44 Bikes Frame Shop

[sean Buick 76]

WOW, I spent a few hours going through your thread and found it VERY impressive!

I really admire the dedication you are putting into these custom bikes!

I used to have a factory sponsorship with GT bikes and I got to help with the R&D which was a lot of fun!

If you are interested in talking to me about some ideas I have then send me a Private Messgage.

Here is the type of riding I am into:

 

[rixtrix1]

(Quote) MSC is where I typically source all of my holesaws. I spend a little extra on the Starrett's which seem to have the finest teeth. There are other brands, and there is one which has much finer, but they're on the expensive side. I've found the Starrett's have the best balance of all worlds. Just my .02 on that.

Thanks, Kris. I'll give them a look see.

 

[fortyfour]

(Quote) MSC is where I typically source all of my holesaws. I spend a little extra on the Starrett's which seem to have the finest teeth. There are other brands, and there is one which has much finer, but they're on the expensive side. I've found the Starrett's have the best balance of all worlds. Just my .02 on that.

Thanks, Kris. I'll give them a look see.

Just know that the smaller sizes like 5/8, 3/4 etc take a smaller arbor. The 1 1/4" on up take a larger arbor. I forget exactly where the break is in the arbor size. It may be somewhere in the 1" to 1 1/8"? There's some nice 3/4" arbor's that Paragon Machine Works makes that fit into R8 collets on a vertical mill like a Bridgeport. Link to PMW's arbor's here.

Also note that there are two different teeth profiles. The slightly more expensive ones are the ones you want (6TPI). The slightly less expensive ones actually use a varied tooth count with groups of small teeth interrupted by a larger tooth and so on. You can see the tooth profile in the upper right hand corner of this pic below:



Some of my colleagues in the frame building world also use Lenox and like them a lot too. With proper feeds/speeds, you can get a lot of miles out of one hole saw. I typically switch them out once per year most times unless I have one missing teeth or one just blows up without reason which happens occasionally.

Also: Here's the beast that Shimano commissioned me to make for the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Charlotte, NC. Quite the honor and this ones been burning a hole in my hat as it's been done for months... It's been around the net but don't think I posted it up here. Just another example of all the different kinds of bicycles I build. Paint was done by Jay at Circle A Cycles in Providence, RI.

 

[crawler07]

WOW!!!! Work of art for sure!!!!!!
Its always hard to keep something like that under your hat!

 

[rixtrix1]

Thanks for the heads-up. I already have both arbor sizes, but most of the notching I do is 1" and above and those take the large size.

 

[Tman]

See above but I'll add with any step you want as rigid a setup as humanly possible. The more mass the tooling has, the more it will soak up any vibration. The basic concept of working at the mill on any part is you want to use the mass of the head and the machine to your advantage. So you want the tool to be as close to the head and the workpiece as possible. Some situations you just can't avoid it, but you want to eliminate any possible means of vibration or chatter. Spindle feeds and speeds are critical especially on anything thin walled if you're doing a mitering operation (or coping I know some call it that). Hope that helps!

Thanks, I learned a ton in this paragraph alone. Explains a LOT!

 

[givemethewillys]

Wow, that bike is gorgeous, just like all of your work! I just realized that your shop is in NH, my parents live just a half hour away from you. This thread keeps coming to mind whenever I ponder a new frame for my singlespeed, now there is yet another reason to order a 44bikes frame when the time comes

 

[fortyfour]

So here's another one out the door. Actually shipped 3 bikes so far this week. Working on a 650b that's headed to Britain now. These two went to Alberta and Scotland. The black and cream one is paint by Jay Nutini at Circle A Cycles. Someone mentioned it reminded them of a '55 Chevy. I have to agree with them. Turned out pretty cool. The Hub is a Rohloff Speedhub 500/14 which is a 14speed internally geared hub. A LOT going on in this one. Enjoy...


Let's get in close by 44 Bikes, on Flickr


Victor's 29+ Creamy Hotness by 44 Bikes, on Flickr


Victor's 29+ Creamy Hotness by 44 Bikes, on Flickr


The business end of the THANG... by 44 Bikes, on Flickr


Rohloff-ery by 44 Bikes, on Flickr


Cream & Black 29+ Trail Slayer... by 44 Bikes, on Flickr

Frameset to Scotland. This will be built and ridden in the Highland Trail 550. It's a 550 mile solo unassisted bike packing race. Yes. 550 miles of Scottish highland...


Jon's 29+ : Rear by 44 Bikes, on Flickr


Jon's 29+ : Curvy by 44 Bikes, on Flickr


Jon's 29+ : Front by 44 Bikes, on Flickr


Jon's 29+ : TNT by 44 Bikes, on Flickr

It will kind of look like this one only all black with a slightly different build kit...


29+ Mode by 44 Bikes, on Flickr


29+ Mode by 44 Bikes, on Flickr

 

[AussieDan]

Love the rohloff setup! I would have chosen different forks but it makes for a really clean-looking rig.

 

[sean Buick 76]

I like the way you leave room for wide tires! Very cool!!!

 

[fortyfour]

Love the rohloff setup! I would have chosen different forks but it makes for a really clean-looking rig.

I agree with you on the Segmented fork vs Unicrown. Personally, I would have gone unicrown myself, but the client really wanted that look of the segmented to add an additional layer to the "throwback" look. So it goes. It turned out nicely however.

Back in the saddle this week!

 

[crawler07]

The black one just looks plain sinister.

 

[fortyfour]

Few shots from a recent build I'm finishing now :

 

[wannabridin]

Found some fun things recently, looks like you should expand your market!!

Trials road biker:

Full suspension fat tire: http://salsacycles.com/culture/introducing_bucksaw

Fat tire trike: http://riderungu.com/juggernaut/

 

[AussieDan]

That video is awesome, I'm a huge Danny MacAskill fan!

The Bucksaw is pretty slick. Not sure I "get" the Juggernaut, I could get behind a recumbent tadpole fat tire trike though.

 

[fortyfour]

Been a while, but here's the most recent build that's headed to Japan of all places. Seems that the list has gone international with the previous handful of bikes headed out the shop doors. Scotland, England, Canada, and the next one is back in England. There's one coming up that's headed to Finland in there too. Then it appears the list heads to the midwest in the good ol'USA for a while. It's been really great to meet and speak with all the clients along the way, learn more about them and share in the mutual passion of cycling.

This ones a straight up huntsman build. Will be able to run a 2x10 / 2x11 setup or go 1x. Internally routed rear brake (disc brakes on this one), 44mm head tube to take an ENVE CX carbon fork, flat black with gloss decals... The works.

 

[Arps]

wow!

 

[picshooter]

Kristofer,

You have been so busy welding up frames I was wondering about the progress of your shop itself? Are you done, or just so busy building, shop improvements have been put on hold?
I am happy that your business has taken off, and hope to visit someday.

 

[MonoxieChild]

Who does your photography? I come to this thread often for the beautiful pic's just as much as the weld ****.

 

[Rusty Mac]

Hi Kris,

As always the frames look absolutely stunning. I'll second the questions re- the frame shop. Any plans or progress with flooring etc? or has business just gone mad for frames and design work?

 

[Azz_vt]

I think this May just be my favourite shop on this site, so much character and producing such a high quality product. It really is a credit to you.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[N0tt0N]

Page 44 of 44 Bikes. All Hail 44 Bikes!

Thanks for the show.

 

[Boosted1]

Very impressive work. Congrats on the Shimano job. Speaks volumes of your work.

 

[ed_v]

I spent last night and this morning re-reading all 44 pages of this thread. I love all of it! The shop, the bikes, the fab work, the photography. Thanks Kris for sharing it all. You are a very talented guy.

I have a question and I apologize if it was mentioned, but in some of the photos where you are welding with the frame in the jig there seems to be some air lines running into those heat sinks that you made for the tubing. Can you explain how that set-up works?

Also, Do you see your self doing any full suspension or aluminum frame builds?

Thanks,
Ed

 

[Zeke]

ed_v, he is using argon purging of the tubing and backside of the welds. Complete isolation from O2 makes for those welds.

 

[irritant]

Kris,

I have enjoyed looking through the evolution of your workshop and your product.

Thank you.

1. How do you polish the mill scale off your tubes before welding?

2. How do you point your tungsten?

 

[fortyfour]

Kristofer,

You have been so busy welding up frames I was wondering about the progress of your shop itself? Are you done, or just so busy building, shop improvements have been put on hold?
I am happy that your business has taken off, and hope to visit someday.

The original plan was to be able to build bicycles and build out the frame shop so that I can do that. I achieved that over arching goal and have been busy building away. I have a short list of what needs to be finished. Once things have picked up, now it's just finding time and being able to afford the last few updates. I have a few small projects I'd like to do this summer which are a supply rack for tubing which will be above the back doors, a way to organize my tooling so it's off the floor and finalize a shelving system behind the bridgeport which is also part of the tooling organizational plan. Also finish painting the walls.

Right now I've shifted my efforts to our house so I'll be building a deck out the front and continuing the repairs and staining the whole house. We've been doing a side a year basically. There's just a lot years of compiled neglect from previous owners. Nothing major, but there's some rot in places. We're also finishing up our screened in porch (pre-existing) which needed some love and shifting a door from one side to the other so it faces the deck with easier access to the grill both during the summer but also easier to access during the winter

First up though is definitely the rack to hold steel tubing. It's in tubes in the back and will be nice to get it up and in the shop proper and not be scattered about.

 

[fortyfour]

Who does your photography? I come to this thread often for the beautiful pic's just as much as the weld ****.

I do actually. I make it part of my process and send out many more photos to the clients via a dropbox account that they join and I upload daily with progress shots. What you see online via flickr or here is probably 1/3 of the shots I take...

 

[fortyfour]

I spent last night and this morning re-reading all 44 pages of this thread. I love all of it! The shop, the bikes, the fab work, the photography. Thanks Kris for sharing it all. You are a very talented guy.

I have a question and I apologize if it was mentioned, but in some of the photos where you are welding with the frame in the jig there seems to be some air lines running into those heat sinks that you made for the tubing. Can you explain how that set-up works?

Also, Do you see your self doing any full suspension or aluminum frame builds?

Thanks,
Ed

As Zeke mentions, this is argon back purging. A necessity with Stainless alloys and especially Titanium. Oxygen is a contaminant to these two materials so you need to "purge" the oxygen from both the inside and the outside of the tubes / weld site. The TIG torch provides for the purge on the outside at the weld site, and the lines/purge fittings do the trick for the inside.

Argon is heavier than oxygen. So you need to always have your weld site be the lowest point to ensure a proper purge. There's some other tricks regarding where the purge is being fed from in relation to the weld too.

With steel, back purging isn't a necessity. However, it does heighten the integrity of the backside of the weld tremendously and completely eliminates any sugaring. The insides of my tubes are quite smooth. In places like the bottom bracket, the head tube and seat tube I need to ream these post weld to a certain spec. When purged, the insides are nice and clean and this improves tool life as well as making the job relatively painless. Welding steel by itself, I picked up some habits mostly in how I position the welds and frame that are not necessarily ideal when welding Titanium. So in prep for working with Ti, I've just adapted the same working principles I would need for Titanium with my work in steel. This way, I can "re-teach" myself good habits that sync up well with Titanium as it is a finicky material.

That's one reason I'm back purging my steel frames but the above additional reasons just improve weld integrity, make the job of reaming/facing/chasing easier and improves my tools life span that do those jobs. Just the head tube reamer assembly (Park Tool Part#690 and #788) for a 44mm head tube together are about $350.00. Not a tool you want to drop on the floor or have to go through excessive sugaring if you can help it. They can be resharpened but I want them to be as sharp as possible for as long as possible. That and a little extra piece of mind for the weld integrity too!

Actually, just inside the bottom bracket you can see the inside surface where the chainstays meet the bottom bracket. Nice, clean and shiny:

 

[fortyfour]

Kris,

I have enjoyed looking through the evolution of your workshop and your product.

Thank you.

1. How do you polish the mill scale off your tubes before welding?

2. How do you point your tungsten?

1. I keep the mill scale on the tube while bending. It acts much like a lubricant I have found. Clean and debur the miter, polish the inside of the tube at the miter site with a tool I made that I insert some emory cloth into, then wrap around so it makes a cylinder of desired diameter. Chuck that up in a drill and go to town on the inside of the tube - works much like a flap wheel. I take a long piece of emory, tear it to length and with a particulate mask on, I clean by hand. Goes pretty quick.

2. Chuck tungsten into drill. Grind on face of diamond grinding wheel. Perfect point every time.

Tip: I actually grind both sides of my tungsten. This way, I have a "two-fer". I also grind the tungsten's in half, sharpen both ends and use a medium length back cap. I get 2 tungstens out of 1 full length, the medium back cap is easier to manage between tight spots, and I have 4 ends sharpened from 1 full length tungsten that was cut in half and ground on all ends.

 

[ZAPPER68]

This thread is absolutely amazing...it's like learning a new language. The technical knowledge others have never ceases to amaze me!!

 

[GRN96WS6]

Those welds are amazing, is this your FT job?

 

[fortyfour]

Those welds are amazing, is this your FT job?

Yes, I build bicycles full time. I split the bicycle building with design (mostly graphic design within the bicycle industry) also. I have retained a small handful of clients when I started building bicycles. Part of this entire journey was to build bikes full time, and to spend a lot less time in front of a computer.

I love design work but when that is all you do, and you never, if ever see the finished product and what does see the light of day is about 10% of your total work, that gets (for lack of better words) discouraging. I felt like I was being held back in a way. Being able to fully realize a project from start to finish AND do the final product i.e. weld the damned bike together... then ride it? that's amazing! So much more fulfilling.

It is a struggle and there are plenty of challenges along the way, but I am lucky to call this my work:



This my "office":



This my "lab":



I feel as though I am at my best when one part of the day I'm busy with design, juggling clients questions and then it's off to the shop, torch in hand, making chips, building tooling and everything that goes with running a business. Heck right now I'm working on a website update which is beginning to look like this:

 

[GRN96WS6]

That's awesome

 

[Balor]

I enjoy both the "office" and the "lab" and looking forward too the new website. RNGR1

 

[irritant]

1. I keep the mill scale on the tube while bending. It acts much like a lubricant I have found. Clean and debur the miter, polish the inside of the tube at the miter site with a tool I made that I insert some emory cloth into, then wrap around so it makes a cylinder of desired diameter. Chuck that up in a drill and go to town on the inside of the tube - works much like a flap wheel. I take a long piece of emory, tear it to length and with a particulate mask on, I clean by hand. Goes pretty quick.

2. Chuck tungsten into drill. Grind on face of diamond grinding wheel. Perfect point every time.

Tip: I actually grind both sides of my tungsten. This way, I have a "two-fer". I also grind the tungsten's in half, sharpen both ends and use a medium length back cap. I get 2 tungstens out of 1 full length, the medium back cap is easier to manage between tight spots, and I have 4 ends sharpened from 1 full length tungsten that was cut in half and ground on all ends.

Oh, That all sounds familiar to me!

The drill works like a charm.



You posted a picture of where you had a burn on your leg. That was the first thing I noticed when I looked at the picture and knew exactly what it was.

with all the aluminum and 4130 I have welded, I was only smart enough to put a spare leather glove down to rest my gloved hand on. what is that thing you have on your torch hand?

I have many experiences where I watched my glove tips start to curl and burn because I was running a perfect bead and didn't want to move.

 

[malibu101]

And a little "upgrade" for my tool chest: My Grandpop's business name plate. I've got a bunch of these and they go on choice places to add that little extra something:

I just read through some pages of this thread. Just plain awesome!

Anyway, reason for this post is- I see you're in NH and your dads plaque in the above pic says Emmaus PA.
I only live a short distance from Emmaus. My dad used to work in Emmaus where they machined parts for EFM boilers.
It's a small world.

 

[Guster]

with all the aluminum and 4130 I have welded, I was only smart enough to put a spare leather glove down to rest my gloved hand on. what is that thing you have on your torch hand?

Called a glove saver or TIGFinger. Just a fibreglass(welding blanket) sock wrapped in a way to double up on one side and worn on ring or little finger of the torch hand to rest your hand on the work. Great for tube and frame work welding.

 

[fortyfour]

With all the aluminum and 4130 I have welded, I was only smart enough to put a spare leather glove down to rest my gloved hand on. what is that thing you have on your torch hand?

Like another mentioned, it is a "TIG Finger". They're a bit slippery in feel at first, but you adjust quickly. Wouldn't weld now without one personally. Love mine.

 

[fortyfour]

I just read through some pages of this thread. Just plain awesome!

Anyway, reason for this post is- I see you're in NH and your dads plaque in the above pic says Emmaus PA.
I only live a short distance from Emmaus. My dad used to work in Emmaus where they machined parts for EFM boilers.
It's a small world.

I'm originally from PA, just outside of Emmaus from a small town named East Greenville. Good riding in Emmaus on South Mtn. Great little shop down town name South Mountain Cycles. Usually swing in there for a hot cup of coffee after a ride when visiting my parents. The plaque is from my Grandfathers business "Superior Welding". They specialized in tanks and vessels apparently. But when we were cleaning out my grandmothers home when she passed, we came on a few boxes relating to the welding business which had lots of old product catalogs (which I love) and blue prints from jobs he had done. There were a bundle that were from the late 40's early 50's marked "War Department - Top Secret". So he must have been subcontracted to do military work as well.

But before going back to school, I had been working for Rodale Press at Bicycling Magazine for a short while helping out the graphic designer as an Intern. One of the best "jobs" i've ever had. Work on graphic design and help out with photoshoots of bicycles, then head out for a ride over lunch, come back finish up and all head back out for another ride when the day is done...