# Well here I go



## Ttwo (Dec 29, 2007)

I thought I would share where I am at with my first frame build.

Not making the cut for the free tube give away I ended up purchasing a tube set from Walt. (thanks for all the help Walt and steering me in the right direction, although I wanted a disc brake mount not v brake mounts.) I pretty much got his beefy 29er set and it seems to be just what I need for my design, fabricating and brazing ability.

I took and used drwelbys 8020 jig design. It has taken me the last month to get all the parts, fabricate, and get it together. I am excited and happy with the way it turned out.










Rear triangle section showing the BB and dropouts in place.









Front triangle section showing the BB and head tube in place









My Cad drawing giving me all necessary dimensions to make sure the jig is set up properly.









Here is my garage that I hope some day will look like Walts or Steve Garro's shop.
You can see the tube set waiting for some TLC









With the jig now complete I need to start mitering some tubes. With no practice tubes I am a little aprehensive about just diving in. I was given an old Stumpjumper today so I am going to cut her up and practice miter and brazing with her.

I am open to criticism, advise or whetever. I will add to this thread as I make more progress.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Roll `em! Are you going to fillet braze? Good luck and have fun with your build- I hope to be in your spot next year.


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## Smokebikes (Feb 2, 2008)

Looks really good........as an added element to your jig, you may find it helpful to put a support for your top tube and down tube which can hold it in place while you braze. It really is frustrating to have those tubes move or fall off while they are hot. I used to have to get a friend to hold the downtube down while brazing because the heat would cause it to lift off of the head tube. :madman:


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## Ttwo (Dec 29, 2007)

Thanks Smokebikes That sounds like sound advise, I could probably take another piece of extrusion and run it vertically between the head tube and the seat tube, then make some kind of clamp that will hold both the down tube and the top tube in place. I'll bet that would hold em place while brazing :thumbsup:

Do I need to thread something into my BB before i braze to it as to not ruin the threads? What to you guys do?

Cool Blog Smokbikes! do you build frames for hobby or are you selling them?


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## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

*Dude!*

Sorry about that! I assumed that since you were running with the horizontals that you wanted v-brakes. I'll make it up to ya somehow - let me know if you need anything else, eh?

You might want to make a slotted mount for this anyway. A fixed disc mount is going to make it awfully hard to get things to line up, as well as to remove the rear wheel.

Very cool fixture!

If your miters are tight, you probably won't need the extra extrusion to hold the DT or TT. Just slide them into place, tack, and then braze outside of the fixture.

I always use a heat sink inside the BB when welding it, but I'm not sure what the fillet guys do - heat sinks typically make it pretty much impossible to get the joint up to temp, I think. Mr. Garro might know better than I.

-Walt



Ttwo said:


> Thanks Smokebikes That sounds like sound advise, I could probably take another piece of extrusion and run it vertically between the head tube and the seat tube, then make some kind of clamp that will hold both the down tube and the top tube in place. I'll bet that would hold em place while brazing :thumbsup:
> 
> Do I need to thread something into my BB before i braze to it as to not ruin the threads? What to you guys do?
> 
> Cool Blog Smokbikes! do you build frames for hobby or are you selling them?


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## coconinocycles (Sep 23, 2006)

yeah, a heat sink when brazing is just that. i would worry about cooking the thinner tubes while spending a 1/2 hour heating the sink......i would highly recommend a 73mm bb shell to get the cs's off the edge of the bb shell. that's where you will get gobs of distortion, maybe enough to ruin the frame. good luck! steve.


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## dr.welby (Jan 6, 2004)

Cool! It's great to see another one of my jigs get made. It's also really neat to see what modifications people come up with as the design evolves.

As far as I know, yours is the third jig finished of this design.

SmokeBikes brought up the tube holders - I have a design for some that I'm adding to my jig. I'll post the design up to the Instructables page some time in the next month.


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## shiggy (Dec 19, 1998)

dr.welby said:


> Cool! It's great to see another one of my jigs get made. It's also really neat to see what modifications people come up with as the design evolves.
> 
> As far as I know, yours is the third jig finished of this design.
> 
> SmokeBikes brought up the tube holders - I have a design for some that I'm adding to my jig. I'll post the design up to the Instructables page some time in the next month.


One just posted on frameforum, too.


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## Ttwo (Dec 29, 2007)

I got my front triangle fit together. I believe I got most of the joints fit properly but question the gap I have where my BB and seat tube come into the BB. What is your guys opinion and experience with that fit?

Really wanting this bike to roll straight and not brake in two while riding it I constantly find myself second guessing my geometry and the way it is fitting together. The mystery of not knowing kills me but is the challenge of this project.

I find that the jig could use some improvement as well I feel that another piece of extrusion top to bottom between the head tube and seat tube that has some tube blocks on it to hold the down and top tube in place. Another tube block for the seat tube would help too. What do you think drwelby



















Top tube to seat tube fit









The BB fit in question


















This is challenging, head scratching fun. I am open for critisizm, am I headed in the right direction you guys?


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## RoyDean (Jul 2, 2007)

wow... thats so close, that if it were me I'd move the bb up that one mm to close the gap....


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## coconinocycles (Sep 23, 2006)

tack the seattube to the bb, then see where you are. looking good, though! steve.


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## 1gear (Jan 12, 2005)

The thing you have to remember is that a gap is going to allow the tubes to expand more when heated. When you have a gap on one side of the miter and not the other it's going to throw the finished angle of the tubes off. That gap at the BB is pretty big. It's going to be pretty hard keeping the bottom bracket aligned and in the right plane when all is said and done. 

The only other thing is that if this is going to have a suspension fork on it you might want to increase the amount of headtube below the down tube. Unless you're going to run a White Brothers exlusively, you'll need about 25 mm to give clearance for knobs and caps and what not on top of most fork crowns. 

Good start though, keep it up.

Oh, and I can't say for sure, but I think Kirk Pacenti sells a slotted disc mount if you'd prefer to buy one rather than make your own. Making one is good practice with the tools though.


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## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

*Mind the gap...*

Keep working on those miters. You want to have NO gaps at all if you can help it - and you'll want to join the ST/BB before finishing the DT/ST/BB miter.

I see what I think are pretty serious gaps on all of those miters. You should aim for a miter where you can't see any gaps at all, all the way around. Bad miters lead to bad joints, poor alignment, things breaking, etc, etc.

It looks like you're really close, just spend some more time with the files (or dowels and sandpaper, or whatever) and get them perfect. It'll be time well spent.

-Walt


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## dr.welby (Jan 6, 2004)

Ttwo said:


> I find that the jig could use some improvement as well I feel that another piece of extrusion top to bottom between the head tube and seat tube that has some tube blocks on it to hold the down and top tube in place. Another tube block for the seat tube would help too. What do you think drwelby


First thing is don't build your frame horizontally. Tilt up your jig so it's vertical and you won't be fighting gravity. Your down and seat tubes should just settle into place and you just need to nudge them into position on the bottom bracket left or right. The top tube might want to slip down - just clamp something (c-clamp, hose clamp, spring clamp) underneath it on the head and/or seat tube as a temporary stop until you get one side tacked.

If you really want to build horizontally, you could drill and tap a couple holes in the seat tube beam and use bolts to hold the tube at the right level. See Shiggy's thread for my other jig design that uses this concept.

To hold the other tubes, yes, a small beam in between with two v-blocks (mounted facing up and centered on the center plane of the frame) would the way to go.

I have a different design for a tube holder that is much simpler to build. I'll draw it up tonight and post some pictures.


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## dr.welby (Jan 6, 2004)

Here's the tube support I promised.

It's basically a piece of aluminum strip, say 1/4" x 1" by 6-8" long. One end mounts to back of the seat or head tube beam, ideally with a T-bolt and handle.

At the other end mount some threaded rod (3/8" or so) using a nut on each side of the strip. I was obviously was too lazy to draw all of the nuts in the drawing, but you should be able to figure it out. Then out where your tube will be, mount two big fender washers in between nuts so that the washers are about 7/8" apart. Position the assembly so that the washers are touching one of your cones and fine tune their position so that the fender washers both touch the outside diameter of the cone. This will hold any tube cradled on it on center. 

If you want to clamp the tube to this assembly, the easiest way would be to just loop a wire tie around the threaded rod behind the tube, up and over the tube, and then back under the threaded rod in the front. I suppose you could also use an O-ring, much like the DiNotte lights mount onto handlebars. Or you could hacksaw a flat on each washer and then clamp the tube with one of those big spring clamps.

This same design, even without the fender washers, is handy for making sure your seat and chains stays are in the same plane. Or you can use the washers, but instead of using them to center the tube (by being spaced at a smaller distance apart than the tube's diameter), you could space them far enough apart to act as "slots" for the stays to drop into.


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## Ttwo (Dec 29, 2007)

Walt said:


> Keep working on those miters. You want to have NO gaps at all if you can help it - and you'll want to join the ST/BB before finishing the DT/ST/BB miter.
> 
> I see what I think are pretty serious gaps on all of those miters. You should aim for a miter where you can't see any gaps at all, all the way around. Bad miters lead to bad joints, poor alignment, things breaking, etc, etc.
> 
> ...


I had a hunch that gap was unexceptable. I will work on closing it up. You can't really tell from the photo but I fit the down tube first then the seat tube, I based this procedure on thinking that fitting the bigger tube first then the smaller one into the bigger would be the easiest way. Should I have fit the seat tube first then the down tube? If making my tubes fit better to the BB compromises any of my dimensions I am asuming it is more important to get a tighter fit and have my overall dimensions a few mm off from what my drawing dimensions say ? If I have jacked this up Walt I may be looking to buy another seat tube from ya.

drwelby:

I get it:madman: I see how fitting things in the vertcal position helps. I unfortunatly don't have a work stand and will have to work something out.

Thanks for the input everyone learning as I go here yippee.


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## Walt (Jan 23, 2004)

*More comments!*

Most folks I know (including me) do the ST/BB first, so that you can make sure everything is straight, then do the rest of the front triangle. But there are some people who will join the DT completely to the BB shell, then join the ST second. Just make sure whichever tube is completely mitered to the BB shell is joined completely first, then miter the other tube to fit as needed - if you just stick all the tubes together and braze 'em up, you end up with a big chunk of tube/BB that has no brass (or whatever) holding it together. This isn't necessarily the end of the world for strength, but it can produce some wicked annoying noises even if it doesn't fall apart.

In your case, tilt the fixture upright like Dr. W says so that gravity will help you out. Then join your DT/BB completely and put everything back in the fixture, finish mitering the ST, and tack/braze the rest of the front tri.

Couple of random mitering tips:

-Clean the ends of your tubes off so that you can see what's going on. I like 80 grit sandpaper, but people use all kinds of stuff to clean the tubes. There should probably be an FAQ entry on tube cleaning, but I'm not going to write it right now.

-If you can press the mitered tube into the head tube, or seat tube, or BB, and try to wiggle it around, you can often pinpoint the location it's touching at (and hence, also where it isn't) - much easier to deal with than trying to do it visually.

-Go slow! Being impatient is a great way to ruin a tube or two, so if you're getting frustrated, put your tools away for the day and go for a ride. The bike will get built when it gets built.

Great to see this coming together. Nice work!

-Walt



Ttwo said:


> I had a hunch that gap was unexceptable. I will work on closing it up. You can't really tell from the photo but I fit the down tube first then the seat tube, I based this procedure on thinking that fitting the bigger tube first then the smaller one into the bigger would be the easiest way. Should I have fit the seat tube first then the down tube? If making my tubes fit better to the BB compromises any of my dimensions I am asuming it is more important to get a tighter fit and have my overall dimensions a few mm off from what my drawing dimensions say ? If I have jacked this up Walt I may be looking to buy another seat tube from ya.
> 
> drwelby:
> 
> ...


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## Ttwo (Dec 29, 2007)

I have been a little pre occupied with other things as of late and have not been able to work on my project as much as I would like. But I am back on it

I made my tubes fit tighter as recomended by all. I feel better about the way the fit now and want to hear what you guys think. I bought myself a oxy actylene set up off craigslist (got a good deal for 150 bucks for a Victor torch, gages, hoses and a bunch of differnt tips. I exchanged an old argon bottle I had for a oxy bottle and bought a actylene bottle) That fillet brazing is a little bit of a challenge and I will be practicing a bit more before I touch my bike with it. I bought 3/32 low fuming bronze filler rod (AWS A5.8) is this the right stuff? The flux is a all purpose powdered flux that you dip the rod in. I have noticed most everyone around here has a paste type flux, please advise




























I have to get off to work right now look forward to any resposes and have other questions.Oh yea it is amazing how well my jig works when you put it in the vertical postion as it was designed to be. duhhh!!

Thanks you guys I hope everyone is getting out and riding this spring.


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## rustola (Jan 15, 2008)

Miters are looking MUCH better. Though somewhat tedious, getting really good fits goes a long way in making the welding easier and reducing distortion. keep on truckin'


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## 1gear (Jan 12, 2005)

Now those are some good miters. Way to make it right man, good job. 

Paste flux would make your fillet building process smoother. I think you'll find that it's much easier to get a proper/needed amount of flux where you need it with the paste flux. Give what you have a go though and see how it works for you. That sort of thing is often a matter of preference anyway.


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## The_Boy (Sep 15, 2005)

Since you seem to not be in a huge hurry to finish, I would suggest ordering some blue paste flux from gasflux (I got mine in 2 days). It works really well and several people on this board use it. I never used the powder flux, but I have to imagine that the paste works better.


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## Ttwo (Dec 29, 2007)

Well guys please don't rip it apart to bad but heremy frame. I am going to have it powdercoated this week, and try and build it out next week. I am comfortable with the way the jig held everything, My big concern is my novice brazing skills. I have know idea what to expect if anything breaks I will take it as a learning experience. I want to do another but will probably TIG the next one together. I apreciate all the input from you guys
(specially you Walt thanks)


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## pvd (Jan 4, 2006)

It looks great! You will be amazed at how professional it looks after it's painted. Enjoy the first ride.

I would add a CS bridge if you have the time. I think it makes a difference.


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## MMcG (Jul 7, 2003)

Nice work!!!


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## Ttwo (Dec 29, 2007)

Thanks you guys!  

I was wondering about the chain stay bridge, I certainly have the time. I guess I will add one in tonight.

I look forward to the maiden voyage.  
Thanks again


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## toddre (Mar 1, 2004)

Nice Job... the bike looks very similar to the frame I'm working on right now.
Great job with your second go around with the miters. What was it that you did differently? Were they all hand done?


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## ATBScott (Jun 4, 2006)

Ttwo, great-looking frame. Pretty impressed by that first effort. I have been wanting to do a project like ths for years. The jig and the associated tooling have been the one thing I haven't put together yet, and it has been so long since I have done any welding or brazing (uhhh - High School shop classes...) that I think I'd want to take an evening class. I definitely want to try the fillet brazing method, personally. One question: Was there any distortion in that aluminum jig when you got the junctions hot enough to braze things? Aluminum expands and contracts so much, my concern was building something that would be less affected by enough heat to braze brass onto cromoly. Also, about how much did you end up spending building your jig? Again - nice job and I'll bet it holds together fine! (And if something does break, you have the tools and materials to fix it too!)


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## Bikin' Bric (Sep 7, 2003)

Looking great! Nice work.


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## scooter916 (Jan 2, 2006)

Great looking frame, as far as paint, if your a concerned that the brazing won't hold up I would consider sanding the frame and getting is super shiny with the brass fillet than just get a clear or transparent powdercoat, that way you can see a crack as it starts to form rather than wait for it to crack the paint


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## Ttwo (Dec 29, 2007)

toddre said:


> Nice Job... the bike looks very similar to the frame I'm working on right now.
> Great job with your second go around with the miters. What was it that you did differently? Were they all hand done?


Yes they were done by hand i just simply took the time to make them fit better. This was a huge learning process for me and I wasn't sure the tolerance.


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## dr.welby (Jan 6, 2004)

ATBScott said:


> One question: Was there any distortion in that aluminum jig when you got the junctions hot enough to braze things? Aluminum expands and contracts so much, my concern was building something that would be less affected by enough heat to braze brass onto cromoly.


You don't braze the joints in the jig, you only tack them. And considering that the Anvil and Henry James Universal jigs are aluminum, I think if it was a problem we'd know about it by now!


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## toddre (Mar 1, 2004)

Ttwo said:


> Yes they were done by hand i just simply took the time to make them fit better. This was a huge learning process for me and I wasn't sure the tolerance.


Any tips? what was the process for figuring the miters out?


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## moto367 (Nov 20, 2006)

Nice work. I hope to someday build my own frame. Just wondering though, how did you miter your tubes? And how do others miter their tubes. Thanks to all the builders here. This is a great source of info. :thumbsup:


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## Smokebikes (Feb 2, 2008)

moto367 said:


> Nice work. I hope to someday build my own frame. Just wondering though, how did you miter your tubes? And how do others miter their tubes. Thanks to all the builders here. This is a great source of info. :thumbsup:


Here is a download that will help......not how I do it but it's a good start. :thumbsup:

http://www.ozhpv.org.au/shed/tubemiter.htm


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## DWF (Jan 12, 2004)

dr.welby said:


> You don't braze the joints in the jig, you only tack them. And considering that the Anvil and Henry James Universal jigs are aluminum, I think if it was a problem we'd know about it by now!


I don't know what Hank uses, but ours are made of Mic6. Big difference between an extrusion, 6061, and Mic6 with thermal & dimensional stability. Machine a bit of it and you'll know what I mean.


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## dr.welby (Jan 6, 2004)

DWF said:


> I don't know what Hank uses, but ours are made of Mic6. Big difference between an extrusion, 6061, and Mic6 with thermal & dimensional stability. Machine a bit of it and you'll know what I mean.


True it's far more stable, but the OP was talking about the thermal expansion qualities of aluminum compared to other materials, and Mic6 and 6061 seem to be essentially identical in that respect.


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## DWF (Jan 12, 2004)

dr.welby said:


> True it's far more stable, but the OP was talking about the thermal expansion qualities of aluminum compared to other materials, and Mic6 and 6061 seem to be essentially identical in that respect.


That's kind of the point though, isn't it? If you machine an extrusion or 6061, it moves all over the place due to the internal stresses in the material. Same with temperature changes. All metals are going to expand and contract with change in temperature, what you want is for it to do so and remain flat.


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## dr.welby (Jan 6, 2004)

DWF said:


> That's kind of the point though, isn't it? If you machine an extrusion or 6061, it moves all over the place due to the internal stresses in the material. Same with temperature changes. All metals are going to expand and contract with change in temperature, what you want is for it to do so and remain flat.


For sure. I'm just trying to point out that aluminum as a material choice for jigs should not be ruled out just because aluminum has a larger coeffecient of thermal expansion than steel. And your jig, considered to be the best available, is proof of that.


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## DWF (Jan 12, 2004)

dr.welby said:


> For sure. I'm just trying to point out that aluminum as a material choice for jigs should not be ruled out just because aluminum has a larger coeffecient of thermal expansion than steel. And your jig, considered to be the best available, is proof of that.


Understood, and thanks for the compliment, but that wasn't my issue. The issue with extrusions is that they are dimensionally unstable by nature. Not simply that they expand & contract, but that they do so in ways that are not planar; they twist, warp, etc. This can obviously be minimized by ensuring you maintain some heat discipline.


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## dr.welby (Jan 6, 2004)

DWF said:


> Understood, and thanks for the compliment, but that wasn't my issue. The issue with extrusions is that they are dimensionally unstable by nature. Not simply that they expand & contract, but that they do so in ways that are not planar; they twist, warp, etc. This can obviously be minimized by ensuring you maintain some heat discipline.


Exactly, which is why I earlier stated about Mic6 "True it's far more stable". It definitely the way to go if you want dimensional stability under thermal cycles or machining. I just don't think the original poster, who has never built a frame, was asking that detailed of a question.
It is, however, and excellent point to bring up. People who want to build extrusion-based jigs may not want to take extreme measures to get them highly accurate when the material will not behave beyond certain tolerances.


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## Ttwo (Dec 29, 2007)

Dr Welby I owe you a thanks as well. Your jig design worked out very well for me. I can tell you gentlemen this: Dr Welby's jig design was the perfect solution for this new frame building noob (thats me.) It allowed me to fit my frame together for just a couple houndred dollars. You certainly would not want to use it for any type of production build or some one looking for a very high tolerance. But for the garage project type guy it was PERFECT!
Putting it together was it's own little project in it's self. I only tacked my tubes togther then did all the brazing out of the jig (only using the threaded rod for keeping the dropouts fixed at 135 mm. Thanks again Dr Welby for making your desgn available :thumbsup: 

I am droping my frame off at the powder doaters today. I will post another picture when I get it back.

Best Regards
T2


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## begeta50 (Sep 14, 2008)

Can you tell me where can I get the parts to build one of those jigs.


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## Ttwo (Dec 29, 2007)

I got the aluminum extrusion and most of the parts from:

F&L Industrial Solutions< Inc

They are in Poway Ca (858) 602-1500

https://fandl8020.com

Well here is the finished product. It has been raining here in So Cal but I got to ride her around for about an hour today. I look forward to a real ride I will be taking her to Old Pueblo next week and run a few laps with her. ( I will still take my Niner for good measure)

I scabed the most of the parts from and old bike and robbed the seat from my wifes bike, The wheel set belongs on my Niner I do have another whell set that will live with this bike, but for now I wanted to show case her with the nice wheels.

What do guys think?


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## pvd (Jan 4, 2006)

That's gotta make you feel good. It looks great.


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## Bikin' Bric (Sep 7, 2003)

Wow, that looks sweet. You've done an amazing job.


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## Ttwo (Dec 29, 2007)

Yes PVD:
You know the feeling I am sure. My first ride made me feel great and I had a proud smile for sure. I took it down to a local shop to show a friend that new I was building a bike and there was another mechanic there that looked at it. Not knowing I built it, when he couldn't find a head badge or lable he asked this is a nice looking bike what kind of frame is it? It was fun to tell him I made it. He seemed impressed.

RatchAttack: 
Thanks for the kind words. I see your moving forward with your build, I am excited to watch your progress and see your bike. Good luck and have fun with it.


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## toddre (Mar 1, 2004)

Looks great! Enjoy the ride.
I'm starting to fall behind a bit from where I want to be due to a cash flow problem. But hopefully I can catch up with you guys soon. :thumbsup:


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## Wish I Were Riding (Jan 30, 2004)

Nice job. Congratulations.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

I've seen this bike in three posts today alone! now you're just bragging! LMAO!
(Kidding, again, great job!) :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## themanmonkey (Nov 1, 2005)

Good job with your first frame. The thing I like about the MTBR list is that you guys are actually doing it. On most of the other framebuilding discussion forums guys ask questions forever and never get around to building something. They also generally want to have pro level tooling before they ever put the heat to the meat. Keep up the good work.

*Ttwo* your job now is to go out and destroy that thing and then build another . . . and another. . . and another. . .


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## Smokebikes (Feb 2, 2008)

Very nice job! Post up the specs and how it rides for you. It's always nice to hear how all those measurments and calculations translate to a ride. Have fun...........:thumbsup:


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## Ttwo (Dec 29, 2007)

byknuts said:


> I've seen this bike in three posts today alone! now you're just bragging! LMAO!
> (Kidding, again, great job!) :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


HaHa LOL I am so busted!


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## robbbby (Oct 1, 2006)

Does the frame require any sort of heat treating after welding/brazing or does it go straight to paint?

I'm not a bike fabricator/builder so I have no clue, I just love reading these threads and seeing peoples projects become a reality.


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## Ttwo (Dec 29, 2007)

I raced my bike this weekend at the 24 hours of Old Pueblo near Tucson AZ. I took both of my bikes not knowing what to expect or what the outcome would be with riding my homemade job. I rode a pre race lap the day before the race on the 16 mile course. for the most part this was my bikes maiden voyage. this was her first time playing in the dirt. For the first 4 or 5 miles I was very timid, kind of babying it by not hitting things as hard as I would normally. After it was apparent that things were working and nothing weird was going on I gradually started to pick up the pace and rode a little harder. By the middle of the lap I put the hammer down and rode as I would with any bike. To my amazment she rode like a dream and held together. I must say it was 16 miles of some of the most gratifying riding I have ever had. I did experience a issue with my seat tube clamp being a little to big and under hard riding it would allow my seat post to slip. I made a shim from a aluminum can and with 2 small wraps that issue was gone.

With all that being said the bike logged 144 miles over the weekend, and she is ready for more. Me personally I need some recovery time after racing all weekend. I ran her rigid with 34-19 gearing which seemed to be good for this course. My partner (we are both very simular in size so the bike fit him well) also ran her for one of his laps.
As far asracing goes I am not much of a contender but we came in 17 out of 60 something male duo teams. I believe most in my catagory were running geared bikes. I could not have had a better time and what a great way to test out my new bike.


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## jay_ntwr (Feb 15, 2008)

Ttwo said:


> I raced my bike this weekend at the 24 hours of Old Pueblo near Tucson AZ. I took both of my bikes not knowing what to expect or what the outcome would be with riding my homemade job. I rode a pre race lap the day before the race on the 16 mile course. for the most part this was my bikes maiden voyage. this was her first time playing in the dirt. For the first 4 or 5 miles I was very timid, kind of babying it by not hitting things as hard as I would normally. After it was apparent that things were working and nothing weird was going on I gradually started to pick up the pace and rode a little harder. By the middle of the lap I put the hammer down and rode as I would with any bike. To my amazment she rode like a dream and held together. I must say it was 16 miles of some of the most gratifying riding I have ever had. I did experience a issue with my seat tube clamp being a little to big and under hard riding it would allow my seat post to slip. I made a shim from a aluminum can and with 2 small wraps that issue was gone.
> 
> With all that being said the bike logged 144 miles over the weekend, and she is ready for more. Me personally I need some recovery time after racing all weekend. I ran her rigid with 34-19 gearing which seemed to be good for this course. My partner (we are both very simular in size so the bike fit him well) also ran her for one of his laps.
> As far asracing goes I am not much of a contender but we came in 17 out of 60 something male duo teams. I believe most in my catagory were running geared bikes. I could not have had a better time and what a great way to test out my new bike.


Awesome story, man! I can't wait until I finally get there.


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## Wish I Were Riding (Jan 30, 2004)

Ttwo said:


> I raced my bike this weekend at the 24 hours of Old Pueblo near Tucson AZ.


Super cool to here it did so well for you. Congratulations again on a nice build and a great first weekend of riding it.


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## BeatAFool (Jan 14, 2008)

> he asked this is a nice looking bike what kind of frame is it?


my answer that those question is alway "I know this crazyass ******* that builds frames in his garage, I bought him a case of Bud and a sack of weed and he made me this"


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## Solamar (Jun 25, 2005)

Great build Ttwo!

I recently finished my first frame build also. Great feeling that first ride, aint it:thumbsup: 

Question for you, I have been having issues with chain skip/dropping (when I'm realy mashing) and I'm starting to think it must be caused from rear triangle flex. Your rear triangle looks almost identical to mine, have you had any issues yet?

Also, If you want to try out TIG, my shop is just a few miles east of you (Escondido). Your welcome to come by and try it out.


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