On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 5:50 PM, Kevin Bailey <ke-python@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On Tue, Jun 03, 2008 at 09:38:29AM +0200, Uipko Berghuis wrote: >> On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 8:47 PM, Olaf Johansson <home@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> >> wrote: >> > >> > Someone should mention carbon fibre and epoxi. >> > >> >> Carbon is certainly a no weld option but I think it will cost the same >> or more as welding. And it is probably also more difficult, anybody >> experience with both methods? > > The only cost with composite building is the materials. There's > no expensive equipment that you may never use again. Please correct me if I'm saying stupid stuff..... my only composite experience is making a kitesurfboard. Before doing that I read a lot about and I find it a really interested metarial. One of the projects on my list is making a composite tail faring. The ultimum would be to make my own (light weigth) carbon bike ;). But I think Jaculus has a point changing a steel frame sounds way easier to me. So I first have to learn to weld to make a steel prototype, adjust it till its the perfect bike for me and than make a carbon version. Don't you have to use a vacuum pump, bag breeder etc. if you want to make round shapes? And I think you also need to make molds or not? Or do I make things to complex? Is it possible to make a foam frame and just wrap around the composite? > Carbon > fiber is expensive, but you could also build it out of fiber > glass which is almost a tenth the cost. Before saying that fiber > glass isn't strong, or you have to use more to get the same > strength, recall that they make airplanes out of it (which is > where my experience comes from.) I think the "problem" is that glas is more flexibel and you want your frame as rigid as possible. Probably you can solve this by using a more rigid core, for example a foam wood combination (like the stingers in a surfboard). Or you can make a sort of sandwitch of foam and glas to build a more rigid core. Uipko ============================================================ This is the Python Mailinglist //www.freelists.org/list/python Listmaster: Jürgen Mages jmages@xxxxxx To unsubscribe send an empty mail to python-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the subject field. ============================================================