Custom Waltly Titanium 29er

[carbonazza]

@bxcc, your twin top tube design reminded me of actually wanting Waltly (thru Carbon Speed) to make a Ti version of the Commencal Acid (see photo). But Waltly's reply was they couldn't do it at that time, they would have to build a new mold (or something) and it would be very expensive. I wonder if it's doable now.

I don't see in the picture an opening for the belt.
Do you think it is a breakable belt, I've seen some picture once, but don't know if it as reliable as a regular belt.

[tripleDot]

I don't see in the picture an opening for the belt.
Do you think it is a breakable belt, I've seen some picture once, but don't know if it as reliable as a regular belt.

The Commencal Acid is not belt driven, the photo just wasn't of the best quality. I've personally seen the bike locally, iirc, it was a $300-350 fixed gear bike. Kind'a heavy for a fixed gear but I just loved the design.

[bxcc]

Build update: No news on the frame at this point. I did order the rims for it though from Elite Carbon Wheels. (I started a separate thread on those in the vendor section since it appears that no one here has used them yet.) I hope that their published ERD is relatively accurate as I ordered spokes as well. The spokes come from The Gear Rush Store on eBay and were $50.61 shipped for 64 DT Swiss Aerolite spokes. At that price, I'll take the risk.

Wheel details:
Rim: 29er asymmetric XC rim
        33mm outer
        27mm inner
        29mm depth
        350g advertised weight
        28 hole
        12k twill weave, matte finish

Hub: DT Swiss 350 classic
        Boost
        28h
        Centerlock rotor

Spokes: DT Swiss Aerolite
            288mm (I should be good with all one length)
            3 cross

Nipples: Sapim Double Square alloy

I'm hoping the full wheelset comes in around 1425g. Lighter would be better but that means the rims will have to be lighter which makes me a bit nervous.

[carbonazza]

The rims are very similar to the ones I plan to use on the FM936.
The AM927 of lightbicycle.
A bit less depth of 24mm.
And they offer a 10% lighter version than normal at ~360g

I do not build wheels anymore.
Getting the rim, saving a bit of shipping cost by ordering home the hubs, spokes and nipples cost the same. And I have still to build the wheels.

What I keep doing, is to check the tension is perfectly even on all spokes, by ear.
In general it is fine, but sometimes it needs a bit of tuning.

[bxcc]

Will you be ordering the complete wheels from Light Bicycle?

I’ve always had my LBS build the wheels for me. They give me great deals on parts so I try to give them things like wheel building and suspension servicing as it’s labor and pure income. With the deal I found on the spokes, the extra cost will only be the labor fees.

[carbonazza]

Will you be ordering the complete wheels from Light Bicycle?

I’ve always had my LBS build the wheels for me. They give me great deals on parts so I try to give them things like wheel building and suspension servicing as it’s labor and pure income. With the deal I found on the spokes, the extra cost will only be the labor fees.

Yes, I order full wheels now from LightBicycle, instead of building them, it saves me time.
And as I'm a kind of LBS, it has value to me 

Suspension servicing is still a missing skill for me, but I'll definitely address this soon.

[bxcc]

Waking up to an email stating that your frame is finished is ALWAYS a good way to start the day. I paid the second half of the invoice and it should be shipped out within a day or two. Let's see how the shipping goes with COVID slowing everything down. I've gotten really spoiled with Amazon 2 day shipping so this is going to be tough. 

[tripleDot]

Man! Those twin top tubes that formed the seatstays looks pretty awesome.   

[bxcc]

Thanks! I'm sure it added some weight but I wanted it to be a little different than most.

[tripleDot]

Just noticed, did you asked for an IS rear brake mount?

[bxcc]

Just noticed, did you asked for an IS rear brake mount?

I didn't ask, they just had that on the drawing. But it is what I wanted. I prefer the IS type in the rear as it eliminates the possibility of destroying the frame by cross-threading the mounting screws for the brake caliper. With the IS type, I can account for small variances in alignment if the frame or brake mount is perfect. I've never dealt with Waltly before so I was playing it safe.

[carbonazza]

Happy for you... There's something magical with this metal 
This is definitely what I'll use for my (after )next bike, probably a belt/gearbox adventure gravel machine.

Do you know what are the small holes in the chainstays/seatstays ?
Did they advise for the reinforcement between the top tubes and the seatube ? Or it's you ?

[bxcc]

Do you know what are the small holes in the chainstays/seatstays ?
Did they advise for the reinforcement between the top tubes and the seatube ? Or it's you ?

I believe they are vent holes. They could be closed up after all the welding is complete but I've seen a lot of metal frames that leave them open. When welding tubes that will have a full weld on both ends, the heat buildup from the weld has no place to go. So when you weld the last piece, the pressure builds up inside the tube and can blow out the last point of weld.

As for the top tube / seat tube reinforcement, I asked for it and the designer confirmed that they should be there. There's about 160mm of seat tube above the top tube. This will help disperse the load. Having the standard 4 inches (100mm) of seatpost insertion probably wouldn't end well with this frame even with the reinforcements. If all of my calculations are correct, the BikeYoke Divine SL that I plan to run should be a few millimeters below the top tubes.

[em_reeze]

Looks amazing! I have a frame coming from Waltly right after you I hope. I put the final drawing in on 7/6/2020 so we will see when it is finished.

[bxcc]

Looks amazing! I have a frame coming from Waltly right after you I hope. I put the final drawing in on 7/6/2020 so we will see when it is finished.

Thanks. I finalized my drawing on June 12th so it was a bit over the 35 day estimate.

I was charged for DHL shipping which I was told would take 4 to 5 days. I hope that's correct as I'm a bit excited to get it here. The rims still haven't shown up so no riding it for a bit.