Civia blog

Bryant Frame Production

Thursday, August 19, 2010 | 10 Comments Written by: Rob Wesson

Hi, I’m Rob Wesson and the engineer at Civia.  I hope you’re enjoying the increased blog posts as we try to shed some light on our unique designs and how we go about bringing great ideas from sketches to functioning components and complete bicycles. 

 I recently returned from Taiwan and for the next few posts I thought I’d share some images and discussion regarding how we take our designs and work closely with our manufacturing partners to make it happen.

Scott Thayer, Civia Brand Manager and I were in Taiwan for almost two weeks with a full schedule of suppliers to see and projects to discuss.  Some were follow up visits with our tried and true supply chain; others were with new suppliers that we are looking at for projects for 2012-2013.  Yes, we are looking that far ahead and no I can’t share this information with you just yet.  Stay tuned…

 So for today, I’d like to focus on our frame supplier of the Bryant.  We are fortunate to have partnered with one of the best frame makers in Taiwan.  His experience, insight and ability to handle difficult manufacturing issues helped us fine tune the Bryant.  As you’ve seen in earlier posts (and more to come), the Bryant has some unique features and special details rarely found on any other bike in the industry.

 Below is a picture of the Bryant’s front triangle awaiting their turn to be mated to the rear seat and chain stays.  You can easily see three of our features. 

1. Seat tube collar 

2. Head tube ring

3. Head tube with tapped holes for stainless head tube badge. 

 

Maybe you’re waiting for one of these beauties??

 In the next picture we have the drive side seat/chain stay assemblies.  As you may know, the Bryant has a split drop out on the drive side in order to install the Carbon Drive Systems’ belt.   By removing the two chain ring bolts and replaceable plate, the drop out has a small opening in which the belt can pass through for assembly.  What is most interesting about this picture, and not readily apparent, are all the manufacturing issues that you have to solve for to execute this type of drop out well.

 

  1. The split drop out must be connected during manufacturing to ensure proper alignment and correct geometry.  Therefore, we needed to have stainless steel drop out plates CNC’d for manufacturing and paint use.  Why not use the production aluminum plates you ask?  Well for one, we didn’t want to scuff up the nicely polished aluminum plates during manufacturing and frame alignment.  Secondly, we didn’t want to paint the aluminum plates. 
  2. The drive side, two piece drop out needed to be cast in stainless steel.  (The non drive side is 4130 cromoly.)  The reason was two fold here.  First, the drop out must stay together during painting and the drying ovens.  Because of the elevated temperature of this process, the seat stays and chain stays may drift apart too much and result in a larger than designed gap at the split.  Additionally, since there needed to be a plate connecting the drop out, it would not get any paint in this area – unpainted cromoly = bad.  By the same token, even if we could have solved for this issue, we still felt that there was a high probability that this area could be prone to scratches or paint chips due to belt removal/installation or chain rub etc.  With a stainless drop out you can be sure that you will not develop rust in this vulnerable spot over the life of your Bryant.   

 So, the extra labor and processes include:

 

  • 1. Installing the SS plates during manufacturing. 

    • 2. Removing the non-drive plate prior to paint. 

    3. Removing the drive side plate after paint (it then must be cleaned and prepped for the next round of production. 

    4. Finally the production aluminum plates are installed to the frame and ready for sale. 

    Therefore, this is a simple example of how much detail and planning goes into our designs in order to bring you something truly special.  It’s also to show you that you need a committed and excellent manufacturing partner to execute this well.

     Thanks for reading! 

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    Comments

    Fergie348 | August 25th, 2010

    Hi Rob,

    Thanks for the peek into your Taiwanese suppliers’ factory.  Can you name names for your Bryant frame supplier or is it a secret? (my guess is you use Merida)  The frames look really nice!

    With the complexity of the dropout processing you described, I think I can see why you haven’t offered the Hyland in a belt drive version yet..

    I know you guys must be crazy busy now preparing for Interbike, but can you give me a rough estimate on when Bryant replacement forks will become available again?  I need one..

    Rob Wesson | August 26th, 2010

    Hello Fergie348,

    Good guess but it’s not Merida.  Our supplier is a little smaller than that company but he still produces frames for world wide customers.  I won’t name them but if you ever find yourself at one of the US Handbuilt Bike Shows, you may run into him as he and his wife make this event a part of their US trip every year.  He’s that kind of builder. 

    Hyland belt drive?  Yes - but not yet.  We are still in development on this one.  As I mentioned, the split in the frame is no trivial mater.  The goal with the Bryant was to hit that sweet spot between the function, asthetics and manufacturing.  We’re really proud of the results we achieved here but there is always room for improvment in these three areas.  That’s what we are working on now.

    What’s interbike?  Seriously, if the last half of August and the first couple of weeks of September weren’t crazy we’d know there was something seriously wrong.  We’ve got our head down and pushing hard.  It’s going to be a great show for us and we’re excited about the new products we’ll be showing.  That said,  the Bryant aftermarket forks should be in stock in roughly 21 days according to the latest invoice we received.  If you haven’t already done so, make sure you have your local dealer sign up for “item watch” on this part number (FK2407).  They’ll get an email as soon as the forks are available and can quickly order it and get you out on that Bryant.

    Thanks for reading.
    Rob

    Fergie348 | August 26th, 2010

    Thanks Rob,

    Good luck with your final show prep - I remember the madness. (Inside CSR, Bianchi USA in ‘98, ‘99. The Pantani years..)

    I’ll get with my LBS on the Bryant fork.  It’s actually going on a Redline frame, as their stock aluminum forks are pretty squirrely.  Depending on your color choices, I may pick up a Bryant frameset in 2011.  It’s a fantastic commuter bike.

    Can’t wait to see what you guys come up with.  Keep us posted.

    Rob Wesson | August 26th, 2010

    If you could pick your color of Bryant, what would it be and why?

    Fergie348 | August 26th, 2010

    Hmm - I’d probably pick a metallic green color, heading toward the yellow part of the spectrum for two reasons:

    #1. Nostalgia for a Bridgestone X0-1 that I bought and had repainted in a yellowish green metallic.  That was the bike I rode across the country when my youth and lack of family responsibilities made that sort of thing possible.

    #2. I have bikes that are red (or primarily red), blue, grey and brown.  This would fill in the palette a bit.

    Of course, the decals you have available would also factor into it..

    Rob Wesson | August 27th, 2010

    Thanks for the feedback.  I’d agree that could be a compelling color that would look pretty sharp.  I’ll pass it along to the marketing folks.

    Fergie348 | August 27th, 2010

    Any time Rob. 

    I love the direction you guys are going with your line, and I think we’ll see good growth in ‘transportation cycling’ in the next few years.  Again, have a great show.  I hope to see more Civia product in the shops around here (NorCal) in 2011.

    John | September 7th, 2010

    Rob - In your comment you say: “Hyland belt drive?  Yes - but not yet.”  Can you be any more specific?  Will it be available for purchase by Spring 2011?

    Thanks.

    Rob Wesson | September 8th, 2010

    John - the best I can tell you at this point is that a Hyland belt drive compatible bike is a priority for us here at Civia.  We continue to receive multiple comments and requests about it so we know it’s high on people’s wish list.  Information about exact timing will become known as we get closer to the end of the year.  Thanks for the interest and keep checking back on the blog as we try to keep everyone informed on what’s happening.

    John | September 8th, 2010

    Thanks - I really hope it will be available by spring.

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