Heatsink

Hi, What do you think of this first step in a style change? Something had to be done because the site was looking rather tired! www.heatsinkbikes.com The webmaster side of HSB is definately my weakness, so be gentle! Hopefully this is an improvement on the previous look of the site! Just need to work through updating some more content too Steve

Here's the Geo for the 24UK: Wheel Base: 1025mm Headangle: 73 degrees BB rise: + 25 mm Chain stays: 385mm Rear brake mount: Magura 4 bolt mount Max rear tyre width: 2.6 inches Material: 7020 Aluminium Colours: (Silver, Metallic Blue, Black & White are all out of stock) Seat tube internal Dia: 30.9mm Weight: 1.974 kg (4.35lbs) including stickers & mech hanger Warrenty: 6 months against defects in manufacture and workmanship. Note: The geometry above is very similar to the Ashton ET geo, the break through frame for the 24" genre. All the 24UK info is available on my website too. I must admit to not updating it recently due to being so busy! There are some frames coming mid-Dec. Please email for more details to: Steve@heatsinkbikes.com Steve

Hi, German International rider Felix told me that it was just as easy to do the usually trials moves on his 24UK, but that the bike had the added bonus of being more flickable than a stock, which allowed for more imaginative riding Here's some footage of him in action: Steve

Baby sitting tonight So far so good! It's good too well upto this point so I'm sure it'll go pearshapped soon Steve

What to do with £1000? You don't have to spend it all to treat yourself! Being serious, why not spend a couple of hundred but only if you promise yourself you're going to try to hang onto the rest and get the best value out of it. Why not start something really positive like a getting a saving habit going? 10% of your usual income is a great idea, as suggested by Alvin Hall (!) Worth posting a photo of him to inspire you It's not to be underestimated the positive effect having a nice money buffer in the bank will bring to you. Not that I know anything about that will so many mouths to feed! Before then when we were looking to buy a house, it was quite cool to see the savings gradually build up. Also, by starting a habit of putting money away you'll make you're own luck in life. It'll give you the advantage over those who spend their money instantly, more options for the future! Steve

Agreed! I often don't have the time or disc space to download vids. Youtube is going to get you more views of your vid for people in my shoes. Once you've got their attention them higher quality downloads are nice to have Steve

The Coust pads are looking great on her Get better soon!

Olly ***!

Where I live there's a lovely wide pavement set back from the road that makes up a popular route for families to cycle to school with their children. Using the narrow road would be dangerous in this location and the pavement is the sensible choice. In theory a police man/woman could book the whole lot of them and fine them £500 each! In reality cycling on the pavement will always be one of the lowest priorities, and enforced with common sense. You surely shouldn't get in trouble unless you try really hard or you cycle in a zone which has been designated as a nuisance cyclist area and marked with according signs.

I've got some available for sale, for Vee mounts 26" to 24" position (1 inch lower new boss position): £17 posted Steve

Hi! It's a few weeks off now. During Nov fingers crossed Steve

Definately the Porsche 911 Turbo! Not the current model but the older mid 80s version with the whaletail spoiler, updated with C2/C4 bumpers and modern mirrors: Fantastic looks that you don't grow tired of Steve

An interesting thing that's struck me about Steel frames is a knock on from the fact that due to the mechanical properties of steel, an equivalent strength & stiffness piece of tubing to an Alu one will have a smaller diameter. This means skinnier tubes around the bike except for the regions which are set like the BB, headtube and to some degree the seattube. What this means is that you often see the high stress regions like the BB having big jumps of geometry from large tubing to skinny. On Alu frames I notice a natural reduction in this step and also the ease of using yokes to further smooth the transition of force. As a result, due to fabrication and tubing size I think that steel frames have a bit of a disadvantage in minimising stress risers at the joints. Difficult to gather any meaningful practical data on this, but certainly the sort of thing that anyone interested in bike frame design and materials should consider and can do some analysis on. Steve

Breads not too hard to make without a maker Hmmm....Tasty home made bread!

Heatsink Pad fitting guide I've found boiling in water works well but the oven method works more effortlessly. Steve

They're really laying into James this season! I'm loving the car-boats

Looking good so far! Here's your To Do list for top marks/personal interest: Produce some simple 2D images showing the tyre clearance around the seat-stay & chain stay regions when the wheel is at the limits of its position in those horizontal drop outs.Produce a weight estimation for the frame based on the tubing Mass per unit length - Ask yourself how this could be optimisedProduce some concepts for improving strength at the key stress regions of the frame, looking at existing solutions already out there, gussets etc, and taking into account the additional massProduce some calculations taking into account the stresses which may exist in the tubing when hit/pulled by a force that you think is meaningful (mass of average person is say 80kg, what force may be passed through the frame on drops?) The cross-sectional area of the frame will influence the actual stress that occurs - how does this compare with the yield stress and UTS of steel?Compare the stiffness of using different tube profiles, rectangular & circular, based on Second Moment of Area Calcs - In which directions is stiffness important in a frame?Viable product? Cost of frame build versus perceived price market would pay. How could this become more viable if production done at a larger scale?Steve

I still have a mahoosive bag of these seals left Seals are available at a bargain price of a couple of quid, more details via email. Please be aware that in many cases the inside bore of the cylinder may have been scored by grit so leakage may continue. Some try polishing the bore as well as replacing the o-rings, although it seems that there's not a guaranteed success rate with sorting out an R&B lever once it starts leaking. The sealing design is simply not as good as Magura's. Steve

All the best for the future Dave! It's great to see you going onwards and upwards. I wish you the best as you chase exciting new challenges, the opportunities for which you've worked hard to create. You're leaving Tartybikes in a healthy state that's for sure! I'm certain that you'll find success with your new venture Steve

I'm guessing at Chile....

A really good vid! It had my 8month old and 3 year old transfixed Steve

The original frame details are still available to check out here All the frames are sold, and although there was interest from UK riders, they were all snapped up by riders outside the UK. Despite their relatively low price, they didn't sell quickly so didn't look a hot product for the future. There are just so many 26" frames out there for riders to choose from. I realised that a better prospect was instead to listen to demand from riders for a product to plug the gap in the market for seated 24" frames, so this took priority. Taking about niches in general, I've come to realise that each product I think of releasing has to be very carefully evaluated so that it doesn't get overwhelmed in the market place by loads of competition. Components are expensive to get made in the UK, and one foot wrong with a product that doesn't sell is more catastrophic for a smaller firm than a larger one which can absorb these set backs. Steve

Hi, I did briefly have a small stock of 26" frames available to test the market, but naturally for a smaller company like HSB it makes sense to spot those niches which others may have overlooked (It can be easier for smaller, more accessible companies to pick up on riders' demands) rather than try and dive head long into an already busy market. Hence the move in the long run to get firmly behind a 24" street trials frame in the 24UK rather than offering Mods and Stock frames. Here are some photos to satisfy your curiousity! Steve

I think you've explained this really well in your last post Spode , against some surprisingly strong reaction. It's a new thing for trials, but is common for other skilled sports. Because of the danger involved it's excellent that it's being done in a professionally structured manner with experienced riders offering thorough guidance. I think new initiatives and ideas are to be applauded in Trials I hope it all works out! Steve

Long may this success continue! Congratulations to Robbie and you I can appreciate the hard work that you must be putting in, and it's great to see Wayne and your other supporters giving their all. All the best, Steve