OTS tubes are fine, you just don’t get any of the benefits of a tuned layup
Which means the only real remaining benefit is custom geometry
Doesn’t make it a bad bike necessarily
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Filament winding gives you some tuning and is pretty cost effective.
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So there’s space to do cool and innovative stuff with the lugs you plug the okay but boring composite tubes into?
I’m curious if there’s a clear difference in ride quality, or if it’s princess and the pea territory
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X posted modular
Eh it’s probably all princess and pea territory, but then again I’ve ridden with mismatched crank arms on purpose. 2.5mm is not much.
What do you know about these guys? I thought it was a pretty interesting podcast. Locally made carbon bike. Some cool insights into the potential advantages of doing stuff locally. And timely hoovering up of some laid-off Cervelo talent. Bridge.
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I’ve met Mike a few times over the years just because of being in the industry and we have a few mutual friends. A few weeks ago I gave my buddy a ride over there so he could do some consulting on their paint set up and I got a tour while we were there.
It will be interesting to see how it goes for them. I didn’t sign an NDA or anything but I don’t want to say too much.
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So I finished the podcast, and here some additional thoughts.
I’m not sure how I feel about starting a bike company like a tech startup. I think before I visited I assumed from the online presence and hype that they were closer to bringing the product to market. I get that having the whole manufacturing process in house makes product development somewhat faster but as of the podcast recording and when I was there a few weeks ago they hadn’t yet assembled or tested a complete frame. They were up front about that in the interview but expecting to begin production of bikes for customers 6-8 weeks from that point (as stated in the interview) seems… optimistic.
Custom geometry as a future option was mentioned as well and I’m not sure how they expect to accomplish that. The process they are using is essentially how frames are made overseas. Frame components are bladder molded. They’re dividing up the frame into more pieces than a typical overseas frame might be in order to share components but custom geometry would still require several unique tools to be cut and add considerable cost.
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I mean if they’re producing discrete physical units of a mature type of product then yeah, sounds like either they’re selling the sizzle or they’re going to go bankrupt. Who’s paying for them to do this?
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Unclear, but they do mention investors in the podcast.
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the three F’s of success
family
friends
fools
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Maybe it’s the same finance wizards that ran serotta into the ground twice before they pivoted to city commuter ebikes
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you remember that time ben serotta redesigned the citibike bikes?
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Hey y’all, in order to soothe the unmitigated disaster that was my cycling season, I have decided the best way to get riding more is to build a frame. Impeccable logic, I am sure you agree. My only road-ish bike is my rando bike and it’s too much for a spritely 60 km spin in the hills in nice weather. The only true road bike I have previously owned was a 64cm Marinoni built with SPX. I loved it, but didn’t want to sauvage the drive train to make it practical (it’s gone now).
I have a framebuilder friend helping with the details but I need to make a call on tubing spec. My fomo and curiosity on wigglebikes has me wanting to build the new frame out of the Kaisei super light tubeset, but with the geometry my framebuilder friend is cautioning me that wiggle bike could be an overcooked noodle. As for riding style, I spin and rarely stand/sprint though I should expect that a lighter and more fun bike might at least get me out of the saddle for some climbs. Any words of caution for this approach?
Geo below (building for 700x32 clearance) and 1" threadless steerer. The fit shown here is based on my rando fit, more or less. If there is anything else to flag, I’m all ears.
Inspiration (which I am sure to bastardize):
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How much do you weigh
Right, should have mentioned this. 165 lb soaking wet.
Probably fine with the standard diameter super light tubing. Others you should check out is Columbus SL and Reynolds 853/pro team
Thanks, will do. I think @JUGE_FREDD had his mercian built with this stuff?
Not sure on the complete tube set but I know he got some for sure
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so you’re like all legs,huh. I was going to give the standard large person caution about how all bikes plane, but if you’re a steady 165, it’s probably less of an issue.
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