Why are there no fiberglass bicycles?
04-06-13, 11:32 AM
#26
Other Worldly Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: The old Northwest Coast.
Posts: 1,540
Bikes: 1973 Motobecane Grand Jubilee, 1981 Centurion Super LeMans, 2010 Gary Fisher Wahoo, 2003 Colnago Dream Lux, 2014 Giant Defy 1, 2015 Framed Bikes Minnesota 3.0, several older family Treks
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As the owner of a 35 year old Kevlar decked touring canoe....(also has glass mat, rove here and there & balsa floor )...you wouldn't like the spider web cracking on the gel coat, various nicks and cracks. Kevlar or glass is tough, great for canoes and kayaks...but when it gets hit with sharp objects, it cracks. A CF canoe would be $$$ and still suffer. I don't think FG would be near as strong in a bike frame and...it's heavy and to get the stiffness, it be more heavy. While owning a CF roadie is a dream, my experience with my canoe makes me think twice because bikes always get bumped. Of course frames are made of bamboo now so I could be full of BS. Monocoque construction might solve that. Come to think of it ...there's no reason why you couldn't build a monocoque frame (or bigger frame members) using wood epoxy saturation with various inserts. I'm waiting for that 3D printed frame built of carbon reinforced plastic.
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04-07-13, 01:46 PM
#27
Senior Member
Seasons Greetings from the Fiberglass Shark Bicycle:
Hey, the thing is, Fiberglass can take the place of Welding for many applications. This bike is a No-Weld project. The Seat is all Fiberglass, the front Boom is Fiberglassed to the Head-Tube. The boom is strong enough to carry a Bottom Bracket if I ever convert this bike to a Short Wheelbase Recumbent. The actual Fairing, is , surprisingly, NOT Fiberglass, being a Case from an old Apple iMac Computer, it is injection molded plastic.
The Flag Poles ARE Fiberglass. This picture was taken at Holiday time, so there were LED Lights strung to the Flag Poles.
ALL the lights are lit, so you can tell what day it is...
A daytime photo, before the Flag Poles were added. I am thinking of removing the Fairing, and replacing it with something else, due to vibration issues. (iMac case is held down by bailing-wire). Or maybe Re-inforcing the bottom of the iMac with Fiberglass, and re-mount it with Bolts. The bike has a fine platform and can carry a passenger on the platform, without the fairing.
Bottom View, I never showed you before. The Fiberglass Two-by-Four is Lashed to the Head-Tube, but the Glass Fibers are Embedded in Resin, so you can't see the Lashing.
The Girl based the design of the Fairing on the Roof Spoiler of an Eighteen Wheeler.
But her Trailer said "PORK-The Other White Meat".
I insisted on letting a Female design the Ladies Bike, no matter how many Men wanted the job.
Hey, the thing is, Fiberglass can take the place of Welding for many applications. This bike is a No-Weld project. The Seat is all Fiberglass, the front Boom is Fiberglassed to the Head-Tube. The boom is strong enough to carry a Bottom Bracket if I ever convert this bike to a Short Wheelbase Recumbent. The actual Fairing, is , surprisingly, NOT Fiberglass, being a Case from an old Apple iMac Computer, it is injection molded plastic.
The Flag Poles ARE Fiberglass. This picture was taken at Holiday time, so there were LED Lights strung to the Flag Poles.
ALL the lights are lit, so you can tell what day it is...
A daytime photo, before the Flag Poles were added. I am thinking of removing the Fairing, and replacing it with something else, due to vibration issues. (iMac case is held down by bailing-wire). Or maybe Re-inforcing the bottom of the iMac with Fiberglass, and re-mount it with Bolts. The bike has a fine platform and can carry a passenger on the platform, without the fairing.
Bottom View, I never showed you before. The Fiberglass Two-by-Four is Lashed to the Head-Tube, but the Glass Fibers are Embedded in Resin, so you can't see the Lashing.
The Girl based the design of the Fairing on the Roof Spoiler of an Eighteen Wheeler.
But her Trailer said "PORK-The Other White Meat".
I insisted on letting a Female design the Ladies Bike, no matter how many Men wanted the job.
