Framebuilders - Carbon Project Completed

My first carbon bike is complete. I assembled it out of a Deda Black Pearl front triangle, Drive Box rear triangle and Black Drive fork. It can be seen on my blog at www.handmadebikes.blogspot.com.

The paint is by Gordon Lechner. Masking is tough with the complicated tube shapes, he did a great job.:)
Unfortunately, my photography doesn't show it to its best effect. The paint feels like greased teflon. The clear is deep, the masking sharp, and the result great.

Cheers,

RG

Looks great! Good job.

There is a lot on your site, so it may take a while to get to...

Nice job on the frame. :) I've been toying with the idea of getting a Dedacciai carbon kit from Joe Bringheli but I just can justify the expense right now.

How much are we talking about for the kit?

Ok, so I'm being a little facetious here. Kits (in my mind) have instructions, all the parts you need, maybe even illustrations. This has none of that. Also, I don't know your background/experience/setup - so some of the following may be redundant., but must be taken into consideration for costing.

The distributor (Joe Bringheli) is a good guy, and will give the builder some tips. Sometimes it possible to get direct answers from Italy via email. But, you need to do your research and know what you're doing, if you want to build one of these. What adhesives to use? How to prep the tubes for optimal bonding? You need some idea of what you want to do with the chain-stays (full length or trim, if trim how much) and how this affects the overall geometry. You're in charge of determining how/where to route your cables. Part of this is figuring out how your cables will pass around the BB - and what will direct them to do so? Assuming that they go underneath, what sort of tunnel will you put through the chain-stay yoke for the front derailer?

If you're still up for this, you'll need a jig of some sort so that everything holds in alignment until its set up. Depending on your imagination and ability to work with scrap, this could be cheap. I use my Bringheli jig - which, if you aren't familiar with it, is a nice low-cost jig that I use for building steel frames. Some pros use it, others are convinced that much more expensive jigs pay for themselves because they improve efficiency. But, even a Bringheli jig is a pretty expensive investment to make one carbon frame.

You also need a special, and relatively expensive, applicator for the adhesive. It does a very accurate job of mixing two-part epoxy - which is good. While fairly simple, its made in Switzerland, and I've rarely seen anything Swiss that was inexpensive. If someone knows of a good cheap alternative - I'm all ears.

Other than that, you don't need much in the way of special tools that aren't generally available in someone's basement or garage.

Joe can sell you the monocoque (Black Pearl) front triangle, or a lug and tube (DCS) front triangle. He has a 4-5 different rear triangles to choose from, and a similar number of forks. He can provide the rear dropouts, cable housing stops, and ergo stops (although I've found a different ergo stop that I like better).

So, depending on what you choose and how you tool up, your cost will vary. If you want to take this on yourself, you can find Joe's contact info at www.bringheli.com. He has a bit of a Sicilian accent - so listen carefully.

:eek: Am I allowed to make a plug here for myself? :eek:

I can build using either Deda's Black Pearl or DCS system. Featuring Deda's top of the line rear-triangle parts, and their top of the line fork (ful carbon including dropouts), and Cane Creek's IS-8 (their best) headset, and 1 color of paint (with exposed carbon panels, or without), I charge $2200. I'm insured (as a bicycle manufacturer) - which should always be a question that you ask a builder. And I can provide full build packages for those so inclined. Shipping is extra, as is custom paint. My painter can do most anything (we're going to do a White Sox logo'd bike, complete with uniform pinstripes for my son, all in paint).

Or, for about a grand I can provide you with a one-piece dedacciai frame for about a grand + paint + headset + fork. No customization (it's one piece). It weighs (depending on size) about 3 lbs.

Contact me via email if interested.

If I'm supposed to stay "commercial free", someone let me know and I'll repost this without the plug.
;)

How much are we talking about for the kit?

The kit costs about $580 last time I checked - last year. Of course, some sort of fixture is needed to hold things together in proper alignment while the glue is drying. You will also need a facing tool for an integrated headset - this is the deal breaker for me since the cutter is very expensive (about $300 I think).

Nessism,

Tell me where I can get the Black Pearl "kit" for $580.

Thx

Nessism,

Tell me where I can get the Black Pearl "kit" for $580.

Thx

I was refuring to the DCS Carbon kit sold by Joe Bringheli. http://bringheli.com/dcs.htm

The price is from a price sheet Joe Bringheli sent me last year.

Edit: Found this message from Joe posted on the Framebuilders list (message is kind of old now so prices may have gone up)

DEAR FRAMEBUILDERS
THE DEDACCIAI 03 SET IS BACK IN STOCK ANY COMBINATION OF 8 PC TUBE SET =
$50.00
DEDACCIAI CARBON SYSTEM ALSO IN STOCK
COMPLETE KIT $570.00.
ANY QUESTIONS CALL ME AT 440 887-0034.
www.bringheli.com
BEST REGARDS JOE BRINGHELI