Carbon Fiber Fun

Bentas

Bentas

Well-Known Member
I had advertised for nearly 6 mths to try and get a used /damaged carbon frame at the right price, no joy so decided to use alu instead.
The only carbon I have used is the new boom as shown in an earlier post in this thread.
Have been able to shave 2 kilos off the Ol girl. (Not my wife ) now weighs in at a smidge over 10 kilos on the digital bathroom scales not totally accurate I know.
Cut the much lighter alu BB and chain stays out of existing frame and cut and lugged them into existing front triangle,
raising the BB by around 100mm
Used a set of alu stays off an old trek road frame to replace old BB assembly that used to hang under the seat, now up front.
Replaced the heavy steel forks with some homebuilt aluminium forks
Have laid the seat down a few degrees
Really happy with results so far ,the bike feels way different, I find riding no hands way easier and seem to be generating more power with the higher BB and lower seat
Really noticing front end weight difference even when transporting
I really do have to get around to painting this winter. Sorry about the grainy pics
 

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Rick Youngblood

Rick Youngblood

CarbonCraft Master
Getting close to completing the CF TailBox. I'm 85-90% completed, still have a bunch of details I want to work out, but did take it out for a short spin today - For Larry, I noticed a .00638724 MPH increase in my overall lap speed. I can't say how pleased I am with how it's turned out so far.

Anyway, here is a sneak peak before final completing.

CF-TailBox1.jpg
 
RojoRacing

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
Rick Youngblood said:
Thanks Jason appreciate the kind words. Any news when your Thor will be in?
Click to expand...
I texted you a pic of it yesterday still in it's packaging because I never had time to open it. It looks very nice but seems like it's going to end up about the same height around my neck as the other one but we'll have to wait and see after it's on the bike.

But seriously that box is beyond anything I would have expected from a hobbyist just learning his way through the processes or carbon layup. Your going to have to make me one as well or better yet set aside a weekend and I'll head up there and you can show me how to make my own ;)
 
ratz

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Well next we need to crowd fund Rick a power meter and teach him how to do Chung AeroLab tests; then he can not only design a box that's pretty but also one that makes the bike faster. My guess is that rev 2 was more egg shaped on the trailing edge the drag would be less. But my jaw remains on the floor with the function and esthetic look of the result. Well done Rick.
 
Rick Youngblood

Rick Youngblood

CarbonCraft Master
Thanks guys really appreciate the comments.
ratz said:
My guess is that rev 2 was more egg shaped on the trailing edge the drag would be less.
Click to expand...
That would be nice! As I mentioned early on, it's all about the mold. But that just might be possible if I could get a hold of a medium sized dino-egg to use as a mold :p:p.
 
ratz

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Rick Youngblood said:
Thanks guys really appreciate the comments.

That would be nice! As I mentioned early on, it's all about the mold. But that just might be possible if I could get a hold of a medium sized dino-egg to use as a mold :p:p.
Click to expand...

Careful we all know someone that built a foam mold for a complete aero shell for his old'e yeller......
 
Robert O

Robert O

Well-Known Member
Rick Youngblood said:
Getting close to completing the CF TailBox. I'm 85-90% completed, still have a bunch of details I want to work out, but did take it out for a short spin today - For Larry, I noticed a .00638724 MPH increase in my overall lap speed. I can't say how pleased I am with how it's turned out so far.

Anyway, here is a sneak peak before final completing.

View attachment 2459
Click to expand...
From an aero standpoint, you might get smoother airstream recombination if the back of the box narrowed to a point, with no more than 15 degrees worth of taper. More practical alternative would be a sub 15 degree taper, but with the narrow end of the box truncated to a flat plate normal to your direction of travel. Man, does that look professional, Rick!
 
super slim

super slim

Zen MBB Master
Robert O said:
From an aero standpoint, you might get smoother airstream recombination if the back of the box narrowed to a point, with no more than 15 degrees worth of taper. More practical alternative would be a sub 15 degree taper, but with the narrow end of the box truncated to a flat plate normal to your direction of travel. Man, does that look professional, Rick!
Click to expand...

I think, that this shape would still improve the air recombining after the seat. The bag is not as wide as the shoulders, so there will be some turbulence, but much better than no bag.

Unless you go for a full on perfectly molded to the body tail, then the improvements will be minimaldscn5968small.jpg , but
a VERY good looking and practical CF seat bag.


kouign-amann-pointe1.jpg
 
Rick Youngblood

Rick Youngblood

CarbonCraft Master
Robert Holler said:
What is the weight of that box?
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Robert, sorry I did not get the weight before mounting it up :oops: (I meant to, because that's always SS's question :D), next time I unbolt it from the back of the seat I will check. I used 5 layers on the outer surround and bottom, it's repetitively thin above 1mm, and 8 on the top under 3mm. However, the surround and bottom is fairly light. Going with 3 layers and built-it structural support with vacuuming bagging it could go much lighter. The front of the box is the back of the seat, which saves weight also and helps with structure.
 
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