Custom grab rails, pannier racks etc.

[yorkie_chris]

Just a thought for people, thought I'd bounce an idea off you.

I was considering buying tools for bending tube "properly" ... mandrel bending, leaves a really nice form of the bend. I also TIG weld.

But another option would be making custom stuff for bikes. Stuff like the rentec racks you used to get for the curvy... or even full wrap round pannier and rear racks for the adventure/touring types. Could all be done in nice stainless and welded up.


But... the tooling isn't cheap. Any thoughts?

[Bibio]

hydraulic or arm assisted?

[yorkie_chris]

Gearing assisted, not hydraulic (I wish!!)
Will do some fairly big tubing including 1" stainless with 1.5mm or so walls, that's decent stuff.

Got a small hydraulic one coming my way soon... but the bends aren't as pretty as the mandrel bent ones.

[Bibio]

i looked into it a while ago, some don't do tight enough bends without crushing the tube.

YC, look up a company called Unison. They're in Scarborough and we've been using them for years. They've just expanded into making their own consumables in addition to the bending hardware.
I don't know if they're machines are all cnc or not but their mandrels, wipers, wheels etc might be worth looking at.

http://www.unisonltd.com/

We also use OMNY-X who are a Czech firm.

[Mauler]

Could you also knock up stuff like frame sliders/engine bars and the like or is that a grade above the pipework you'll be working with?

[DJ123]

Originally Posted by Bibio

i looked into it a while ago, some don't do tight enough bends without crushing the tube.

The way to get around that is to freeze a mix of water and washing up liquid inside the tube then try bending it. (same technique they use on trumpets)

Sounds like a simple version of cerrobend to me

[yorkie_chris]

Yeah engine bars should be doable but a lot of the time you can get them from wemoto or whatever and they're <£100. I think I'd struggle to do them for that, realistically looking at custom and small run stuff.

Originally Posted by Bibio

i looked into it a while ago, some don't do tight enough bends without crushing the tube.

About 2 diameters

[embee]

Just an aside really, but I recently altered some Givi pannier racks and was amazed at how thick the tube wall is, 16.3mm O/D and almost 2.5mm wall (odd actual sizes, could well be imperial, I know some tube products still work in imperial?).

I reckon there's a market out there for custom bent tube stuff, but whether it justifies big investment in kit is always a tricky one. Get it anyway, I'll dream up some jobs for you.