My latest little DIY project..
morepower
Posts: 140
I made a pre-preg carbon chain stay protector for my Orange. I wanted something that would stop any chips and as there were one or two even though it has a Lizard Skin on there I wanted to give it total protection...
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awesome, how did you do it ?
could do with one on my cross bikeFocus Cayo Pro
Cotic Soul custom
Merida Cross 4
Planet X Dirty Disco custom cyclocross
Tern D8 clown bike0 -
I make parts in carbon fibre anyway so had some pre-preg carbon sitting here. I dont want it to bond to the bike fully so if it does get damaged I can remove it. I wrapped the frame with some electrical tape. I put one layer of pre-preg carbon over the tape and then a layer of what is called release film then used more electrical tape wrapped very tightly round the carbon. I would have used shrink tape but dont have any so I had to use the release film so the electrical tape wouldnt stick to the carbon too. I made a simple tent round the tube with a domestic fan heater blowing hot air over the carbon to cure it.. It took about 18 hours to cure fully with the fan heater blowing in it all the time (I may have been ok at 14 hours but didnt want to risk it). You can get small amounts of pre-preg material from a company called Easy Composites with their "easy preg" carbon. It is simple to do.. Just dont remove the heat too soon... better to keep it warm and cook it for too long.
I usually make stuff like this...
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nice one cheers , got all sorts of ideas running through my head now !!Focus Cayo Pro
Cotic Soul custom
Merida Cross 4
Planet X Dirty Disco custom cyclocross
Tern D8 clown bike0 -
The Real Radioactiveman wrote:nice one cheers , got all sorts of ideas running through my head now !!
I started with an idea for my Aprilia and in the end no one would do it or the guy that took it on let me down... Now I am making stuff full time... be careful it gets addictive... haha...0 -
Morepower, Fancy making me a Mucky Nutz style front mudguard?
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DanDax1990 wrote:Morepower, Fancy making me a Mucky Nutz style front mudguard?
I could but it seems they are very flexible and come as a flat sheet.. I need it to be set in shape and quite solidly in shape too... the heat from making the mould will soften it but if you can find a way to make it rigid then I could... The mould making is actually the hardest part...0 -
I was thinking of doing it myself but would be fairly costly for me but was guessing wouldn't be too bad for you due to having left over material?0
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Making it from odds of scraps is not hard it is just making the mould as the heat needed to cure the carbon may melt the guard. Even the heat from the mould when it exotherms may soften it and make it distort.. It needs to be rigid to start off with... you can use car body filler behind it or anything to make it stiffer.... But you need a mould.0
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Next little part... Again carbon fibre but then again why not???
The LED light unit has a little battery pack which I want to put somewhere accessible and will not roll round the frame on its velcro straps... So I have made a carbon plate which is attached to one of the water bottle locations.
Just need a velcro strap to hold the loose cable onto the frame now.. evilBay order made.... lol.
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Ever thought about selling your little inventions?0
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ej2320 wrote:Ever thought about selling your little inventions?
IF I could find something that is worth doing I would.... wrapping frame tubes is OK but you need a bike or frame on site to do it so it is not cheap due to that.. The flat plate is easy but limited use for most people... lol... I wanted to find a way to make a pre-preg Carbon rear mech protector that is universal... Not easy to find a way of doing that though....0 -
I know to little about the complications haha, But your DIY inventions have impressed my so far anyway0
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I reckon a front mudguard like a crud catcher would be a fairly universal fit? Or even a read crud catcher style mudguard?0
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DanDax1990 wrote:I reckon a front mudguard like a crud catcher would be a fairly universal fit? Or even a read crud catcher style mudguard?
Been looking at a front mudguard possibility..lol. Rear ones usually need parts made up to fit them... I am only looking at the carbon side...lol..0 -
nothing is impossible 0 -
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Kowalski675 wrote:
Yes... I made a batch of them for a mate... I have a few seconds here I use for other things and cut them up for brackets or to make odd parts and covers...0 -
You could always get some diagrams of the most common bikes and their tube shapes and make downtube/bb shell protectors or something like the MuckNutz fender?0
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RyanWensley wrote:You could always get some diagrams of the most common bikes and their tube shapes and make downtube/bb shell protectors or something like the MuckNutz fender?
It is easier if you make a mould directly off the bike as working to a diagram doesnt really work unless you can CNC cut a mould from a solid resin block which is big bucks... lol.. Plus you need to have a number of moulds lined up because of the cost of running the oven for 14 hours. One part like a protector or mudguard in an oven has to cover that cost as well as the materials and consumables. Making 10 or 20 per time is the only way to make it worth while.0 -
Another bit I made... Not quite finished off.. I have to heat it and put a little twist into the shape and fine tune it a little more.. Then I will just make a fast splash mould from the part and make a nice strong pre-preg carbon shark fin protector...
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Done a little more fine tuning. I added a little twist to the shape and cleaned up the shape a little more. It misses everything perfectly and now I just have to make a mould of the part for a nice pre-preg one. I am going to add a nice radius to the edge to so it is not like a blade when I fall off.
This is with the mech at its most outward position so I am happy it will give enough protection...
Now ready do make a quick and dirty splash mould..
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Hoping to get a surface finish like the one on the air tubes I made this week.... I would guess the protector would be lass than 15 grams and strong enough to pick the bike up with... lol
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Had to make a few changes as I wanted to put the rear mech cable behind the protector and I was not happy with the twist so have made a MK2 version.
I will make a mould from this one tomorrow....0 -
Just a fast and dirty splash mould... a little rough round the edges but will be sorted out after clean it up a little then make a master to refine a little too...
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Finished my latest bit of DIY. 16 grams of pre-preg carbon and strong enough to pick the bike up with it... Enough flex so it will not damage the frame if something hits it though.... It is longer than the little fin on the La Pierre's but I wanted protection over garnish..
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Finished version doesn't look half bad. If it saves your mech from a smack and prevents a walk home then it's worth the effort.0
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Cheers.. I decided to not spray it with a lacquer as I wanted to keep it functional and more like the GP race parts I sometimes make.. It is 16 grams and really strong so it will work.. That is all I want.. Some protection for the rear mech.
Next job is to make a mud guard like this one... lol
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