Author Topic: Is it possible to customize frame geometry?  (Read 1212 times)

braincore

Is it possible to customize frame geometry?
« on: June 08, 2022, 03:15:54 AM »
I was daydreaming about building an e-bike. I see there are some off-the-shelf frames available, but there are some modifications I'd like to make. Has anyone ever requested a change in geometry? Or even more radical, submitted a custom design to be fabricated as a one-off?



Velovelo

Re: Is it possible to customize frame geometry?
« Reply #1 on: June 08, 2022, 08:15:11 AM »
I was daydreaming about building an e-bike. I see there are some off-the-shelf frames available, but there are some modifications I'd like to make. Has anyone ever requested a change in geometry? Or even more radical, submitted a custom design to be fabricated as a one-off?

Within this forum a few of us who own the 099 frameset requested and contributed for a zero setback proprietary 099 seatpost and velobuild opened a new mold for that. We paid for the new mold to be made and also paid some more for the actual manufacturing of the seat post (was a fair deal in my opinion. Many thanks to @RDY for organizing).
I think it is possible to make modifications to existing frames etc. They'll need to make a new mold for your modifications. As a one-off it is going to be pretty expensive though.
For example the 099 seatpost mold alone cost $500 to make. Chris said we could contribute $350 from a few of us in the forum. This was besides the actual cost of manufacturing the seatpost.

TanTanCycling or yishunbike may offer the kind of service you are looking for. Most of these companies will require a certain minimum order quantity before they'll consider the project.




FHS

Re: Is it possible to customize frame geometry?
« Reply #2 on: June 08, 2022, 10:10:31 AM »
Seems to be a thing to do with titanium frames. I've seen a couple of pretty out there designs as far as geometry goes.

s3si1u

Re: Is it possible to customize frame geometry?
« Reply #3 on: June 08, 2022, 11:10:52 AM »
I don't think that's really possible without creating a new mold, but maybe I'm wrong? That's got to be prohibitively expensive. As had already been said, you can get custom titanium frames from companies like Waltly.
I know there's small brands offering custom geometry options for carbon bikes in the states, but those aren't going to be anywhere near open mold prices $$$$

braincore

Re: Is it possible to customize frame geometry?
« Reply #4 on: June 09, 2022, 01:30:06 PM »
Within this forum a few of us who own the 099 frameset requested and contributed for a zero setback proprietary 099 seatpost and velobuild opened a new mold for that. We paid for the new mold to be made and also paid some more for the actual manufacturing of the seat post (was a fair deal in my opinion. Many thanks to @RDY for organizing).
I think it is possible to make modifications to existing frames etc. They'll need to make a new mold for your modifications. As a one-off it is going to be pretty expensive though.
For example the 099 seatpost mold alone cost $500 to make. Chris said we could contribute $350 from a few of us in the forum. This was besides the actual cost of manufacturing the seatpost.

I missed when that went down. That's awesome. Do you know if VRB contracted it out or whether they did it in-house?

@FHS/@s3si1u: Thanks for the info/lead on titanium frames. I'll check them out.

Velovelo

Re: Is it possible to customize frame geometry?
« Reply #5 on: June 10, 2022, 01:56:12 AM »
I missed when that went down. That's awesome. Do you know if VRB contracted it out or whether they did it in-house?

@FHS/@s3si1u: Thanks for the info/lead on titanium frames. I'll check them out.

I'm not sure if VeloBuild did it in house. But since the 099 frameset style is sold by; VB(099), TanTanBikes(TT-X21), LTBikes (LTK268-D) etc... I'm still not sure who is the main manufacturer of the frameset. I assume all sellers of the 099 frameset style will benefit from the now available 099 zero setback seatpost.
You could use VB as your access to manufacturers to make your project. If they can't make it in-house they know how to outsource it for you. Based on my little experience VB communicates better with clients than the others.






St0mpB0x

Re: Is it possible to customize frame geometry?
« Reply #6 on: June 11, 2022, 02:53:03 AM »
It's totallly possible.

If you want it done by clamshell mold I'd guess you'd be looking at a 20k USD setup cost at an absolute minimum.
« Last Edit: June 11, 2022, 02:57:21 AM by St0mpB0x »