resin out which will lighten the frame.The third advantage to building a composite frame over a metal frame is up front cost. Up front cost means the amount of money spent at the beginning of the project for materials and equipment. Working with metals you could use welding machinery or brazing machinery. With brazing you need two tanks of gas, hoses and torches and mask, brazing rod, and a fireproof area to work. You would also need the tubing and a way to cut the tubing precisely. This could cost around $750.00 With welding you would need the electric welder and mask, special electric outlet, welding rod, fireproof work area, tubing and tubing cutter. This can cost much more than $2000.00. In addition to the equipment you need a great deal of skill, time and training. Using composites you need basic woodworking equipment, basic second grade paper mache skills, resin and fiber. This can be done for a few hundred dollars.In conclusion, composite bike frames can be stronger/lighter, easily constructed with basic knowledge, and easily constructed using basic wood working tooling. I know this because I built an all carbon fiber recumbent racing bicycle last year myself. I used the technology I described in this paper. ...
