DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics)... UPDATE

Dec 28, 10 13:16

Post #1 of 44 (14511 views)

After reading greg kolodziejzyk's amazing blog and seeing all the cool things he's made, I decided to take a stab at making my own aerodynamic CF bits.
I have zero experience with carbon fiber, but purchased and learned everything I needed to know online. It was all surprisingly easy and cost less than $100.

1) Started off with something simple. Spindle plugs and cover for my crank.

2) Carbon fiber 'Jonnyo Special' It turned out rock solid and could easily have been made for 2 bottles.

3&4) Still in the works: A carbon "P4 speed box" for CO2, levers, tube, etc. and aero bar waterbottle mount.
I'll post some shots when it's finished.

Last edited by: rmcboy: Jan 12, 11 20:26

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 13:20

Post #2 of 44 (14491 views)

Fantastic stuff. I'd love to have a go at something like that myself. Could you share some tips and where you bought the materials / equipment.

cheers

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 13:22

Post #3 of 44 (14483 views)

Agreed, this looks awesome. Kudos to you for doing all this work. I'd also like to see a list of materials/tools you used to do this so that when I have some more free time I can maybe maybe try it out.

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [MAnton] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 13:40

Post #4 of 44 (14425 views)

I bought the 'starter kit' from carbonmods.co.uk.
It basically contained epoxy resin, hardener, some CF cloth(roughly 1'x3') and some other junk I really didn't need(mould release wax, gloves, popsicle sticks and paper cups for mixing). I would have bought it off ebay, but the only guy selling it wanted a crazy amount to ship to Canada.
I also used:
-scissors to cut cf cloth
-duct tape to cover your surface/bike (epoxy won't stick to it)
-adhesive spray to stick cloth in place before wetting with epoxy
-dremel tool to trim cured pieces
-sand paper

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 13:46

Post #5 of 44 (14391 views)

That is amazing. Really neat stuff. My first attempts at laminating ended in disaster and I've not tried since. Most of the bits I have done to date have been fabricated from pre-laminated flat sheet and bonded with tube section as spacers.

I think you could end up with a small (or quite large) business especially as your parts are sitting on one of the most popular tri-bikes in the game.

just read your tip on using the spray mount to hold the cloth in place, very clever. Be sure to post more pics as you make things.

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 13:57

Post #6 of 44 (14341 views)

Awesome. Well done. Nice work.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 14:14

Post #7 of 44 (14277 views)

How are you planning to secure the lid to your speed box?

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 14:51

Post #8 of 44 (14188 views)

Love those cranks, very cool.

Want: 58cm Cervelo Soloist. PM me if you have one to sell

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Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [jeremyb] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 15:10

Post #9 of 44 (14156 views)

Wow! What is your day job?

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 15:23

Post #10 of 44 (14119 views)

Really nice work that is for sure. One question, did you make a mold for the outside shapes or did you just sand the outside once that material was cured?

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [yme] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 15:49

Post #11 of 44 (14059 views)

I just sanded down the exterior when everything was cured and then applied another thin coat of epoxy to bring back the gloss.
The closest thing I used to a mold was a large wooden cutting board. It got covered in duct tape and then wrapped in CF giving the exact width I wanted for the box.
I'm going to attach the lid with a hinge at the back and magnet closure at the front.
As for my day job... I just graduated chemical engineering from the military college and am working as an engineering officer in the Navy. Definitely hope to get back into the chemical engineering field if and when the Navy stops being interesting.

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 16:02

Post #12 of 44 (14035 views)

RMC, thank you for the reply back, this is a big help. Everyone will love to see the final pics of your unfinished pieces once done I am sure.

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 16:09

Post #13 of 44 (14020 views)

A tip I learned: you can add black dye to fiberglass and it looks pretty carbon-esque. They make special dye for this. You can dye fiberglass almost any color actually.

Want: 58cm Cervelo Soloist. PM me if you have one to sell

Vintage Cervelo: A Resource

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [jeremyb] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 16:16

Post #14 of 44 (14002 views)

Sounds like a cheaper alternative.
What kind of dye do you use and where do you get it?
Is it mixed into the resin, or do you dye the glass cloth before wetting it??

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 16:24

Post #15 of 44 (13977 views)

Want: 58cm Cervelo Soloist. PM me if you have one to sell

Vintage Cervelo: A Resource

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 18:12

Post #16 of 44 (13875 views)

It's a lot cheaper. And for nonstructural pieces glass is fine IMO. You add the dye to the resin, very easy.

Here it is before sanding-----just fiberglass and black dye:

Want: 58cm Cervelo Soloist. PM me if you have one to sell

Vintage Cervelo: A Resource

Last edited by: jeremyb: Dec 28, 10 21:01

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [jeremyb] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 18:41

Post #17 of 44 (13831 views)

jeremyb wrote:

It's a lot cheaper. And for nonstructural pieces glass is fine IMO. You add the dye to the resin, very easy.

x2. I've used fiberglass cloth (easily available at a hardware store, and cheap) to fabricate several things. Easy to learn and not a big deal if you mess it up.

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

IKnowEverything

Dec 28, 10 19:24

Post #18 of 44 (13748 views)

What website did you use for the "instructional" side of things? I know the "theory" of how to make stuff, but not the actual monkey skills. I think it'd be something fun for me to try out too.

___________________________________
MS: Exercise Science
Your speed matters a lot, sometimes you need to be very fast, where sometimes you need to breakdown your speed.

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [IKnowEverything] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 19:54

Post #19 of 44 (13689 views)

Truth be told, there isn't much skill involved.
I did some random reading on auto body forums, and picked up a few tricks (adhesive spray, pulling a strand out of the weave to cut straight, using normal epoxy for clear coating, duct taping)
If you can mix gatorade in the correct proportions and cut shapes from a cloth, I'm pretty confident you'll have no problem with CF.

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 20:24

Post #20 of 44 (13637 views)

Congrats. Great stuff.

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [IKnowEverything] [ In reply to ]

Dec 28, 10 21:03

Post #21 of 44 (13580 views)

This is really great stuff. I've been wondering how to do this myself and I've found some decent instructional youtube videos on what it takes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAdVO8Rkv6c

My questions (for the o.p) are;
-How many layers of carbon weave did you use?
-Can you tell us more about how you formed the shapes? Particularly, you talk like some of the stuff is nearly 'free formed'. How does that work?

You RMC guys are s.m.r.t!

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

Dec 29, 10 9:31

Post #22 of 44 (13293 views)

How did you cut the circles out so perfectly? Dremel and a lot of time and attention?

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

Dec 29, 10 10:10

Post #23 of 44 (13236 views)

Great work. Two comments:

I hope you are using good respiratory protection during all of your cutting and sanding steps because carbon fiber dust is quite hazardous to breathe.

I think the doing some testing of aero benefit of your storage box would be interesting. The quality of your build looks good, but the transitions between the box and your frame (I circled them in red in the pic below) are sudden, and these sudden surface changes tend to be high drag areas (possibly high enough that your bike might be more aero without the box, but impossible to know for sure without testing.)

Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
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Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [rmcboy] [ In reply to ]

Dec 29, 10 10:39

Post #24 of 44 (13173 views)

The crank cover looks nice - how did you get that to work?

******************************************************
Well I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Keyser Soze

Re: DIY Carbon Fiber (w/ pics) [Dark] [ In reply to ]

Dec 29, 10 11:00

Post #25 of 44 (13124 views)

Actually isnt the orientation of those transitions in a location that the wind does not see (on top)? It actually should smooth it out better, as there is not the transition from downtube to nothing; and from nothing to seattube; as it fills in this space as a continuous surface (yes it will increase skin drag...but just put some dimples in it ;^)

Respiratory protection is definately a very good idea.

Stephen J

I believe my local reality has been violated.
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Happiness = Results / (Expectations)^2

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