'd have another play. Had this in my head for quite a while and finally sorted something that i couldnt find before, so here it is- Drawn up- Uploaded with ImageShack.us How the carbon is being bonded in- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Top tube, down tube and seat tube in- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Seatstays done- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Should have the rest of the parts made up tomorrow for assembly . Got a bit more done today, not as much as i'd hoped, but ahh well, here it is- Headtube design- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Dropouts and chainstays done- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Will hopefully have the booster done in the week, work dependant of course. 27/07- Got a little more done today - First 2 inside tubes tacked up Uploaded with ImageShack.us Welded up, then dressed off Uploaded with ImageShack.us Outside tubes tacked up (with gussets Mr. C ), ready to be welded Uploaded with ImageShack.us Top tube and down tube in, just to check they line up Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us One more thing, thought you guys might like to see why it's been a while between frame builds, my latest and biggest project- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Will be a lotus 7/caterham design when it's done, ally chassis with (hopefully) a full carbon body. 28/07- Got the headtube welded up and blasted today- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Had a bit of a booboo tacking up the first seatstay though, carbon tube dosent like fire apparantly So it's going to be an ally seat tube now, which is a shame, but ah'well. 31/07 Got another little update for you- Seatstays tacked up- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Gussets tacked on- Uploaded with ImageShack.us All welded up- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us 01/08- Reached a little milestone today- First tube on dropouts welded up- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Back in the jig- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Second tubes welded on, but are going to be ground back and re-done tomorrow i think- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Mocked up- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Will be adding a bonded gusset to the rear triangle when it's completed, was going to double up on the tubing, but dosen't seem to be a need for it. 06/08- Got quite a big update for everyone today- Decided to double up on the dropouts in the end- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Got the last bits tacked up, before- Uploaded with ImageShack.us And after- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Assembled to check everything fits and position the booster- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Booster welded on- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Everything ready for the oven tomorrow, then anodising in the week - Uploaded with ImageShack.us 11/08- Got the frame bonded up on tuesday/wednesday, fully set today, so heres the result Let me know what you think . Before bb, cranks, ect are on- Uploaded with ImageShack.us And after- Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Had a little roll around on it (nothing proper, have got to make the brake mounts/posts tomorrow, really couldnt be bothered with any turning today ) and it is quite flexy at the rear end, but after looking at it and getting the old brain wirling, think i've managed to sort it, but anyway, yeah, done . Final weight was just over 1.6 btw, but think i'll be looking at a light weight jobbie if this works out. Cheers, Josh.

If your gona hit it, hit it properly, not like a girl on valium.

Normally the cost of ally is actually relatively low compared to steel, whereas the cost of a DC TIG compared to an AC/DC Tig machine is normally around double. I think the main reason he dosent deal with ally would be the heat treatment/skills side of it more than costs, it can take years to get to a decent standard on a TIG with ally, dependant on the person ofcourse. Bike looks awesome btw, may have to try a high BB setup pretty soon. Whats it like riding with a mod stem on there? Cheers, Josh.

Yeah, no doubt they'll do the job, just not very easy on the eyes, asthetically un-pleasing is a better way of putting it . Cheers, Josh.

You cant anodize steel . Steel doesn't need it in this application . Looks really nice, gota agree with the drop-out comment though, seems to be the only part he doesn't put much time into. Will be nice to see it fully built and see how it rides. Cheers, Josh.

Unlucky fella, looked like a really nice ride aswell. Luke and the other guy that was talking about why it cracked there, think about this- Is the bb yoke a single machined part? If so, the torque put down through pedalling will be the cause of it cracking, continuous flexing with aluminium equals..... you know where i'm going . Bad joint design probably bob all to do with the weld, especially if other people are saying thats where their's went . Thought i'd share the knowledge. Cheers, Josh.

Wouldnt be any harm in welding it again, maybe look at putting an extra gusset in? Poosibly connecting the chainstays to the bottom bracket, ie- grind the welds flush around the crack (including the weld connecting the chainstays to the bb and the to the gusset on the stays), hacksaw down the crack to open it, weld it up, grind it off to about 1-2mm in height (not flush), put a 6mm plate (probably 70-80mm long) on the chainstay that meets up with the bb, weld around the bb and the 2 opposite sides on the chainstay leaving the furthest end open. This will probably sort it for a while, but how long, only the man upstairs could tell you . Cheers, Josh.

yeah, this is what i thought, pretty sure it was amazon, which is abit worrying. Cheers, Josh.

Hi All, about 20 minutes ago now i logged onto my paypal account to check my balance and found that someone had tried, and was nearly successful() in, taking just over 600 pounds from my account. Luckily, i was skint at the time () so the transaction was refused, yet they put it through again and is now in proccess, which i cant stop online. The problem is my pay check went in last week and will be in my account this week, so if the transaction isn't stopped, i'm pretty much in the shit. I rang paypal and they basically said that they couldn't do anything about it and i'd have to take it up with my bank. I was just wondering if anyone on here had experienced the same thing and if they had any advice on the subject. Thanks for any help, Josh.

Aslong as it is just above the center of the top bolt, you'll be dandy . Pretty sure mines just below and i never have any problems with it . Cheers, Josh.

Think it would be a good plan to extend the tab along the seat stay a bit, will help it alot with the stresses involved . Looking good though matey, Josh.

Lol, indead . The tab at the 4 bolt, or the disc tab? If it's the 4 bolt, ( not the best drawing i must say :$ ) it's designed to sit just above the seat stay, say a couple of mm clearance when bolted up. If it's the disc tab, it's ment to sit just inside the seat stay so you can get access to the lower supporting bolts . Cheers, Josh. Also, keep any questions/quieres you have coming, will help the lad in the long run if he decides to fabricate one .

No problem pal, let us know how it turns out . Josh.

Heya chap, cant find the one i made atm, think a friend might have it, so i've done you a quick drawing . I think the one i did was just made from mild steel as i did an ally one and it didn't fair too well, but if you've got any, try doing it from 6mm ally plate and you should be fine . If you need any help with it matey, just let me know, Josh. Uploaded with ImageShack.us