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Gravity Dropper. They went of business, I’m guessing sometime in the last 10 years or so.

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Thanks!!

Haha! Good thing I’m tall…

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Thanks!

Thanks! It’s a Chrome Urban Ex handlebar bag. 👍👍

Thanks!

Thanks!!

Thanks! I’ve never been able to bring myself to let one of my frames rust. Maybe someday. From what I’ve read even the best clear coats don’t stop the rusting process. The closest I’ve come to a “natural” finish is cold bluing, but even then I oil it to keep it from rusting.

Yup, just really hot water. I get it boiling in an electric tea kettle then pour it over the fluxed areas.

Thanks! It’s likely not getting painted so I’m gonna try to get the fillets (mostly) presentable.

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Not many builders use inox steel (stainless steel). I use 4130 which is a common steel alloy (not inox) used for bikes because of its strength. 4130 will rust. You could use mild steel or high-tensile steel, but the wall thickness would need to be greater and the frame would be very heavy.

Thanks! It was quite a while ago, but I’m pretty sure I used a rectangle tube so that it would be easier to attach a kickstand. If I were to do it again, I’d drill a hole through the rectangle tube and just reinforce it at that spot. I’d also attach the rectangle tube offset toward the bottom of the BB shell. It would give a little more chain clearance for the yoke and get the kickstand mounting location lower to the ground. There might be better kickstand on the market now, but the Pletscher is still a good option.

Thanks!!

Thanks!!

I want that rack!😊

The front rack is an old RackTime rack. The rear rack is brazed to the frame, so that one might be tough to get. 😉

I’d love to be able to make my own frames . I own a couple of commercial built cargo bikes but I don’t have a beaver tail type yet , if I were to build one I’d borrow from the Kona Ute design.

👍👍 I’ve never heard the term “beaver tail” when it comes to cargo bikes. I like the Ute. My bike is pretty comparable to a plus tire version of it.

🤷‍♂️ And I’m starting to run low on cool bike t-shirts to wear in my videos. Gonna have to start repeating soon.

Thanks!

I'd add any piece of slack clothing, and hair !

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Well it’s not because of any kind of training! I did notice I set it down “blade up” while it’s still spinning, which probably isn’t the safest thing to do. I do try and think about what could go wrong when I’m doing this stuff (I was wearing a face shield).

Congrats on your 1st frame! Glad you found these helpful! 👍👍

Thanks!

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Thanks! 👍

Are you set on the type of cargo bike? Modifying an existing frame would be the way to go. A front cargo cycle truck would require less tooling (probably don’t even need a jig). Have you asked the frame building classes about adding a longtail to an existing frame? It would only require new stays and building the rack. I’m sure they’re hesitant because of the amount of work required to build a cargo bike from scratch.

@@ThriftyFramebuilder I’m probably just going to end up buying a ready made bike, length of time to source all the needed equipment and materials and to store them is becoming too overwhelming and the cost of a bike building class buys a pretty decent bike.

Yeah, if you aren’t wanting to do more than one frame, the investment isn’t worth it.

👍👍 Persistence is a virtue.

Thanks!!

🙏 The videos where I actually build the frame are even better (in my opinion).

Good point, I never thought about the heat sink aspect of using the table. No TIG for me, so I’ll just have to live with it.

Thanks! I’ll check it out.

@@ThriftyFramebuilder they also have a bunch of crank drawing with detailed specs! If you email them about cranks they don’t have on the doc they usually can hook it up with info too!

👍👍 I’ve seen the crank drawings. Never thought about emailing them about cranks that aren’t listed. Thanks!!

It does! The one thing is that I couldn’t find it in the same weight backing as the emery cloth. The cubitron is thicker so I had to turn down the mitering cylinder a millimeter or so to get it to the correct diameter.

Thanks!!

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Thanks! I'd recommend checking out Konga Bicycles: kongabicycles.com They aren't currently on his website, but I know he had plans for yokes at some point. Mine is similar, but his is a stronger, tougher yoke design that would fit with the Dartmoor Hornet type of frame better. My design would probably be too flexy.

Interesting. I’ve heard of people doing a TIG tack before brazing, but not copper. Wonder how much a difference it makes. That might also be the reason some people (Brodie) do a first pass with nickel silver.

@ThriftyFramebuilder I love nickel silver..it is strong and gives you a fillet..has a nice silvery appearance, and it is stronger than low fumming bronze..Bernzomatic NS3 is a great rod or you may check out a company called Gasflux ..both are a great option..as far as copper I have used the ground wire from a Romex cable..

I don’t do TIG. Go check out the Pithy Bikes or Paul Brodie channels, they both have good TIG videos.

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Thanks!

👍👍 I’ve used acetone in the past as well as mineral spirits, but I recently started using isopropyl alcohol just for the fact that it seems less toxic/hazardous. I’ve heard people talk about developing an acetone sensitivity from repeated exposure.

@@ThriftyFramebuilder I wasn't aware of acetone being toxic - that's good to know.

Almost everything is toxic in the right amount. 🍺🍺🍺 You also have to consider how you are exposed. Isopropyl is very toxic if you drink it, a few hundred milliliters will likely kill you. But at the same time, I’m not really concerned about holding a rag damp with isopropyl. I think the acetone thing is more like a developed allergy.

I wish I could, but I can’t afford to build frames and sell them.

Absolutely! I used the free version for my first few frames. Go check out their website. While it isn’t cheap, if you are building frames the Pro (pay) version is definitely a worthwhile investment.

czcams.com/video/XemlmN-CWmM/video.htmlsi=SdjfnrRZt-AwQITq

I’ve used Fusion 360, and unless you are already good with CAD, using BikeCAD will be significantly easier.

Thanks!

Maybe on a lugged frame, but not on a fillet brazed frame.

@@ThriftyFramebuilder You think the bottom bracket is somehow less stressed on a fillet brazed frame? Sleeve the top, put the thick wall at the bottom where it belongs.

No, but the extra thickness is more important at the ST cluster than the BB cluster. And the thicker wall belongs on the top for this tube. The ID of the thick end of the tube is butted to fit a seatpost. From the product description for this seat tube: “This is a 35mm OD seat tube butted for a 31.6 seat post. 35MM X 1.6/.9 X 600 The ID is undersized to allow for post weld/braze reaming. ID is 31.6-31.5”. The “thin” end of this tube is 0.9mm which is the same wall thickness as the butted ends of the DT and TT, and other than extreme cases, is plenty thick for the BB cluster.

@@ThriftyFramebuilder OK, my mistake - things have changed in the thirty years since I worked in a frame building shop. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

No worries! From what I understand (from watching Paul Brodie), seat tubes that are butted at the top so you don't need a sleeve didn't come around until sometime in the 90's. I'm guessing even then they weren't common at first. If I was using a thinner single butted tube (0.9/0.6), I would be doing exactly what you mentioned... put the thick end at the BB and a sleeve at the ST cluster. Thanks for the discussion and thanks for watching!

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