Dual Linkage Carbon Fibre Mountain Bike

After completing his previous bike projects at the end of 2020, Anthony was thinking of making a new one with the aim of improving on the drawbacks of the first design. He also planned to modernize the geometry (by changing the seat tube / head tube angles, designing a straight seat tube for max dropper insertion and to move away from organic shapes etc..)

The team is made up of two friends that have reconnected after a 20 year gap. Anthony a hand tool designer and Mathieu a freelance industrial designer who has created many objects in differing fields including a Ultralight plane, house furniture and many other items. This project came to mind and the two merged their knowledge to complete this project.

They began with the initial design, and made changes and improvements to make it unique. One of the biggest changes was the swingarm design which is minimalist but has all the features needed for all its functionalities. They designed it to be super easy to manufacture, some of the prepreg plies are uninterrupted and cover almost the whole shape using one piece.

As for the material, they used the same materials as with Anthony's previous project, which incidentally happen to be the easiest they found to work with. For the swingarm, the mould cavities was 3D printed Polycarbonate, backed up with EMP60, finished with S120. For the front triangle, it’s made from a scale 1 PLA pattern, coated with S120. These patterns were then used to make the moulds and made with EG160 and EMP60. Easy Lease was used whenever it was necessary to have a release agent.

These two parts were manufactured with a combination of XC110 210g XPREG and XC130 UD. For the linkages, they created 3D printed moulds and all axles were machined out of aluminium, all machined by Mathieu. The parts were moulded using the Forged carbon fibre process.

The connection between the left and right side of the swingarm was made using the same forged carbon fibre process from a really simple 3D printed mould. The swingarm was then bonded together using VM100 Adhesive. Where an aluminium insert was needed (bearing mount or threaded axle) they were bonded into place with the Permabond ET538 Adhesive.

Any imperfections on the parts were filled in with VM100 and a thin coat of XCR resin over the top. They were then all hand polished, ready to coat with PU clear coat. For this a primer and PU coat from Stardust Colors was used. Finally stickers made locally by MPA Multi Passions Adhésif were applied for a stunning look!

Now the goal for the pair is to find funds to push the project into full production!

Photo Credits: © Thibaut Simon / Vélo Vert Magazine.

If you have enjoyed learning about this project, Anthony and Mathieu would appreciate hearing your thoughts and opinions by completing this survey. Thank you!