No lo recuerdo, fue hace tiempo y borre los mails. Ya lo siento. Pero no dudes en escribirles. Ademas si quieres te customizan la geo al gusto.
Aún tengo que meterle pasta a la Foxy (amorto, rueda delantera) así que el proyecto tendrá que esperar, hasta 2017 ni empezare a pensar en quien me fío, porque BTR tiene muy buena pinta también.
Creéis descabellado coger una vieja bici de montaña de acero, ensanchar los pasos de rueda y la horquilla y fabricarme una fat?
Si, bastante, jejejeje. Aparte de ensanchar, deberias alargar vainas. Tambien ensanchar pedalier para la linea de cadena. Ademas si es vieja, de angulos no andara muy alla. Y hay que estar muy seguro de que las soldaduras van a aguantar.
El que no tiene una fat es porque no quiere http://www.carrefour.es/mountain-bike-de-aluminio-fat-bike-26/369704782/p/
Real Craft – An Interview with BTR Tam and Burf of BTR Fabrications have come a long way in a relatively short time. We sat down with them to find out where they’ve come from, where they are and where they are going Hey Guys, So first up. How about a bit of a history lesson? How did you guys meet and how did you end up starting BTR Fabrications? Tam- We met in Oxford in 2008 through K-9 Industries. After a bit of hanging out and riding bikes we both knew that we wanted to make bikes. I worked for K-9 until summer 2011, when I decided I wanted to build bikes my way. I knew Burf would be the perfect business partner because we both had the same goals and values, and our skills complement each other nicely. I think the conversation went “So shall we actually start this company then?” “Yeah, alright!”…little did we know the can of worms we were opening! We completed our first frame (‘Mark 1′, the Belter) in September 2011, and founded BTR Fabrications in January 2012. Burf- I think we were in a pub after Uni lectures, half cut, when it came up in conversation that we both would like to run our own frame building company. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to run my own company building frames, so when Tam said he wanted to as well I was pretty stoked. He was on his placement year as K-9’s design engineer at the time, so he knew what he was doing with frame design. I flunked out of Uni in my second year and spent a fair few months on the doll trying to find a job. It was smack bang in the middle of the credit crunch when I landed an apprentice position at a sheet metal fabrication firm and cut my teeth with the TIG welder. A few months later I got “the call” from Tam one lunch time. Starting your own business is a scary process no matter what industry you’re in. What did it take both financially and in terms of time and effort to get yourselves up and running as a legitimate bike frame manufacturer? Tam- I don’t think either of us found it scary. Probably because we had no idea what we were getting into! We just got on with it, one step at a time. Burf held down a full-time job as well as BTR for the first 2 and a half years (and still works part-time for The Bicycle Academy now). I had left K-9 by the time we started BTR, so I muddled on as best I could with BTR full-time. BTR wasn’t providing any income at this stage so I lived in our workshop, sleeping on a shelf. The workshop was actually Burf’s dad’s garden shed, so it had no insulation and no facilities- showers and toilets were found in Burf and Ellie’s flat, and I had an electric blanket inside my sleeping bag to keep the chill off. I still don’t get as good a night’s sleep as I did on my shelf in the shed. In September 2013 BTR moved in next to The Bicycle Academy in Frome. This was a massive positive step for us, but was prompted by Burf being made redundant. I then moved into a mate’s canal boat, sleeping on the floor of the ‘living room’. Really it was all open-plan (except the bathroom), so Ant put up with me essentially sleeping in his bedroom for a total of 18 months- legend. We’re still developing, learning and improving on everything that we do (who isn’t??) but I now live in a flat and sleep in a proper bed! Burf- We had no option but to start small and build up from there. I didn’t have any intention of getting a loan or quitting my job, so it wasn’t really that scary. My job was only paying £6 an hour at the time though, I didn’t have a penny to my name and everything I earned went on rent and food. We needed to buy a welder and the tubing to build a frame, so I had to come up with a plan to find some cash. But that’s a story for another time… The strain wasn’t so much a financial one initially, but more one of time. Holding down a full time job and building frames in the evenings and weekends was a lot of hard work. To get to where we are now has been a long hard road, sometimes I have wanted to give up, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Building frames is something I have wanted to do for as long as I can remember, and when they are as good as our frames are, you cant help but be proud. What puts the cherry on top is getting great feedback from our customers, which happens pretty often! Also winning a race on a frame you have built is pretty sweet. Quality is very much the ethos of BTR it’s fair to say. Why is that approach to bike building so important to you? Tam- Yes, it’s the whole point of BTR! We don’t just make bikes as ornaments; we make them to be ridden, to be reliable and to perform well. Quality is crucial to performance, since broken bikes aren’t so very fast… We take immense pride in our work too, which is crucial to keeping us motivated. Burf- Every time I build a frame I can see tiny details that could have been better. It’s this that drives me on, even if you would never notice What could look like scrap… Can turn into a beautifully hand crafted, integrated seat clamp. As it’s just the two of you hand building the frames, what’s the process of ensuring that every frame you build meets your high standards? Tam- Every part of the process has to be done right for the frames to be top quality. A bike frame is only as strong as its weakest part, so nothing can be overlooked. We spend a massive portion of the build time just cleaning the tubes and components for welding- things that you can’t see or feel when it’s finished. Welding is probably the most important part of the process for us (and any welded bike frame) since it’s so sensitive to any discrepancy. You can tell we’ve done our job well when you notice nothing; nothing going wrong, no creaks or rattles, no blemishes, no weld defects. Anyhow, since there’s only the 2 of us doing everything on the frames we can check and double check every single part of the process, from bare tubes to finished frame- that’s how we know our frames are the best. Burf- As its just the two of us it’s a lot easier to make sure everything meets our standards. We know what it takes to make it perfect, and we care deeply about the end product. If we employed an apprentice, or had the frames manufactured elsewhere, this third party more than likely will not have the same sentiment and probably wouldn’t think twice about cutting a few corners. “Good enough” isn’t good enough. So, from the time you start making your first cuts and welds on a frame, how long before it’s boxed up ready to go out to a customer? Tam- If we could focus 100% on working on one frame, it would take about 20 man-hours to get from bare tubes to a completed frame. We then take the frames to our finishers to have them powder coated, which normally takes about a week. Final finishing (head badge, stickers, fasteners, etc) takes a couple of hours, and then we can box it up and send it on it’s way. In reality it takes a lot longer, since we have to keep running the rest of the business and we build every frame to order so there are small delays in getting tubing delivered. Burfs’ Tig Welder, makes things happen. Can you give us an idea of the basic process of building a bike frame? Where do you start? Sure, it goes a bit like this: 1. Order tubing 2. Clean and inspect tubing 3. Drill breathers, de-burr and clean the head tube and bottom bracket shell 4. Cut all tubes to length 5. Notch the front triangle tubes to fit together 6. Notch the chain stays 7. De-burr, clean and de-grease main frame and chain stays 8. Tack weld front triangle and chain stays 9. Notch the head gusset and seat stays 10. De-burr and clean the head gusset, seat stays and chain stay gussets 11. Fit the chain stay gussets 12. De-grease the head gusset, seat stays and chain stay gussets 13. Tack weld the seat stays 14. Notch and fit the rear brake mount 15. De-burr, clean and de-grease the rear brake mount 16. Tack weld the rear brake mount 17. Check frame alignment 18. Finish weld the frame 19. Tack and weld the gussets 20. Mill the chain ring clearance in the chain stay 21. De-burr the chain stay 22. Fit the chain stay cover sheet metal 23. Clean and de-grease the chain stay and cover 24. Tack and weld the chain stay cover 25. Clean and de-grease all cable guides, integrated seat clamp, ISCG mount, etc 26. Weld cable guides, seat clamp, ISCG, etc 27. Ream seat and head tubes, chase all threads 28. Final check of frame 29. Final alignment check 30. Weigh the frame 31. De-grease entire frame 32. Prepare for powder coat 33. Powder coat 34. Weigh the frame 35. Stamp the head badge 36. Attach head badge, stickers, rear axle, all fasteners 37. Apply corrosion inhibitor 38. Pack 39. Send! 40. (Receive, unpack, assemble, ride, go to the pub) -recommended steps for customers. Obviously there are heaps of little things in between all of those steps- setting up jigs and fixtures, checking measurements, minor alignment checks, making cups of tea, eating biscuits, grinding tungstens, checking gas flow, borrowing tools from TBA, etc etc… But those are the major steps for a Ranger. There isn’t a corner of the workshop without some interesting bits to look at. Performance is important at this level so, in terms of design and making sure these frame do what you want them to do out on the trails, how do you come up with the numbers and angles to get it right? Is it trial and error? Tam- There is an element of trial and error, but we do a lot of testing, thinking (aka ‘mental simulations’), FEA (Finite Element Analysis- computerised simulations), checking, and checking again before we commit to a design. By the time we’ve built our first prototype of a frame, we’re already very confident that it will handle, perform and last as we intend it to. If a frame doesn’t perform how we want it to, we don’t take it to production. We have no interest in making a bike for the sake of making a bike; we have to add something to the mix like extra stability, or better durability, or better comfort. There are surprisingly few formulae to predict how a bike – especially a mountain bike – will handle, since it’s operating conditions are so variable. So it takes a lot of judgement and time to arrive at a finalised set of numbers for a design, and then we still need to select tubing and frame components which work how we want them to. A lot (probably actually the majority) of other frame builders use frame components (dropouts and other frame fittings) bought off the shelf; we will only do this if the part fits the application perfectly…which they rarely do, even simple parts like horizontal dropouts. I guess being small and essentially making frames to order means that you can offer a really tailored and personable service? What can you guys do that pretty much every other manufacturer can’t? Tam- We can offer customisations- geometry, materials, etc- but we often wonder why customers would want us to; in our eyes our standard frames are already as good as we can make them! I know, it’s very subjective, that’s one of the great things about cycling. But that aside, even seemingly trivial geometry changes actually take quite a lot of time to execute, so small changes are still very expensive. We do offer some optional extras though- different cable routing, ISCG mount, integrated seat clamp, bottle cage bosses, etc- these are included in the price of the frame. There are actually 208 possible different variations of Ranger, without even going for custom paint or geometry changes. Some of our other party tricks are sending photos of the build process of each customer’s frame, and adding custom text to the head badge. Customers can even arrange to come to our workshop and watch (or get involved!) with their frame build. We’re also happy for customers to bring their components to our workshop when their frame is finished and we’ll help to assemble the bike with them. That’s particularly nice because we get to share their new bike stoke! The finished product. Model, serial number date and even your name. BT Ranger Dropouts Obviously going the Taiwanese route is a cheaper option for all involved. How come you guys have rejected that approach? Tam- Mainly because we want to control our whole business ourselves- we want to be able to offer a personal service to our customers, we want to make the frames we sell, we want to be able to react quickly to ‘standard’ changes, we want to be able to implement new ideas or design updates quickly to ensure that they reach customers ASAP. We know that Taiwanese build quality can be exceptionally good (I’ve been and seen it with my own eyes!), but we fully believe that our frames are as good, if not better! Another factor is the minimum order values for buying from Taiwan which we don’t have the funds to cover, but this isn’t such a major bother for us because we’re set on doing it ourselves anyhow. Burf- A cheap price doesn’t necessarily mean good value. “Fast, Good, Cheap. Pick Two.” When buying a frame from us you know exactly where it has come from, who has built it and you become part of the story. Your hard earned becomes our hard earned, and gets put back into BTR in the form of better tooling, demo bikes or videos, maybe even a fresh set of brake pads or bearings for our own bikes. Not only that but your money stays in the UK, helping to strengthen our economy and secure a future for the next generation. When buying a mass produced frame from a far eastern manufacturer you get nothing but a cheap bike. People and the environment could well have been exploited along the way too. Burf at work. Do you both share the ethos ‘steel is real’ when it comes to bike designing and building? Tam- Slightly, but not exactly. We both like the way steel frames look and feel, and it’s a good material to work with, but the deciding factor is function; steel is strong, forgiving and predictable, and we can produce high strength welds without the need for any heat treatment. Another factor is that the range of aluminium tubing available in the UK is very very limited compared with Taiwan, and compared with the range of steel tubing. However, that’s something we could work around if we wanted to. We work in steel because it allows us to produce frames which perform flawlessly. Burf- I (actually ‘We both’ – Tam) don’t really understand that saying, “steel is real”. Other materials are real too. I prefer “Reduce carbon, ride steel” Are you going to work with other materials at any point? Tam- Maybe, we’ll see. We won’t rule anything out just for the sake of sticking to traditions; we’ll choose the material which allows us to produce the best frame possible in every case. That being said, I don’t think it’s feasible for us to effectively work with carbon fibre in the near future. Burf- It’s all about 3D printing at the moment, so I’ve heard. One room for everything here. Bikes really are built from ideas through to the finished product all within a few feet. What’s the future both short term and long term for BTR? Tam- Short-term it’s keeping our heads down, and keeping working in the direction we’re set on. We’ll be improving our existing range wherever possible, and working on new bikes when we are inspired to bring something new to the world. I don’t have outlandish plans for BTR to become a huge, faceless organisation to earn millions; I just want to grow gradually by doing what we already do as well as we possibly can. Our mid-term goal is for BTR to provide a living wage for both of us. A long-term goal is for BTR to continue to provide a living wage for both of us. I have to admit that I do have small daydreams of bringing more of my favourite people to work with us at BTR- we both have friends who we’d dearly love to employ as they’d be great additions to BTR, and they’d help BTR realise its potential. So I do hope that some expansion will occur! Burf- As Tam said above, getting BTR to pay a steady living wage is plan number one. This would allow me to work for BTR full time, allowing me to focus my efforts. It’s hard for me to do a good job at both TBA and BTR currently because I can’t think about one while working on the other. Long term; I’d love to have a World Cup race team, with a workshop at the bottom of a massive hill and test tracks finishing at the door. That was the dream as a teenager… Maybe one day? CNC cut then pressed in house. This is the gusset on the rear end of a Pinner. Do you have any immediate projects that you can let us in on? Tam- We’re gradually working our way towards road bikes, having started out with a downhill hardtail (the Belter). Our next release will still have knobbly tyres, but they’ll be pretty skinny… www.btr-fabrications.com
REVIEW CAVALERIE ANAKIN WORDS: Paul Aston PHOTOS: Tom Gaffney Cavalerie probably isn't a brand you are familiar with, nor was I until I spotted French Junior rider, Benoit Coulanges piloting his gearbox-equipped Nicolai to 15th place at the Fort William World Cup last year. Benoit was riding an Effigear gearbox-equipped bike, the brand that gave birth to Cavalerie Bikes parented by Guy Cavalerie and David Roumeas. Never planning on building bikes themselves, they concentrated on designing and perfecting their gearbox unit with the hope of selling them to existing frame manufacturers who would build bikes to house the system. A slow start with a lack of interest from other brands left the pair in a conundrum - what to do next? The answer was to start building their own bikes and Cavalerie was born. The Cavalerie Anakin is a 160mm travel bike from the Lyon-based brand, which comes from a four bike range including downhill, freeride and fat bike chassis all using the same gearbox and Gates Carbon belt drive system. Custom builds are available, and €3985 gets you a frame with gearbox, belt, seat clamp, headset and a BOS Kirk shock. Anakin Details • Intended use: all-mountain / enduro • Rear wheel travel: 160mm • Wheel size: 27.5" • Full alloy frame • Effigear 9-speed gearbox • Gates Carbon Belt Drive • 66 degree head angle • Frame weight: 5,744g (inc. shock, belt, and rear hub) • Bike weight: 14.5kg / 32 lb • Frame MSRP: €3985 ($4465 USD) • Bike pictured approx. 6200€ ($6946 USD) • cavalerie-bikes.com / effigear.com Frame Details The Anakin uses an industrial looking, full alloy tube set. The bike's high single pivot system uses the main drive axle of the Effigear as a pivot. Another pivot is placed close to the micro-adjustable horizontal dropouts, which drives the seat stay that is attached to a short link hanging underneath the top tube. The rear wheel uses a 135mm single speed hub with a fixed sprocket and a zero-dish wheel with symmetrically angled spokes for added wheel strength. Other details include a tapered head tube, 180mm post mount for the rear brake, as well as internal and external cable routeing options. Disappointingly, there is no space or consideration for a bottle cage anywhere on the frame. A symmetrically dished rear wheel should help increase strength and stiffness. The brake calliper mount is part of the dropout, so it won't need to be readjusted when moving the wheel. Geometry The Anakin features contemporary geometry for a bike that might see some enduro racing: I rode a large-sized frame with a generous reach of 472mm, a 66º head angle, and a steep 75.5º seat angle. The wheelbase sits around 1210mm but varies slightly as the chainstay slides between 421 - 431mm depending upon belt adjustment. An extra-large sized frame has also been added to the lineup and should be available mid-summer. The Effigear Explained While it looks like there is a lot happening inside the Effigear box, it's actually quite easy to understand: the axle driven by the crank arms connects to the primary (lower) range of gears via a steel sprocket. Of this primary range of gears, only one is engaged at any one time. The gear selector is inside the axle that passes through this primary range, and the selector slides side to side and pushes out freehub-style pawls to engage the desired gear. Views: 10,086 Faves: 10 Comments: 2 The Gates Carbon Drive should make for a bike that's close to being maintenance free, at least when talking about the drivetrain. My bike had the equivalent range of a 26 tooth chain ring with a 10 - 44 cassette, but different sized external sprockets can be used at the box or hub to give desired gear ratios. The complete Effigear system weighs 2,640 grams, which includes the box, crank arms, shifters, belt and lubrication oil. Cavalerie suggests this weight is on par with an average double chain ring system, using an 11 - 34 cassette. This diagram shows how the Effigear box can be built in three different shapes, changing the position of the three main components: the crank axle, the primary gears and secondary range/main pivot to choose the desired pivot and bottom bracket locations different types of bike. Riding the Anakin Shifting Compared to a derailleur system, the Effigear offers some notable pros and cons. The glaring con is that you can't change into an easier gear with pressure on the pedals, which is tough at first. When tackling climbs, a very short release of tension on the pedals is needed to allow the gear to change. For me, the pros seemed to outweigh the cons, though: being able to select between any number of gears when freewheeling or at a stand still, and solid down shifts when putting maximum power through the cranks. When I became used to the system, I found myself pre-selecting gears when a climb came into view but still descending. Hopping onto a coffin-sized rock on a Swiss single, I needing to wheelie off, but I was in too hard a gear; I held a track stand, flicked up a couple of gears and popped off the death box. I also found this useful when I bobbled on a couple of stream crossings and lost all momentum - I just clicked up a few gears a pedalled out. A similar situation with a derailleur system might have meant getting off to spin the cranks and get into the right gear, or crunching the chain to move up to the other end of the cassette over a couple of crank rotations. Being able to shift so freely quickly became a habit, and going back to a derailleur system was tough to re-adapt to. With the exception of powering up climbs which were easier than with the gearbox and something that a rider is going to have to keep in mind when considering the Anakin. Climbing The 75.5º seat angle is a great start for heading up steep climbs, but due to the lack of anti-squat in the system, the Anakin did wallow a little, similar to the Pole Rinne Yla I reviewed last year. It's great for pedalling through rough stuff as the wheel is free from chain tension to move over obstacles but it struggled with wallowing when going through large dips and putting the power down, especially when seated. Power transfer certainly isn't as direct as a traditional drivetrain because the forces from your legs have to make it through multiple cogs and the belt. I wouldn't like to comment on real efficiency numbers as some more scientific testing would be needed, but it certainly didn't feel as efficient as a chain. David admits that the system won't be as efficient as a clean and well-oiled derailleur system, but can possibly offer an advantage when things get muddy. Descending and Handling I instantly felt comfortable on the Anakin heading straight into some downhill tracks in Morzine to get a feel for the bike. The 66º head angle and roomy top tube for a large frame, combined with the low and centralised weight, kept things stable and offered a great front/rear balance. The high pivot point, light rear wheel, and lack of feedback from chain stretch meant the suspension action was incredible, and ploughing into Le Pleneys favourite braking bumps was no issue. Notably, riding this bike with flat pedals was a cinch, my feet just stuck to the pedals while I could feel the back wheel going wild behind me with only a reassuring thud of rubber against dirt - the Anakin is nearly silent. The linkage and BOS Kirk gave a progressive feel and the Anakin loved to charge the descents, with a rewarding generation of speed when pumping and pushing through holes, compressions, and ruts. A few times I winced as I got way too close to some derailleur dinging rocks but floated through without concern. The bottom bracket clearance is huge as I found when mistiming a fallen tree hop and braced for the inevitable chain ring collision with the object in question. But nothing happened and I just sailed straight over. Even if you did contact the box with the ground, the frame looks burly enough to take more abuse than any bash guard ever could. Downsides Rolling speed seems affected by the continually rotating mass of the box and belt when freewheeling. A freewheel could be used at the rear hub but it's not recommended by Effigear as it requires an extra ten degrees of retro pedalling to change into an easier gear. A zero degree engagement hub would be a great solution but doesn't exist in the correct sizing for the Anakin. This is particularly clear when jumping as the slowing wheel gently pushed your weight forwards in the air, similar to pulling the back brake or letting off the throttle on a motorbike - a slight change of balance is required. I ride left foot forwards and with my knees pretty close to the frame in corners, and I sometimes take swingarm hits to the inside of the leg and knee on some bikes. What happens when there is a carbon belt drive constantly whirring around in this area? Leg burns. Nothing major, but I did singe the inside of my calf muscle a few times when hitting left-hand corners. This is a real issue, and Cavalerie will have to install some sort of guard to fix the problem. The friction in the system is also less than ideal, as is having to not apply pressure to the pedals if you want to shift into an easier gear. Pinkbike's Take: The Anakin is not inexpensive or the most efficient when pedalling, but does have a lot to offer in the contrary. Great handling, low maintenance, huge clearance, silence and centralised weight are massive positives. The lack of efficiency will prove to be a no-no for people who like to go for long rides, but for more extreme disciplines where carrying speed takes precedence over pedalling, I didn't feel this is an issue. If you live somewhere warm, dry with fairly smooth terrain lacking in derailleur biting rocks, a gearbox maybe isn't something on your wishlist. It's not the gearbox bike that so many people dream will make derailleurs obsolete, but it's close. The Anakin is a great option for riders who tackle muddy conditions and gnarly terrain that's littered with roots and rocks. - Paul Aston
