Designing a bike frame is a unique profession, as how do you calculate the load capacity and the appropriate thickness of your material? Choosing between Steel, Aluminum, or another material, all are choices that are made consciously and calculated. In this blog, I will talk about the development process and how we produce a strong bike frame wih best quality.
At Astonic, we consciously choose Aluminum, as this metal is well suited to withstand high humidity and prevents corrosion both inside and on the bike frame. Although more expensive, harder to work with, and requiring a more costly welding process, we believe that in countries with a lot of rainfall, Aluminum is a good choice for the production of the best bike frames.
Every development of a new model starts with creating a sketch, in which you determine the lines of the frame. Next, you convert the sketch into a 3D drawing, which allows you to see if your idea is technically feasible for production. You also examine whether the manufacturability of your frame is realistic or if there might be opportunities to make the design more manufacturable without compromising the frame's sturdiness.
In the drawing program, you can perform a stress test on your 3D frame. You've entered all the tube thicknesses, material, and other information, and the software calculates the weights and pressure your frame can withstand. Because Astonic leaves nothing to chance, after a successful stress test, we add 1 to 2 mm to the tube thickness of the tubes used. This way, we guarantee a high-quality frame to create the best E-Ride from Dutch soil.
For welding Aluminum, there is only one possibility to weld your connections, which is the TIG method. During the welding of the connections, material is added, and this way, you achieve extremely strong weld seams.
Steel can be welded in various ways, allowing for connections to be made without adding extra material, a method often used for cheaper bike frames. Also, relatively thin material is often chosen to reduce costs, which in our opinion, thin material only belongs in the cycling world where having a lighter bike is important and a unique welding method is always used for extremely strong connections.
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