Hi folks!
Making custom-sized frames when the design calls for a bent downtube in order to clear rear suspension damper reservoirs (piggy backs) has long been a pain in the ass for me.
The design I’m working on now has the lower shock mount a little further forward, too. So in to truly offer any size (which is what I’m pursuing 100% going forward) would require a custom bent tube for every frame (extremely costly). Bending the downtube would also mean using a pretty heavy wall tube which otherwise wouldn’t be necessary and prevent me from selecting the tube I see fit for the rider and application.
So I’m looking at using a 3D printed elbow to joint two straight sections of downtube. This elbow would be a custom bend, specific to the frame/ rider I’m building for. It would be ordered in along side a few other parts on a frame-by-frame basis.
I’m behind the curve on 3D printing and I’d like to call upon those more experienced, if I may 
Is this a bad idea? I’ve seen a few frames utilising a similar idea but it doesn’t seem to have been adopted more broadly than some one-off prototypes, hence I’m wondering if people have had issues. But I hope that (done well) it can be made to work.
All input or ideas on how else to solve this problem very much welcome.
Cheers!
Thom
