Originally Posted by
kooby
I'm an am amateur to framebuilding (but learning fast!), currently riding my first carbon frame, building my second, and designing my third.
I'm wondering if there are any other, more experienced carbon frame builders on this forum willing to share some information and experience. I'm especially curious about preferences when it comes to bottom brackets, dropouts, and bottle bosses, as well as monocoque vs bonded tube constructions.
kooby, nice frame work! You will want to get in contact with Tim Massengill. I'll send you his contact information by PM. He is also an amateur carbon framebuilder and painter in Texas. He has been doing that for a long time. He learned steel framebuilding from me when he was nearby in college and graduate school many years ago. He has been involved with our Ukraine charity bicycle project for over 20 years. Between 2001 and 2008 we used to do these week long bike rides somewhere in the boonies of Ukraine. He went to the bicycle show in Kieice, Poland in 2016. He spent 3 months in Bucha, Ukraine in 2018 making some of our steel fillet brazed frames. Twice he has repaired and repainted our former president George W. Bush's Trek carbon frames. He has designed and made a take apart carbon travel bike too. I think Tim has done some 3D printing as well. I'm sure you two have some things in common you will want to discuss. If any of us can get back into Ukraine to continue working on our bicycle project, we will probably have to fly into Poland and drive to Ukraine. Because of the Russian invasion (which started at the airport a stone's throw from our workshop in Bucha), we have focused this year on general humanitarian aid including getting generators and wood burning stoves to some of the areas hardest hit by the Russians. The Ukrainian company that makes my laser cut stainless steel fixtures is also the one making the heaters. The Russians did break into and steal general tools in our workshop but left all the fixtures fortunately.