PVC tubes vehicle frame

[Alain G]

The initial idea is to use PVC for its simplicity!

I challenge you to take off a tu tube from an adapter because with the right glue there is fusion of PVC.

I am a welder but I also frequently use PVC for water pipes and CPVC for washing chemicals from food factories and joints when done well are impossible to take off.

The bamboo is unusable to make a good joint easily therefore to avoid for the majority of people, the steel requires a welder but can be bolted, the wood remains accessible for all and is placed in second place after the PVC for the simplicity of execution.

I place PVC on top because it only requires a saw for working out, the wood also requires a saw but also clamps or a finishing nailer or screws.

[Ahmed]

The implementation of the PVC tube is simple because it sticks easily, but especially because it is a complex product with its wide range of fittings, junctions to the dimensions and following the best practices...

Neither wood nor metal offer this particularity, on the other hand their possibilities are much greater, by means of a corresponding material and know-how.

[Alain G]

PVC can remain outside in humidity without adding paint. wood and bamboo do not support humidity well without a good treatment not very ecological and metal rust.


The idea of ​​Grelinette from the start remains a good project initiative and needs to be explored!



Here are some good ideas in videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcoOnu3ZB48#t=47

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7ds05gZsF8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQawvPAP1G8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4Ia9Ml71KE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8sFB-yL1c4

A good link of PVC structural PVC filler with a good choice of colors and adapters that are not found in plumbing:

http://www.formufit.com/?gclid=CJOvg_2a ... 7Aod208AQw

See you!

[Grelinette]

Okay .... from the discussion comes the light!

Obviously, there are many projects to build PVC bicycle chassis!

Note in passing that we find the same chassis on several videos which seems to say that this particular chassis has been studied. (and another interesting and detailed one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0xA1bksbPI )

Now we can also redesign an even more original chassis, inspired for example by the design of the bamboo bike ... if some of you feel like a designer, I am interested.

Just for information, in one of Alain G's videos we find the bamboo bike, from 6'40, but we still don't know if it is a motor-wheel at the front: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-42yRAJOZw



It would seem that it is not a motor-wheel but a reduction system, even speeds, integrated into the hub.

Note also the steering system with a cable that connects the cyclist's levers to the rear wheels!
Steering by the rear wheels is certainly easier to achieve than a conventional steering system with rack and rods. ( http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direction_%28automobile%29 )


To return to the project of PVC Hybrid Bike (to put it simply we will say the PVCHYVEL - pronounce "PCHIVEL"! ), some have already put electric wheel motors on a PVC bike:


The PVC frame of this "PVCHYVEL" looks pretty and interesting because there are also wooden slats which surely consolidate too, but a pity that we do not see it fully. (there are surely other videos where we can see it better):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyUMzR3eiCY

In short, the PVC tube seems to have convinced of its interest and its effectiveness. Finally I like Alain G and Ahmed think that nothing equals its simplicity, its wide choice of assembly elements and its cost!

I was on the bamboo, but I fear that this choice will generate too many small problems that will slow down the realization, especially for the joins, and let's not forget that the purpose of this new project is to test a priori new hybridization system (straight out of the hybrid horse-drawn carriage project!).

Finally, to go quickly, my choice comes back to the PVC tube, even if it means redoing a beautiful bamboo frame later if the hybridization system proves to be functional.

Now, being of a consensual nature, and to satisfy everyone, I will slide pieces of bamboo into the PVC tubes which should also consolidate them without weighing down too much!

Edit: Many thanks to everyone for your comments. I hope this new project will be as motivating and cooperative as that of the hybrid carriage!

[Grelinette]

Finally, what do you think of redoing this one in PVC tubes?



You just have to redo the wheel attachments and the front axle for the steering, but for the rest, switching from the horsepower to Pvchyvel should be fairly simple.

[Philippe Schutt]

I don't think this chassis is very rigid. (the White)
These are almost only rectangles that can deform into diamonds. That said, it may be to replace the suspension ...

[Grelinette]

I don't think this chassis is very rigid. (the White)
These are almost only rectangles that can deform into diamonds. That said, it may be to replace the suspension ...

Indeed, but that rests the question of injecting a material (a foam) in the subjected tubes most subjected to the forces of deformation.

A solution that came to me this weekend: put bamboo slats in the tubes most subjected to forces and inject a polyurethane foam, or better, a flexible foam.

[Philippe Schutt]

or put the tubes in the right place?

[Grelinette]

or put the tubes in the right place?

However, I imagine that this chassis (the one made of PVC tubes and that we see on many videos) has been studied to resist forces in an acceptable way.
However, like all human creation, it is undoubtedly perfectible.

To come back to the solution of consolidating some tubes (if not all) by adding (injecting) something in it, everything is choosing the right balance and the right method: if, at low cost, little difficulty and quickly, it is possible to significantly increase the solidity of an element, why deprive yourself of it?

Nevertheless, Philippe Schutt, if you see mechanical aberrations, do not hesitate to give your opinion.
Chassis modeling would be useful to improve it ...

[Philippe Schutt]

simply the best figure to distribute the forces without deformation being the triangle, I am surprised to see none on this chassis.
Thus for example the rear wheels: one side is taken near the front of the vertical rectangle, the other near the rear of said frame. If you pass a bump, the rectangle becomes deformed. Is it voluntary to act as a suspension or is it only to use 90 ° fittings?

At the front there is a triangle, even if the tubes are offset. But with the passage for the feet this rigidity is not recovered by the rear structure.
But that's a criticism for a chassis that must last and be produced in multiple copies. For an ephemeral chassis, we don't care a bit, I guess.