[Closed] Homemade, CNC'd balance bike - much progress!

Cool as hell. I like.

If you don't get a move on she'll be asking for the keys so she can borrow the car.

"No, I can't take you to University, a few more bits and I've nearly finished your balance bike"... 😆

Fantastic work OP, I'd love to be able to do something like this. I take it you have a background in metalwork? And have the tools to hand or access to a good workshop?

Thanks guys!
breatheeasy: yeah, the idea started ages ago but I've only just had a chance to do anything about it. 3 days to do the bits above..
tonyd: I'm a CNC programmer so have access to lathes, mills etc. Makes it much easier to do stuff like this 🙂

Nice work, fella. I'm a CNC programmer myself - wish I had chance to make cool parts like that!

I have a very good boss b&b 😉

Oooooo.... nice!

What do the 3 bolts on the back of the stem do? I can't see a split to close-up.

What do the 3 bolts on the back of the stem do?

cool - ta

Hmmm interesting. Awaits fully built pics.

Swingarm (CNC machined out of solid billet)

Was tempted to do some sort of suspension but then realised it would be a nightmare to fit it into the design..

Ti plate instead of pivot?

Very cool!

Are you going to paint it, laquer it? Would look ace in the bare metal but not very girly.

Yeah, probably going to paint it but will see how it looks in raw 1st..

Logos and valves lined up....tick.

Dust cap....fail.

Other than that, looks superb. It'll have to go on the wall when she grows out of it.

Design help needed...4", 5" or 6" headtube?
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You can always add spoacers to increase the height of the 4" one, so I'd always go that route.

Tait said, you can probably machine the 6" one down if you need to.

I think the 5" looks best for proportions.

You are [i]insane.[/i] Love it.

Fab!

Are you doing the welding or getting a colleague involved? Any heat treatment or just letting it age?

Finished in time for Christmas?

And please misalign the tyre and valve just to annoy trivialists 🙂

You clever bastard ! That's awesome !

I'll be letting our welder do the welding but I'll jig it all up.
Not going to heat treat as our aluminum supplier said there was no need.
Aiming for Christmas but she'll still be a bit young for it...

I'm looking to make one of these myself from mild steel but I have no idea what size of tubing to use. How are you going to install the headset cups?
thanks

Mild steel might be a bit of a lump. Harvesting some tubes from an old frame might be better. Saying that, for a single tube frame, some 1.5" ERW tube would be about right size, cheap, easy to get and won't be too heavy.

Nicer stuff would be Columbus cro-moly in 0.8mm wall from Ceeway for about £12 plus VAT for a 1.5m length. I made this bigger bike (for 7 to 12 yr old) with 1" top / down tubes. Seat tube will generally be 28.6 (1 1/8") for a 27.2 seatpost.

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Bit more progress today. Got the headtube machined and made some simple gussets:
@lurchh: I'm using an FSA headset for a Giant OCR. It's a funny size so CRC were selling them off cheap. I've just made the headtube the correct size for these cups. The main tubes on this frame are 2" diameter with a 2.5mm wall.
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Looks great - what is the little machined groove / pocket under the down tube? (in the gusset photo)

Nice work - really looking forward to watching this progress 🙂

I had intended to do a single 10mm wide gusset but decided it would look better to have 2 thinner ones. Will be filled before painting so it won't be seen 😉

Looking forward to seeing this finished. Great work so far fella.

Excellent stuff.

Just picked up some nice, free scandium bars. Need to cut them down a bit and get them anodized..[IMG] [/IMG]

Looks the absolute dogs ! Chapeau !

Stunning work OP!! Love home built bike threads and this is right up my street.

Im currently planning a carbon balance bike for my little one, he is only 7 month so i have a good time scale to get it done 🙂

Keep up the good work and i look forward to updates

Ooh, carbon balance bike! That would be cool..look forward to seeing that take shape.

What a very lucky child. I wish I was this talented! I think the final build should get a review in the mag or at least an appearance in fresh goods Friday!

More progress! Front end all welded up..[IMG] [/IMG]

Looking good!! Impressive work! 🙂

@ stevied - I saw that you were after some old fork stanchions the other day on classifieds. I have some Fox 36 stanchions that you can have for the price of postage. Obviously they're worn out for suspension use but I imagine would be fine for a project like this. 195mm, 1 1/8” steerer, can't send them until Monday though. E-mail if you're interested.

Good work with the project by the way.

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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/33251520@N07/5059009807/ ]e-mail[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/33251520@N07/ ]eddkh[/url], on Flickr

Best thread ever. Nice one.

Cheers Wozza 😀

@edd: YGM

Wow, some properly talented people on here. Brilliant thread.

[quote=stevied said]Just picked up some nice, free scandium bars. Need to cut them down a bit and get them anodized..

Pleased to see they're going on something nice 😉

Ah..finally a face to a name 😉 Thanks mate, they're perfect 🙂

Just weighed the bars and stem which came in at a svelte 235g 🙂

I'm also starting to like the raw finish...

You're not going to want to paint over that. It looks gorgeous as it is.

Bars and stem back from the anodisers:

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Just brilliant 🙂

And more progress but I'm not showing any pics yet 😉
Got the forks cut to length and started making the dropouts. Did a quite assembly with forks in place and it looks good!
I think you'll like them (hopefully)..

Double post, sorry..

Can you make me one? 😀

More progress - taking shape now 😀

Forks finished, just need to glue the lowers in place. Front end all fits nicely and feels solid.

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Yes, I know the tyre's on back to front...

You have one lucky daughter. That looks amazing. Can't wait to see the whole bike assembled.

Thank you for sharing.

Well, she'd better be grateful when she does get it 'cos there's lots of mtbers on here who wish their Dads had made them one.

I like the end caps on the forks. Did you use a 5 axis?

She'd better be grateful or it'll be on the classifieds 😉

Yes Larry, Bridgeport 5th axis. Makes this sort of stuff nice and easy 🙂

Very very nice!

It's lovely but probably about 500% stronger than any childs bike has any right to be. would like to see how the weight compares to an off the shelf model.

This is a thing of beauty 🙂

Love how you've adapted my stanchions; the white paint job looks really smart. You need some top caps in the forks now. 😉

Thanks guys. @Edd, yeah, really pleased with the forks. They came out better than I thought as I thought they'd be a bit big but they look great.

Finished machining the slots for the swingarm and seatube so have assembled using the plasticine weld method. I'm pretty stoked with it to be honest...just need a proper weld, saddle and spray job.

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That is fantastic. Looking forward to seeing it finished now !!

Superb. Would love one of those for my kids. How much for a production version 😀

PS: I think you are using the term 'homemade' a little loosely though! 😆

Jaw has dropped.

Excellent

http://www.likeabike.co.uk/likeabike_spares/likeabike_jumper_saddle.php

Good saddle here

Liking that a lot, and feeling so glad I gave you those bars rather than the other ones I found. Any chance of getting some welding done?

WOW!

fair play - that is amazing

Excellent.

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That looks bloody fantastic - good job 🙂

*puts stevied on pedestal next to mcmoonter*

Truly amazing! Great use of your skills stevied

Thanks for all the comments guys. @aracer: have FB'd you 😉
Unfortunately my boss won't let me make any more 🙁
One more pic from the side:
[IMG] [/IMG]
Can't wait to get it finished now. Saddle should be here Monday, eBay bargain..

thats nicer than my bike! 🙁

Best thread evvvveerrrrr......

Unfortunately my boss won't let me make any more

I reckon the boss should seriously look at working out what they could be made for (cost) and create a new niche market. Those forks look the BIZ!! I bet there is a small market for "custom made" balance bikes especially for some of the so called "riders" in London who quite happily splash 10k on their first road bike without a second thought.

Saddle arrived and fitted. Welder has been off sick so still waiting for the back end to be welded.
Needed a seat tube clamp so resigned the Hope on to this and bought I nice Thomson one for my bike. It's the most expensive piece on this..[IMG] [/IMG]

All the other kids in the playground are going to have serious bike envy!

I've been following this thread with total admiration. Lovely work and great skills all round. 😀