I’ve been playing around for the last year and it’s definitely been satisfying having some fully functional bikes. I’ve screwed up a few but sop far still in operation are 2 dirt jumpers, trail bike, bikepacking bike, and cruiser bike. I’be been wanting to get a trail bike completed. Initially was wanting to go the starling route, I’ve since started to go the Reeb SST route. I have everything designed (well to the extent of my design abilities) and I’m cheating by buying a sacsade link for a smuggler. I then took it a step further and bought the bolt kit for the smuggler. I have the link and all necessary hardware. I know the 3d printing is a huge popular aspect right now. My design skills rule that out.
I’m struggling trying to design the connections from the seat stays to the rocker and to design the connection from the chainstays to the ST. I’m hoping to find someone to machine a sleeve through the ST for pressfit bearings.
Does anyone have any pics if bikes where these connections were made without 3D printed parts? Would love some ideas!!!
This was the first suspension frame I built around 5 years ago. No 3D printed parts here but holy crap and absolute ton of work shaping everything and lots of scrap. Look around and some builders use flat plate to a cross tube for teh swingarm. Dawley Bikes does this well and puts the bearings in the swingarm. The rear rocker connection is just flat plate ‘tabbed’ into the stay. Pretty much cut half the stay away and put the plate against and bronze brazed in. This bike is still going strong despite being what I feel is a little under built. It has copped an absolute flogging but keeps rockin’.
I really love Jeremy Sycip’s BB Cup main pivot. He simply cut a section out of the center of a bb shell and rewelded it together. Adds a nice bit of bling too!
My design has all the bearings in the swingarm and rocker. The main triangle has two pieces of round stock with threaded ID in them, the bearings run on custom made shoulder bolts that thread into these round stock pieces. The rocker pivot bar is mitered to wrap around the ST (seatpost insertion…), the main pivot is drilled through the seattube
The swingarm has two cups to receive the bearings which I brazed in place using a custom fixture. The ends of the seat stays are like hooded dropouts for thru axles, but custom made to match the threads of the shoulder bolts.
Actually, on such designs, you would want to have the main pivot bearings on frame. Then the yoke can have a through bolt which ties the other sides together and prevents the swingarm from twisting. Look at any big brand horst link or similar system.
On a true single pivot this does not matter that much because the rear triangle is an actual triangle and prevents twisting naturally (shock bolt is contributing also).
I’m using lazercut steelplates and stainless tubes joined with silver. The stainless tubes have been turned to my spec and I’m using bushings for alle links. I don’t have a picture of the link, but it’s lazercut from stailess plate and using a tube like on the frame.
