Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - frame building?

i'm kind of thinking about building myself a frame. i don't know too much about it, but i like the idea, and i like making something that shows a lot of work and care...

basically, i was wondering what kind of cash one should expect to drop when going into something like this. if anyone has any quality links, those would be appreciated, too.

i'm posting in this forum because so far i like you people. hope thats okay.

Not that I know ANYTHING about frame building, but it seems like you'd shell out a whole lot of cash for tools and such to only be building one bike.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=22681&item=3693112157&rd=1

columbus frame tube kit... could help you get a kick start....

i'm actually doing the same thing. i've done tons of research so i'd be more than willing to swap info with you. first go with steel, not exotic steel like ox platinum unless you have lots of experience. brazing with lugs is an easy place to start. oxy acetylene torches are fairly easy to braze with. with the low heat used compared to tig, there is little or no distortion caused in the metal. this leads to a stronger frame because little or no bending is required to align it. i prefer silver brazing.lugs and tubes for my bike added up to $210.00. this doesn't include supplies, just raw materials. first check out henryjames.com. if you have the cash try the UBI institute. a friend of mine learned to tig weld titanium there and had an awesome time building his own road frame.i'll post more resources as soon as i can dig them up.

Unless you plan to have a career in frame building, I don't think spending $2500 for a welding class at UBI is the best idea. They're HELLA expensive. I'm in their pro repair program right now and was just recently looking at their welding classes. most are 1700, but a couple get as high as 2500 I think.

my dad has been a welder for about 30 years. maybe i should see if he could teach me enough to build a frame. hmm.......

yes the UBI class is expensive and that would be why i said IF you have the cash. brazing is quite easy and economical though. is also doesn't cost anything to check out their site.
http://www.bikeforest.com/CAD/bikeCAD.html autocad for bikes!
http://www.probikeshop.com/classicsteel.htm instructional on framebuilding
http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/racine/framebuilding.html chris root was very helpful to me and exchanged some e-mails answering my questions. great guy.
http://www.atnf.csiro.au/people/Suzy.Jackson/frame/beginning.html she built a sweet track bike, here it is....http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2004/jackson.htm

also check out ceeway.com and henryjames.com
henry james even has practice tube and lug sets to buy. if you a basic knowledge of brazing you should be able to build a frame. Suzy Jackson even has a link for a framebuilders forum that guys like Richard Sachs frequents. good luck and post a pictue of your new bike when it's done!

http://www.frameforum.net

Recommendation #1: Join the frame builders mailing list and sit back and read it for about a month before you even consider asking a question. You'll learn a lot this way. Then search the archives before you ask a question, because nearly all of the beginner questions have been asked many times before.
http://www.phred.org/mailman/listinfo/framebuilders

Recommendation #2: Check this site, this guy posts to the frame builders list and is an old timer who really knows his stuff.
http://www.classicsteel.net/

"I don't think spending $2500 for a welding class at UBI is the best idea."

unless, of course, you learned it in highschool (or OJT) for free...

Pegoretti over in Italy has a framebuilding class/tour that's a steal. You get a nice frame for next to nothing when you start adding up how much the trip would really cost minus the framebuilding and walking away with a bike...

Koffee

Is it sitll a steal with the cost of a plane ticket and lodging?

Unless you plan to have a career in frame building, I don't think spending $2500 for a welding class at UBI is the best idea. They're HELLA expensive. I'm in their pro repair program right now and was just recently looking at their welding classes. most are 1700, but a couple get as high as 2500 I think.

i think the material you use dictates the higher cost. i met some girl that was out here taking a course at barnetts and she was riding a ti frame she built at ubi. if you have the bling, 2500 isn't too shabby to get the skills to weld a frame, plus get a custom ti frame you built yourself. douglas or litespeed or merlin frames cost that, if not more... waaay more for merlins. to have one you built yourself would be priceless.

thanks a lot for all the links. this is a project that i'll probably undertake with my dad, since he has the tools, space, and more knowhow with welding than i do. really, i don't plan to have anything resembling a frame complete probably for a year or two, but thats the kind of project this is. when its done, i'll have something as beautiful, practical, and dang near indestructible, so it seems worth it.

Good luck!

Is it sitll a steal with the cost of a plane ticket and lodging?

It doesn't include the cost of the plane, but it does include pick up and drop off from the airport, your meals, the bike frame, the hotel, the rides into the Dolomites, the lectures from Gianni and Dario on frame building, snacks, van support during the rides, and probably... beer. Cause Dario really loves beer. :beer:

It's like 3000 euro, but for that price, it's definitely like getting the trip for next to nothing, except paying for the flight, and a few hundred bucks to cover "incidentals". I wouldn't mind doing it next summer. We'll see, though.

Koffee

Is it sitll a steal with the cost of a plane ticket and lodging?

I think it's a steel...