44 Bikes Frame Shop

[Sunbimmer]

I'm not into bikes at all but these are things of art you are making over there.
Fantastic work, always following your updates with great interest.
Very jealous of your craftsmanship

 

[doubledeez]

Had to go back and read through a lot of the pages, so good. The bike you did for John Watson looks like a whole lot of fun!

 

[fortyfour]

Digging the progression. It must be huge to have a couple bikes getting coverage on The Radavist... I follow their insta. Anyways, ti bike is looking good. Heck, they're all looking good.

I asked once a while back, but I'll ask again...with more of a backstory.

I live on a farm. Typically I ride everyday, pulling my daughter in a Weehoo trailer (awesome, btw) around our fields on the dirt roads. We have pretty tacky clay loam here. It ***** in the winter rainy season, cause I want to ride since its cool out, but sometimes the dirt isn't ready for like a week since it turns into peanut butter after it rains. And there's no gravel on the majority of the roads here on the farm. Do you think a fatbike would handle the mud better? Or would it just load up with mud like a normal mtn bike? I don't really care about ruts since I can just level the roads back out with the tractor when it dries up.

That's tough to say. If it's just your property, a fat bike might be the perfect "mud hog" but then again, if the soil is higher clay content and is sticky, that just means the bigger tires will cake up with more mud. I know here there's about 2-3 weeks when you just can't go out on the trails when the snow finally melts. The trails physically need to dry out because of how much or how little snow we had. Less snow early on means that mud will be worse since the ground will freeze further down. Snow acts like an insulator so if you get a lot of snow early on with cold temps, the frost line isn't as deep and mud season isn't as bad. But the longer it takes to snow when we've been having cold temps up here... and then you're dealing with more mud in the spring. The trails have to kind of "settle" as well as dry out due to how deep the frost line is/was.

A better attack plan for spring might be to invest in mud tires. Some tire profiles are meant to deal with mud (DH specific stuff). So the tread pattern is much more open and the lugs of the tread are much deeper so it doesn't have as much surface area to adhere.

Some food for thought!

 

[fergus]

Ah, hadn't considered mud tires. I'll look into it. Thanks.

 

[atxgsa]

And here's 44HQ. A bit more weathered and a bunch still left to do. Or rather I have lots of plans left unhatched. Just need to find some time to hatch them:

[/QUOTE]


In moving to Knoxville, TN here in the next month I am desperately trying to find a house that has an old barn / garage off the back side just like this..... Just such a cool space you have created by saving the "woodshed". Just had to say incredible job and thank you for all of the ideas. Now if I could just get one of your builds past the CFO...... I don't she will go for it just yet...

 

[IslandBikeCo]

great shop and I especially like what goes on in there. One question - when does one make the leap from buying "off the rack" to custom?

 

[sean Buick 76]

Very nice work on these bikes! I grew up on vancouver island and was factory sponsored by GT and I REALLY enjoyed the titanium frames, so strong, light, and they took up a lot of vibrations.

 

[fortyfour]

great shop and I especially like what goes on in there. One question - when does one make the leap from buying "off the rack" to custom?

Thanks for the kind words.

What I've noted about the clients I have had is that they basically fall into 3 categories.

1. Lifelong cyclists who have owned 15+ bikes in their lifetime. Maybe their current bike has some compromises or maybe 2 of their bikes do a few things well but there are no stock options that incorporate all that they want. They want to support a local builder in the niche and they want to know who and where their bicycle is produced. This is kind of their dream bike and/or that bike that they've been thinking about for a LONG time.

2. Cyclists who have are relatively new to cycling (say 3-5 years) but have quickly realized they want something special now that they've been riding their current bike for some time and perhaps have seen potential in other builds. They've had enough time to realize that perhaps there's some short comings in their current bike and they want to push their abilities. They want to support a local builder in the niche and they want to know who and where their bicycle is produced.

3. This is probably the smallest group: They have a true fit issue where stock bikes are just not working for them and they have to make a lot of compromises to make their bike work for them. They may be lifelong cyclists or new to the sport too. They're very enthusiastic just like the other two above.

Now based on that, you can probably start to pull some idea of when that jumping-off point occurs for some riders. Some that's pretty much all they have owned where as another portion this is all new to them. Whatever category the client does fall in to though, it's my job to do a lot of listening, ask a bunch of questions and decipher what it is they want and translate that into what they need. It's a process but I feel as though I'm doing good work because I'm helping people reach new goals and deliver exactly what it is they were looking for in a bicycle.

 

[Jim Johnstone]

When I bought a custom bike, I had been working in a bike store as a mechanic and bought a used road bike to see if I liked road riding. I loved it and started looking at all the new road bikes in the store, I couldn't find what I wanted in terms of part spec, colour etc. My boss suggested a custom build, where I could spec the exact colours, parts group and even made a slight tweak to the geometry. Bike fits me like a dream and looks good to boot.

 

[rixtrix1]

Great looking welds on those Ti frames. I, too, enjoy seeing your methodology when fixturing, assembling and welding.

 

[fortyfour]

Not sure how to embed video's here or if it's allowed (can't seem to decipher if/where you can) but here's a short video over on Vimeo of me welding. Was fiddling with the settings on my camera to see how the video function works. Shows some process in there.

Check it out here on Vimeo.

Enjoy

 

[fergus]

Cool. How long have you been using the pulse welder?

 

[fortyfour]

Cool. How long have you been using the pulse welder?

I've been using the pulser on my Miller 200dx since 2011/12. I first started using pulse TIG around 2007 I believe. Before that I was no pulse but I won't lie: Heat control on thin walled material was tough for me. Using pulse was an eye opener.

In the video I'm using pulse throughout the weld sequence but at different times throughout the frame welding process I'm jumping between pulse and no pulse. Mostly around the Dropout/Disc tab area, sometimes around the bottom bracket and when welding an insert into the seat tube. I'll also go no pulse when tacking too. It's a mix depending on what I am doing and where I'm welding. But for thinner walled tubing, I've found pulse helps a lot with heat control for me and pace, speed and feed.

For those who want to know, the settings at this area were 120 amps, 30% Peak, 9% Background, 1.5 PPS with 5 CFH for back purge and 15-20 CFH at the torch with 10-15 seconds of post flow. Torch set up is No. 10 Nozzle with matching 1/16" gas lens and 1/16" 2% Lanthanated Tungsten.

 

[fergus]

I get the "no-pulse" thing, but of the people I know who have used one...they end up buying one in short order.

 

[fortyfour]

I get the "no-pulse" thing, but of the people I know who have used one...they end up buying one in short order.

When I purchased my machine, I wanted full control. And it had to have the ability to pulse that was fully customizable. Peak, Background, pre/post flow, amperage, AC/DC settings, pulse. Material thicknesses vary for my work so I really need to be able to make a lot of changes on the fly. I'm constantly going back and forth throughout the weld process. What's been nice about working like that but also exploring additional materials is that it also fed into "how" I weld and that progressed even more. It's all just practice and that helps to fine tune your methodology.

What I get a kick out of is people making a point of saying they are not using a pulse inferring that pulse is a bad thing or somehow a crutch. Or saying that they foot pulse. I do all 3. Pulse. No pulse. Foot pulse. Pulse on and work the pedal. The end goal is important. Whatever method works for you, that's a good thing. But it helps to understand when / where to apply those methods and approaches.

This is all pulsed:

 

[fergus]

Yeah, I guess its all about knowing how to use the tools you have available to you. More tool (or knowledge) equals more options. I'm definitely a layman, though I did take a GTAW course at a local CC a while back, and I've done small amounts of welding when I need to.

Welding seems like one of those never ending pursuits, where you could never stop learning. There are many different options available to tackle the same problem. And as sure as somebody says "That won't work" or "That's the wrong process", some other guy knows how to make it work. For instance, a friend of mine welded up the exhaust manifold on my Jeep. Cast iron. With MIG. And it held. He just peened the hell out of the weld as he went along. I had no idea that could work. Could have done that myself probably. This was after another friend with a TIG trying to braze with special (brass maybe???) rods had failed to achieve any sort of result.

 

[fortyfour]

Welding seems like one of those never ending pursuits, where you could never stop learning.

^This^ times 100! I learn something every time I pick up the torch. It's a constant refinement of technique and honing of skill sets.

 

[Grizz1963]

Just wanted to wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year


Thanks for the updates on your awesome shop and builds.

 

[jinjaninja]

As always man. Great work. Always love the updates in here.

Merry Christmas and a happy New year mate .

Sent from my HTC_0P6B using Tapatalk

 

[fortyfour]

Some updates on what's been on deck at 44HQ:

27.5+ Hardtail:













Another 27.5+ Hardtail 1x11





For those who want to see, here's before photo cropping:



And some small jewelry pieces in process for family:





A little father/son ride over the holidays (I built his bike FYI):



And of course some riding while the weather holds...

 

[chrisBTSC]

This is the thread that originally got me to start looking at this website. I absolutely love your attention to detail, it shows a true love for what you do. It appealed to me because I'm an avid mountain biker and love to work with metal. Great job.

 

[davidhansen]

When I bought a custom bike, I had been working in a bike store as a mechanic and bought a used road bike to see if I liked road riding. I loved it and started looking at all the new road bikes in the store, I couldn't find what I wanted in terms of part spec, colour etc. My boss suggested a custom build, where I could spec the exact colours, parts group and even made a slight tweak to the geometry. Bike fits me like a dream and looks good to boot.

I had a similar experience. I actually found that I preferred my bike. I had to learn to make my welds a little cleaner, but I bought parts online (http://titaniumprocessingcenter.com/ actually) and knew exactly what was there! Definitely go custom when you feel like you need the better fit!

 

[fortyfour]

Some Recent Heat:

 

[Ryan]

Man... I hate people like you... so good at everything and all... just pisses me off!

 

[driftpin]

I just started reading the thread, and need to go to bed, but I'll be back to read the middle pages. Congratulations on the shed build, I got to where you were using the OSB for the inside and the scavenged SIP's (not very far). Then I went to the end, before I crash for the night. I saw the bike you made for yourself, the MTB top tube looks more like a 'mixte' frame than a double-diamond traditional safety bike frame. Those seat stays are very-curvy, hard to do from what I know. Is that frame chro-moly? The frame at the end of your thread has beautiful welds, but looks like Ti to me, rather than chro-moly. The seatpost on the bike in your #3 post looks like it wouldn't stand-up to my 'Clyesdale' class weight on it, that's a lot of unsupported tubing. I estimate it's close to 21 inches from the crank shell to the seat rails.

I have a vintage Klein Attitude I bought new in 1992, it cost almost $3K, I spec'ed it with Deore XT when that was the best Shimano gruppo, and when XTR came-out the next year, I had that replace the XT, which I put onto another backup bike. The Klein was built before Gary Klein sold the company. I'm a 'retro-grouch,' I don't have any suspension front or rear, not even an elastomer seatpost.

I also have a Litespeed Classic roadbike, and when I sent the bare frame in to have it checked-over, many years ago, they asked me, "where did you get this?" I bought it as a bare frame from the same FL dealer from-whom I bought the Klein, new. They told me, "that's the 19th frame we made!" As you probably know Litespeed makes frames in Ti for other manufacturers.

I know there will be lots of interesting info on the pages in-between where I just began, and ended, thanks for posting your work on the property. I get lots of ideas from the website, and sometimes it's just fun to see how other members meet their challenges.

 

[fortyfour]

More Recent Heat :

 

[Bib Overalls]

I'm with Ryan. You are just too damn good. Gives the rest of use self esteem induced depression.

 

[Jgrady1982]

I have but I'm still actually not using all that much argon. I recently upped my tank rental from 1 to 2 that are on site here in the shop to maximize shipping/delivery costs. So far, 1 x 300 argon tank lasts about 7 frames. With 2 in the shop, I'm looking at delivery every 4-6 months. With Ti, it may be more frequent and if the frequency goes up that much I may consider it, but the other issue is space. I don't have all that much room here at 440 sq.ft. of floor space in the shop.

Here's the most recent panographic of the shop (taken before 2 tanks arrived):



Hey man...I love your work and this is one of the best "threads" on the internet....

Have you thought about epoxy coating the floor of your shop? I did this in my basement shop and now again in my garage shop, no more concrete dust and it makes it much cleaner....

 

[AP2TUDE]

I just fall in love with the idea of crafting something every day, especially with that level of skill. It makes me just regret the daily slog at something lacking any semblance of meaning to everything you put out here.

Living your passion is a real gift. There are a few guys on here like you and Gregor and Jack, and I just envy you all. Just fantastic work.

 

[fortyfour]

Hey man...I love your work and this is one of the best "threads" on the internet....

Have you thought about epoxy coating the floor of your shop? I did this in my basement shop and now again in my garage shop, no more concrete dust and it makes it much cleaner....

Thanks - The plan is everything gets rolled into the adjoining space (the double doors were designed to come down and everything is designed to be taken apart relatively easily) and then break up the floor, reinforce, insulate and pour a new floor and seal it in the near future. I need a thick, reinforced floor. In addition to just being more practical, (and level!), it will allow a bit more accuracy out of all my equipment to have a firm footing. Bigger job, but I had to insulate/build out the space before I poured the floor anyway since temperatures were the problem for the heaving.

Good suggestion though! But when I fix it, I need to go all in.

 

[fortyfour]

I just fall in love with the idea of crafting something every day, especially with that level of skill. It makes me just regret the daily slog at something lacking any semblance of meaning to everything you put out here.

Living your passion is a real gift. There are a few guys on here like you and Gregor and Jack, and I just envy you all. Just fantastic work.

Thanks - it's not the easiest all the time, but at the end of the work week... it's worth the extra trouble. This is worth the trouble.



This as well...



Here's a more recent panoramic of the shop. Going to start in on that back wall this weekend I believe...

 

[JustinS]

Kristofer, can i bend your ear about the back purge hoses you use?

Are they custom or an off the shelf item?

 

[fortyfour]

Kristofer, can i bend your ear about the back purge hoses you use?

Are they custom or an off the shelf item?

Sure! The hoses are off the shelf as well as all the couplers. The fixtures/tools are not however FYI. That's all custom.

I'll take a closer look at the hose make/specs when I'm in the shop this afternoon. All the couplers are just air hose parts and were sourced from McMaster-Carr.

I'll dig through my photos to see if I have some shots of everything laid out but if not, I'll take some photos as references this afternoon and post them up here.

 

[JustinS]

Thanks! Im trying to get my stuff setup so im mainly just interested in your lines and fittings.

 

[wasfast]

Still loving your shop and all the work you do. I would think the floor would make you a bit nuts after while with the big cracks etc.....

 

[fortyfour]

Still loving your shop and all the work you do. I would think the floor would make you a bit nuts after while with the big cracks etc.....

It does occasionally when large things need to be moved, but I do get to build bikes! It will be repaired at some point in the not too distant future.

New tooling arrived yesterday. Been on the hunt for one of these suckers for quite a while. Some times Lady Luck casts her gaze upon you. Going to take some measurements and build a stand for it later next week!

Di-Acro No. 4 Manual Tubing Bender

 

[fortyfour]

Full Purge Boogie:

 

[Jordan Evans]

Alright, I give. Who makes that stubby ratchet?

 

[Knyte Tyne]

I went and read up on that Bender - Holy Swiss Cheese, its the Swiss army Knife of benders... Man that thing is cool. And you got the BIG boy...

As always your work is incredible and your photography more so...

 

[TGL]

[...]
Bridgeport Switch Love:


Forward - Reverse by BLACK CAP Studio, on Flickr

No paint love... Yet.

I have been searching around and I can't find a "definitive" answer.
Does your drum switch have 6 contacts + ground?

If it does, would you be able to take the cover off and take a photo of how it's wired?

I'm in the process of wiring in my bridgeport and all that is left is to wire the drum switch.

Any help would be appreciated.