I know some of you on here have got custom Ti frames from XACD in china for a relative bargain. Are there similar outfits offering one-off frames in cheaper steel tubesets?

Maxway would be the only one I’ve heard of:

Maxway

although I’m not sure if they do one-offs like XACD do, drop them a line and let us know the results as I’d be interested in finding out…

I’ve heard of Maxway as I believe that’s who Genesis use.

I guess they muict make one-off prototypes, but its whether they’d do that for me, is to be asked.

Are there similar outfits offering one-off frames in cheaper steel tubesets?

Not that I know of.

cheers Brant, i guess you must know most of them
So how many frames do you have to order from somene like Maxway to get them to work for you? and what’s your experience of getting prototypes made (with smaller batches)

So how many frames do you have to order from somene like Maxway to get them to work for you? and what’s your experience of getting prototypes made (with smaller batches)

100 frames.

Maxway are funny too. Meg’s a nut case. A very nice nut case, but a nut case.

They will usually do you one “sample for approval” rather than a “proto”.

Thanks for that.
another “bloke in a shed designing frames to be made in the far east” coming this way in the near future potentially…

It’s a step-up from “bloke in a shed”, which should please your wife.

Which reminds me – can I have my gentleman’s magazines back?

I thought about this as well, but then my wife told me that she’d divorce me if I did as I’d be exploiting the far eastern workforce.

she’s a bit mental.

@Brant +1 for Meg being a very nice nut case.

Had some interesting dealings with her, not for the faint hearted.

100 frames is the min with all the steel frame companies we contacted, did a pretty comprehensive trawl.

pay someone in the UK to do it, will work out similar and you’ll be supporting the UK economy

pay someone in the UK to do it, will work out similar and you’ll be supporting the UK economy

can of worms opened…

edhornby – other than handmade custom frame builders (Robin Mather, Dave Yates, or even 18bikes etc) have you any suggestions?
Are there any factories in the UK making bike frames?

i am currently getting a ti 29er made by XACD,, very impressed by the speed they get the modifications on the drawings done, etc, it seems best to get up at 5 in the morning so you can catch them at work,..

i did want the bike in aluminium but xacd had min batch of 500 ,

i also spoke to Lynskey in the US about the ti bike they were up for it and the prototype price wasnt too extrem but they had min order of 15 bikes,, which is too much for me at the moment, as my design is a little bit left field ,,

there is a guy who lives in the next village to me who builds and engineers stuff mainly for racing tricycles but does make normal frames

http://www.trykit.com/ but just looked at his website and he has 6 month waiting list for frames

I think there may be some builders in italy amd may be worth researching poland or czech for frames.

I wonder if anyone in here would like to autocad up a titanium rigid 20mm maxle 29er fork to send to XACD because I dont see any manufacturers filling this huge market anytime soon! 😉

Stoner – I may just do that… 🙂

ade ward – do you mind me asking how much that’s costing?
Quite fancy a version of the cruiser/newsboy frame. There’s someone on here who’s got one isn’t there?
How much are you doing in the way of modifying their existing design?

Stoner, what kind of fork are you thinking?
http://www.xacd.com.cn/product.asp?rpag=2&rootcl=1&cls=12
I like the “bending style fork”. P2-esque…

do you really need to autocad anything?

I’d just email them saying can you have the fork with a maxle fitting.

we charge the same for our products, with or without drawing it and most of our orders at my old company came as our competitors drawings marked up in pencil.