Originally Posted by
Happy Feet
As someone who also likes to tinker in the shop I always appreciate your inventions, rudamentary as they are. I get that they are "proof of concept" designs more than a finished product. Sadly, general cycling is not a friendly place for individual thought with its inherent cynicism.
You also point out two problems with replicating them both commercially or by the individual. The first is trying to make a standard design that fits all bikes. The second is the same one you face. Trying to jump from using easy to mold basic products into using the more exotic materials that will give the weight savings (such as carbon fiber). That usually requires fabrication skills beyond the backyard mechanic so the design phase seems to stay at proof of concept. The same thing happens in backyard boat building where coated plywood design is common and molded hulls are not.
I think you should take at least one of your designs to the next level.
Here's a link to people still experimenting with upright aerodynamic design in motorcycles
https://www.inputmag.com/tech/e-moto...e-fastest-ever
Thanks for the ... input!
About the molds, actually it would cost me less to make a carbon fiber fairing, using two part A/B epoxy , than what it would cost to have injection molds made. (Unless I have the molds made in Asia). I could actually make the frame of the bike out of the same carbon fiber as the fairing, saving the money I’d need to buy a TIG welder.
My daughter designed the fiberglass ladies bicycle pictured above, and the fairing and most of the frame were one piece of fiberglass, a “monocoque”.
I wasn’t born rich, but I did grow up in a neighborhood of wealthy snobs. They don’t want to put a down payment on the materials needed is the main problem. So I’m trying another approach, publishing the DIY guide, sending out construction photos, sharing tips and know-how.
I knew Coroplast corrugated polypropylene existed before I started, but I had no idea what it was called. “Coroplast ™️ “ is a trademark. Corrugated polypropylene is what it is.
I went through a very laborious process of making fiberglass molds and fiberglass fairings, ventured into Kevlar, spent almost a thousand dollars on raw Kevlar , not including the resin.
Went back to fiberglass on my daughters advice. My daughter learned fiberglass from her maternal grandfather who worked for Grumman aircraft during world war 2, and he knew fiberglass...
I now use corrugated polypropylene. And now that the fairings are done, I turn my attention to the panniers (the rear of the bike) . Then it occurred to me, I could make the sides higher, so we don’t need to choose between a box on the rack top vs panniers on each side, they both go together as a unit.