Custom Carbon Fiber

  Thought I would share some photos of my latest creation.  It is a tube to tube custom carbon frame.  The tubes and stays are supplied to me from Enve Composites (formerly Edge Composites).  While working on this carbon project bike I was dumbfounded with the amount of time it takes to get it just right.  Each joint is hand wrapped with some intricately cut pieces of carbon fiber pre-impregnated with resin.  There are approximately 40-50 different hand cut pieces per joint, this forms the stratification layer.  The strata  layers are the backbone of the joint giving it all it's strength and qualities, these layers are oriented at various angles.  The next layer is the "money layer" it is primarily a aesthetic layer that will also provide some strength and fine tune the stiffness of the frame at the joint. It is all put under compression and cured in a enormous oven specifically designed for curing composites.  The oven controls the ramp up speed of the temperature and how long it is held at a specific temperature (the first time I used the oven it was set for Celsius not Fahrenheit,  to say the least I cooked the living shiz out of that bottom bracket, leaving all the resin in the bottom of the oven).

The bottom bracket is a bladder molded piece that I designed and manufacture in house.  The process was fun to learn and I really enjoyed working with a new material.  It took hours developing and testing, to finally arrive with a good  prototype.  I am glad I took my time because I am happy with the end results. 

I built it up with the current parts on a Ti frame I have been riding.  I was familiar with the ride of the Ti bike and I wanted to compare apples to apples.  The result was a similar ride.  I did notice that it was a bit more responsive and it would accelerate a bit quicker.  The frame weighs in at 1140 grams, not a supper light weight but it is a little overbuilt.  

     The problem I am having with carbon fiber frame construction are all the ideas that come to mind while developing a bike.  It would take a ridiculous amount of capital to produce all the molds and concepts that have come to mind while taking on this project.  None-the-less I will continue to refine my process and testing of the product until I am confident in offering it to customers.  

    

I am looking forward to building the next carbon frame and sharing my development of the carbon fiber frame construction process.  I will be offering the carbon project frames for sale in a limited quantities spring 2011. 

CX season

The chill is in the air and the brisk breeze means that fall is on its way.  Cyclocross season - is there anything better? 

Getting close to finishing up Randy's cross bike. 

Ryan's Build

Ryan has been wanting to do the LOTOJA for quite some time.  He gets to do it this year on his new TI ride. 

Recent Builds

Heading to Swan Valley tomorrow for a little R&R.  Can't wait to get back in the saddle after a long, busy summer of frame building.  It has been hard finding time to get out and ride, when all I want to do is work on new bike projects.  Here is one of the builds I did for David. 

Jen's New Ride

Matt's New Ride

Team KELSON jerseys

Thanks Gheen for designing the new Team Kelson Jersey's. It has been hard to nail down the perfect one, but here are the samples of the final 4 designs. I think they are going to be pretty cool.

KelsonJersey_Colorstudy

It's about time - Carbon Fiber OVEN

So my wife did a writeup on her blog about the happenings of the new carbon fiber project. Check it out here Bella Rosa Bikes

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Gal Bladder

I created this blog for documenting my frame building experiences for others to share. Well I have been real sick this winter with some unexplainable abdominal pain, so I have not been doing anything real exciting with the frame building. My wife and I actually diagnosed my condition with the use of "Dr. Google". We told the doctors what we thought was the problem and they dismissed it and ordered another test, time and time again. Finally the only test left to take was a Heida-scan, where they inject you with some type of radioactive isotope and watch as your liver and gal bladder process it. Well my test came back with a gal bladder squeeze of 14% (that is bad you have too have it out if it is below 35%). Chalk one up for "Dr. Google" and my wife. Needless to say I have had it removed and I am finally feeling better. The only problem with having your gal bladder removed is you trade one problem for another. The gal bladder aids in digestion and it takes some time for your body to adapt, but it eventually does. I am real glad this is behind me and I have my health back and it could not have come at a better time, the phone has been ringing and the torch has been burning.

Ulcers

Not much happening around here. Just plugging along building bikes and still working on my carbon fiber. I was hoping to have a prototype by now but things just keep coming up. I got busy doing some contract work for another bike company so that has taken away a little time I have wanted to spend on building my own bikes. I have also not had much luck with my health for the past couple of months. I have had some unexplained abdominal pain that we have been getting test after test on. The doctors just have not been able to come up with anything, and I am sick of being scanned and poked with needles. So I have been taking some over the counter medication for ulcers and I think it is working. I have been feeling better and that is good because I can not stand laying around, especially when there is a lot to do.

Spring is around the corner and I am counting the day's. It takes a long time for things to finally warm up around here so as soon as I have a full custom carbon prototype bike done, I will be heading south for some warm weather and some serious miles. I hope it happens soon, I am just waiting on a few tools, material and my curing oven. All the molds are done and they turned out really good. I will post some pictures soon.

COW BELLS, PIT BOOTS

Winter came early. One day it was in the low 90's, and the next day snowing and mid 40's. That is Idaho. We have a saying around here "if you don't like the weather wait 24 hours". This rather rapid temperature change caused quite the scramble amongst the cross racer's - myself included. I had to get a bike done and out the door so the rider could get some time on it before the series started. It turned out great. Availability on fork's and a delay in the paint job really slowed things down, but we remained patient and ended up with a snazzy bike. Truly custom with a sweet combination of parts. I am real happy to see the enthusiasm for cross bikes. They are a lot of fun to build and even more fun to ride.

Next, on the list is to finish up our carbon frame. It will be a winter long project getting it just right. I have changed a couple of things on how we are going to build them so as a result I am staying focused on the development of our carbon - taking my time and testing the process. There is a simpler way of building them, but that would just not be my style. I think I enjoy torturing myself when it comes to developing products.

I still have a full platter building bikes. A couple of last minute cross bikes, and customers looking to have the bikes by early spring. We will also be helping with some prototyping and development of a bike line. More on that later. Right now I have to go dig out the cowbell's and find some pit boots for my kid's. It's RACING time!

Cross

The prototype carbon/titanium cross bike is finally done. I have been riding it about a week now and what a fun ride it is. I live on a dirt road with several trails surrounding my house, asphalt grass and single track all within 1/4 mile. It makes for some fun cross courses, I have been building some natural barriers and cleaning single track. The main purpose of building this bike was to test and try out mold #1 for carbon fiber. It came out much better than I could have ever hoped for, I also thought it would be a good opportunity to build a cross bike that I have desperately wanted, and to use some of the spare parts laying around the shop. I have always been a fan of titanium cross rides, and with all the carbon cross bikes currently coming onto the market, I thought it might be fun to build something that would be light, strong, and custom. I do not know how I feel about a cross bike built entirely out of carbon fiber, I think I would eventually want to try and bunny hop a 40cm barrier and fail miserably, but i would still try. The result would be a damaged down tube, but not with titanium. I think this bike will hit the nail on the head, best of both worlds carbon in the cockpit and titanium in the chassis. I was really impressed with the ride, comfortable, stable and responsive. It is significantly stiffer and quicker than my previous steel bike while on par with comfort.

In the bottom two photos you can see that it is a tube to tube lug. Precisely mitered, bonded together, then hand wrapped and compression molded while being curred at a specific temperature. The most difficult part of the process is orienting the fiber direction for optimal strength and ride characteristics. More on that later, and hopefully some nicer photo's as soon as I can clean it up and stop riding it long enough for my wife to snap some quality shot's.

Painting

"LATEST CROSS frame with CARBON lug" Those long hours have paid off. I Can't wait to show you the final frame! Hang in there just a bit longer, and I will have pictures for you to see. I think it's a pretty cool design. While you are waiting to see those pics here are a few pictures of Beth and her new ride, with a paint job that she came up with herself. The paint job was a little tricky to do because of the detailing, and multiple colors. I paint most of the frames myself, there are very few painters in the area and it has taken some patience learning how to paint correctly. Someday maybe I will have a local painter that enjoys it as much as I enjoy building the frames. CLICK ON PICTURES FOR CLOSER LOOK.

Virginia's New Ride

I got to build a TI cross bike for a girl named Virgina who lives in Ogden, Utah. She is a cross racer and was super stoked to come up North to pick up her new ride. She came up and hung out over the weekend and did the triathlon while she was here. Here are a few pics of Virginia and her new cross bike. As a fitter I like the photo of Virginia riding the bike, usually you view the rider on a trainer while doing the fit and that is what we did the night before. In this photo she is actually racing the bike, rather than spinning on a trainer. On her previous ride she had a difficult time getting comfortable on the hoods, let alone the drops. The picture displays her going straight to the hoods with a good torso, arm, and knee angle. Sometimes a angle finder is no substitute for a good photo of someone racing their bike, and feedback on comfort and performance after a race. The bike also allows her some adjustments in reach and handlebar height without having to purchase new components. I have noticed that fits need to be periodically changed as individuals gain or lose fitness and flexibility, it is always nice to have a bike that can change with you.

CLICK ON PICS FOR CLOSER LOOK.

Oven Baked Goodness

The past couple of days I have been nailing down this carbon fiber project, and have come to the conclusion that my wife wants me out of the house. Well, I have taken over her baking oven to burn serious chemicals in it. I don't know that she is approving of the fact that when she now bakes something yummy it comes out tasting like bikes parts. Well, that is what I call Oven Baked Goodness. The smell of carbon fiber curing in the oven, and now in my food. I bet she can't wait until I get my new commercial oven.

Our good friend Tim came over last week to get his bike looking SPANKIN NEW. He has a Kelson Ti road bike that is a few years old. He has taken amazing care of the thing, but it has seen some serious miles. The cool thing about Ti is that you can make it look brand new with just a little love. We took off all of his parts and sandblasted it with new etched Kelson logos. It looked like a brand new bike. He bought all new parts and finished it off. It's amazing what a little LOVE can do. (Tim and his new ride)
We had the annual bike party last night hosted at the Anderson's home. What an amazing host they are, and what a turn out. Music, games and good food makes for a great end to an amazing summer.

Carbon Fiber Frames -

So, for the past several months I have been working on several mold ideas trying to master the art of carbon frame building. I have visited with several engineers, and have worked endlessly on the carbon mold to get it just right. I am SO close to being able to be one of few builders out there who can weld titanium, steel, and coming soon build CUSTOM carbon fiber bikes. I am super stoked for this opportunity.

Previous to Kelson, I had another small business

where I designed and sold custom carbon fiber kayaks. Hundreds of hours I spent sniffing epoxy resin, and shaving, kayak molds to make them just right. It mainly started out making them for friends, but grew into something that people wanted from all over. It was a super fun time in my life.

Here are a few of the pics from our kayak days and the boats that made my life exciting.

One of the few pics of me working on the carbon fiber boat

What a busy summer I have had. Frame building has been going well. We have built several steel and Titanium road bikes, And have been doing some conversions on some steel frames. I built earlier in the summer a 650b bike for a long time customer. No photo's yet, He took it before I had a chance to snap any. But the feed back was very positive. I have never rode one myself (other than this one around my yard). He said it climbed like a goat. He was able to conquer some climbs that he was unable to do in the past, and it was very comfortable. It was originally built with the thought of beating a PR on the white rim trail in Moab Utah. We wanted something that would be light, comfortable, and maintain momentum at speed. I can't wait for him to smash his record.

I have been fortunate enough to get in several races this summer. I have been having some problems with leg cramps, I think it is genetic. I have tried everything. I think I nearly OD on endurolytes at the last race. Anyone have some idea's, I would be happy to hear them. I am looking forward to the Cyclocross season. I have a new bike in the works for myself, something completely different than what is available on the market. I think it might be just the ticket as far as durability and weight. I have also just completed two Ti cross bikes for customers, one is off to spectrum for a custom paint job, and the other has etched logo's. I will post pictures soon. So check back. If anyone has some content they would like to discuss on this blog, please let me know.

Thanks for lookin, Brian

I am back!

I have not posted on this blog for month's. I recently noticed that my website has seen a fair share of traffic as a result of referrals from this blog. So evidently I need to update this blog more frequently and perhaps provide my in site on some valuable information on frame building, fitting, and training. I will do my best. Any suggestions on topic's would be appreciated.

So what have I been doing since August? Good question. Mostly trying to survive another Idaho winter. But on the cycling side of things, I have been busy building frames, training, and recently taking the test to become an USCF certified coach.

Frame building has been going quite well. I am staying busy with a lot of repeat customers. Building frames for there family, and updating there first generation steel Kelson's with some new titanium frames. I have become quite comfortable with my titanium road frame building. And have recently experimented with a 650b mountain bike. It turned out great! I had a customer who wanted a hard tail that was a little different. So why not a 650b. For those of you who do not know what a 650b is. It is the tire size between 26" and 29". It works well for shorter riders who would like to join the big wheel revolution. A little smoother than a 26" hard tail yet spins up quicker than a 29". Might be just the ticket. I am currently getting ready to put out a batch of steel frames. I have invested some time into selecting some quality tubing, filler rod, and various dropouts and small parts that will step up my game in the steel market. I have a strong passion for steel frames I love how they ride and I feel that they really can be a superior material for women and riders who are looking for a particular ride characteristic in a frame.

Now for the big news. Many of you may not know that I have had a fair share of experience with composites. I use to build carbon fiber Kayak's and was involved building drift boats. So it only seems logical that I combine my knowledge of frame building with composite manufacturing and build some custom carbon bikes. I have invested significant time and money into developing my own process for building a tube to tube custom carbon bike. Many people have contributed. Edge Composites will be supplying the tubing. Paragon machine works has provided all the bonded Titanium parts ( head tube inserts, bottom bracket, dropouts). I am waiting on just a few minor details with the molds and then we will be able to produce our first prototype for testing. I have tested a few joints at home and have been very pleasantly surprised by the results. My wife is a little tired of me cooking carbon fiber in the oven. So it looks as if I will be purchasing a curing oven hear real soon. I will keep you updated on the progress and will clue you in real soon on the whole process.

Thanks for looking, Brian

KELSON SITE

New site up. www.kelsonbikes.com
New stuff added soon.