|
Learn the art of frame
building
|
for those of you
wanting to ride something a bit special, something you have made
yourself then this is the course for you. Come and learn the skills
of frame building at Downland Cycles.
Build a frame to
fit you perfectly.
The 5 day course
caters for absolute beginners, and no experience of brazing or
welding is needed to attend our course. As long as you are practical
and are confident in using hand tools them we will be able to teach you
how to build a frame. The
course is taught by Martyn Hay, a frame builder with over 20 years
of experience at Lock's of Sandwich, building expedition bikes,
touring bikes, tricycles, tandems and recumbents. There
are only 2 places on each course, book early to avoid disappointment. course
cost £850 + cost of frame parts (from £170) |
|
 
|
|
What you can build.
|
|
On the course you can build your own
steel frame road,
track, trekking, cyclo-cross, expedition or hard tail mountain bike
frames.
We teach you to build in steel and
we offer a choice of Reynolds 525, 631 and 853 and Columbus tubesets.
(You can't build in Reynolds 953).
Tandems, Recumbents, BMX and Trikes are beyond the scope of the 5 day course.
The frames will be constructed
either using lugs or using a fillet brazing technique.
If you are making a lugged frame it may also be possible to build a
set of lugged forks.
(The traditional lugged road
bike is the easiest frame to build so you will have more time to
complete the fork. If you are building a fillet brazed frame, you will
not build a fork and will instead use the extra time available for
much needed practice brazing.)
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
|
Course Fees
The cost of the 5 day course is
£850 +materials and consumables (from £170). Included in this price
is all tuition, notes to read before you start (on receipt of
deposit), use of all tools and equipment and a plentiful supply of
tea, cakes and biscuits. Accommodation is not included in the cost of
the course, we will send a list of local B&B's, Hotels and
Campsites when you place your booking.
A £250 deposit is required to
secure your place.
|
|
|
Course Times
The course runs between 9am - 5pm Monday
to Thursday and 9am -1pm on Friday
|
|
Frame Design and Geometry
When you book your course we will
contact you regarding the design and type of frame that you want to
build. If you are not sure then we can help you out.
If you have an existing bike that is
comfortable and you
want to recreate it, either look online for the manufactures geometry tables, or
bring it along and we can measure the angles and tubes.
If you have seen a frame you want or you have seen what you want but want it done a little bit
differently we can help.
If you don't know what you want then
don't despair. On arrival we will perform a basic bike fitting on you
using the www.bikefitting.com
system, this combined with Martyn's 20 years of frame building
experience will ensure that you get the correct frame for you.
|
|
|
Pro Bike Fitting
If you would like a Pro Bike Fitting
(see web page), then ideally you
would need to come down before the course. It can be done on the first
morning of the course but it will mean a later finish on Friday.
The cost of a ProBike fitting booked with the Frame Building Course is
reduced to £100.
|
|
|
What you will learn
|
Frame Design
what is the intended use of the frame
what materials are most suitable
best way to join the frame tubes together
body measurement
frame geometries:- frame size, frame angles and tube lengths
Tools and Safety
workshop tour of the tools
safety, what you should and shouldn't be doing in the workshop
Tubing
how to decipher the tubing specifications on the data sheets
what are single, double, triple butting and heat treatments
which main tube, seat stays, seat tube designs to choose
tubing preparation
Brazing and Welding Methods
explanation of different techniques
brazing techniques, torch control
Equipment Setup
learn how the jig works
get all the tools you need to hand
Alignment
how to get everything straight and true
Inspection
check to see if every thing has been brazed correctly
cleaning up the frame
finishing the frame ready for painting
|
 
 
|
 
|
|
Course Dates |
| March |
22nd-26th (full) |
| April |
26th-30th |
| May |
24th-28th (full) |
| June |
21st-25th |
| July |
26th-30th (full) |
| August |
2nd-6th |
| September |
27th-1stOct |
| October |
18th-22nd |
| November |
22nd-26th |
| December |
13th-17th |
| to book either phone or
click on the link below to book online. To secure you place the
course a £250 deposit is required Phone 01227 479643 to book today
|
|
|
|
|
|
Now you have built your frame,
why not build the bike
you have spent 5 days lovingly
building your frame, are you sure you want to hand it over to someone
else to finish it off.
Here at Downland Cycles we run other
courses which will allow you to build up your own bike.
Tag on to the end of the course a 1 day bike building course. During
the frame building course we can source the components that you wish
to build your bike with, we have an agreement with Shimano to get you
a good price on Shimano groupsets on any frame built at Downland
Cycles. Campagnolo and Sram are also available at competitive rates.
Need wheels, we can teach you how to build yourself a set.
Anything is possible please feel
free to ask about any requirements that you may have.
|
|
|
|
|
Terms &
Conditions
-
To secure a place on
a course a non-refundable deposit of £250 is required at the time
of booking.
-
Deposits are
non-refundable, we will try to accommodate a change of date,
providing this is agreed at least 12 weeks before the original
course start date.
-
The balance of the
course fee must be paid at least 4 weeks before the agreed start
date of the course. This is non-refundable.
-
If booking a place
within 4 weeks of the start date the course fee must be paid in full
at the time of booking. This is non-refundable.
-
We will make every
effort to accommodate requests for specific material choices. We
reserve the right to substitute material of an equal or superior
specification, if the original choice is not available.
-
The material cost
will be calculated after a frame design has been agreed. Any
variation in the agreed material specification, or requirement for
additional materials, must be paid for before the end of the course.
-
The course fee covers
tuition, use of the workshop equipment and safety equipment.
-
Every effort will be
made to ensure that course participants produce frames of the
highest quality. These frames cannot be covered by any warranty.
|
|
|
|
View Basket
