Saturday, July 31, 2010

Ashton's Uber Custom Machine


Hey there folks.
Here's the newest bike to come out of the factory.
Its got some details to it that required a lot of time on the
machine tools.


A Campagnolo Hiddenset head tube, a custom slip fit bb30
bottom bracket shell, internal hose routing,
and a split-able belt drive dropout.


The part that the pivot bolt runs through is separate
from the rest of the dropout. The original dropout had the
top of the flange shaved from the eyelet, and it now nests
within the part attached to the seat stay.


The paint turned out pretty slick too.


The manufacturers of the belt drive said that it
wasn't possible to have a 16 1/2" chain stay on a
29er and run their belt. well, here it is.


I'm not making another one though.
Don't ask.
Seriously.




For the last week I've had, not just a song,
an entire record running through my head.
Good thing its a really good one.
Karp's Self Titled LP (yes, it's called "self titled lp")
is either one of the best records you've ever heard
or its just unintelligible noise and screaming.
you'll love it or hate it, if you don't love or hate it already.
Sorry none of those were moving pictures.
If that's what you demand, then here is 29 1/2
minutes of live action.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm curious what you mean by slip fit BB30 shell. Since the bearings are press fit, I'm not sure what part you can make slip fit. Thanks for the clarification and great work!

blackcatbicycles said...

robert,
a press fit is what is called an "interference fit". where the bearing is pressed into a bore and stays there based on friction. with that use, there is a load put on the bearing from being squeezed into the bore. some bearings are designed specifically for this.
a "slip fit" is where the bearing bore is a tiny bit larger (we're talking a few thousandths of an inch here)and the bearing is kept in place by a cylindrical part retaining compound (fancy name for green locktite), and does not load the bearing. the bearing is a snug fit, but not getting the squeeze. those teeny balls in the bb30 bearings need as much help as they can get.

Unknown said...

thats a rad frame....if any bulit up pictures appear, i would love to see them.

i take it the separate section of the pivot bolt is where the belt can slip through?

more awesome work!...

Marty said...

Killer bud. I haven't checked your site in a while. Been lovin' your work for a long time. Finally clicked one of your music links and wadda ya know? The man has sweet taste in music too. Cheers!

chad said...

Beautiful Frame!!!
Karp......Good stuff too!!

Anonymous said...

Love the headtube. Did you consider breaking the dropout when you designed it, or was it an after thought. Very slick.

-Joel

blackcatbicycles said...

joel,
i've had the split design in my head for a while, so it was just a matter of getting a good reason to make a small batch. somewhere between inherent in the design and an after thought maybe.

crbmtb said...

These things are so beautiful, I'd be afraid to ride it out here in the Northeast -- too many rocks and roots!

Anonymous said...

Does the belt ring clear the chainstay? Most bikes need to have a dimple or some sort of manipulation for the ring to not hit the chainstay with standard outboard bearing mtb cranksets.