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How are bikes made? It's a question we've all asked, but how does a bike go from being an idea to being a design on a computer to then becoming a physical product? How does the process of making a bike work?
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00:08So I've just jumped inside and I'm joined by Cameron Piper. Can you just introduce yourself
00:12and tell us a little bit about what you do here at Specialized? Sure, so I joined Specialized almost
00:16eight years ago. I was running our in-house wind tunnel for about two and a half years,
00:20working to develop our aerodynamic product because I was working with a lot of our athletes
00:24and since then I moved over to the road product team specifically managing Tarmac, Athos, Shiv and
00:30LA Sprint, so all the performance road families we have within the category of Specialized.
00:36So now when you're conceptualizing your bike, you know the very first steps of starting that project,
00:42what does that look like and how do you go about it? Typically we start out with some different
00:45targets based on the target rider that we have as well as experience that we're hoping to improve
00:50for that rider and so with a project like LA Sprint, it's a performance rider. They want speed,
00:55they want a fast bike aerodynamically, they want a bike that's handling really well and how they expect
00:59it, as well as a bike that rides really well when it comes to a race experience or when they're
01:04training. So we'll start off by setting those goals for the project and spend a number of months really
01:09validating and understanding how realistic those goals are to fine-tune the actual targets that we have
01:15going forward into development. So then from that point, what's the next step? Is it kind of a CAD
01:21process or how do you then take it forwards from once you've kind of analyzed and set out those initial
01:28targets? So throughout that whole entire concept phase, we're really taking some older projects and
01:33learnings that we've had from those and maybe cutting them up, testing the wind tunnel, doing different
01:37things to really prototype and understand the different performance targets we set for. And throughout that
01:43whole process, an engineer or designer is also working on the CAD or the 3D for the new bike,
01:49which allows us to then 3D print those models or work on small manufacturing processes that we can
01:56as we're moving towards a phase where we're actually going to create the production CAD or what we're
02:00actually moving to create tools with and then test the overall frames structure. When we're actually
02:06through part of the concept phase and we have rough 3D planned out, we're able to 3D print or
02:12kind of make a rapid prototype. This one's machined out of ABS to allow us to then bring it to
02:18the wind
02:18tunnel and test some of the performance targets we have specifically with aerodynamics. Also by
02:22able to do this, we're able to hold onto a frame physically, which can tell you a lot about a
02:27project.
02:28And then at the same time too, with this one frame, if we said, Hey, we're not really where we
02:32want to be
02:32aerodynamically, we can cut it up. We can 3D print other parts and then place on this frame to say,
02:37what can we tweak a little bit to better meet those goals and really take the next steps in the
02:42project. So with this one, were there any specific learnings that you took that then went into the
02:47final product? Definitely. So this was a little bit further down the concept phase where it was
02:51actually one of the second prints that we did. And you can see here, there was an adjustment of
02:56the seat stay height. Yes. And that was done a little bit more to say, Hey, can we get a
03:00little
03:00bit more out of the UCI box that we have within this frame? Can we make it a little bit
03:04faster
03:04aerodynamically by moving the location of these at the same time too, this project was running in
03:09parallel with tarmac SL7. So we're also learning things from each end of the project that would
03:14kind of change the next steps for the project as we move along. Okay. So we have got here one
03:19of the
03:19first fully built metal frames that came out of the Asian factory. What role would have this played?
03:26So when it comes to the first frames that we actually have welded together, there's a lot of
03:31different things that we do. We call them typically looking samples because you learn a lot from that
03:35first process. So whether it's weld alignment or specific aspects of the frame with cable routing or
03:41different things of actually building a bike with it, it allows us to run through those different steps
03:45and then also understand where we need to change the manufacturing process for some of the tubes or the
03:51actual welding alignment or different aspects of that. So like this frame, for example, you can see
03:55this was done very early on in the process. It was one of the larger frame sizes and there's a
04:00lot of
04:00aspects of the frame that are not in the production version because we learn things as we go and it's
04:06okay to be able to adjust and make the product better as you go. So your different cable ICR grommets
04:12are
04:12no longer required because we moved internal routing in certain areas of the frame or made this front
04:16trailer hanger completely removable. And then what's the next step after this? Where do we go from here?
04:23So as we kind of tweak or ensure that dimensionally this frame meets its requirements, we're able to
04:30then bring it to the test lab and say does this frame meet the stiffness and structural requirements
04:36that we have for this frame to be the best frame it can be. And that's a process where you're
04:41making
04:42a number of samples and testing them to ensure that based on the material thicknesses across the frame,
04:47you're meeting those needs. So there's quite a bit of work that's done after this and this is
04:51one of many samples that allows us to kind of tweak and fine-tune everything to ensure that we're
04:56creating the right product. So we're on to testing now, talk to you about what you're doing and how
05:02you're doing it and what processes are involved in testing a frame. Right, so we spoke a little bit
05:07of FEA. FEA helps us to understand those rider-based stiffness metrics that we're aiming for based on the
05:14tube shapes but now we get to the point where we can physically test a frame in the test lab
05:18to
05:18understand if we're meeting those stiffness targets. And those stiffness targets are different
05:23targets across the frame that we've developed over a number of years both in the lab but also with
05:28real-world riders to understand where the stiffness makes the most sense for that experience that
05:32they're going for. And then additionally beyond that we also have a number of standards that relate to
05:37the frame's overall strength and how it will survive over a lifetime of a rider's inputs whether it's
05:44you know those fatigue things or the experiences that I might have out on the road to ensure that it's
05:49safe to ride and will last for that rider's entire lifetime really. So that's all lab testing what's
05:56the next step in that process? So typically after you get the first set of results both the stiffness
06:01results as well as the strength and fatigue results on a carbon frame you're adjusting the layup to
06:07either try to meet one set of those targets or adjust something across the frame in order to to get
06:13to where you
06:13need to be. And with the aluminum frame we're changing the thickness of the materials across the
06:19frame in order to meet those targets. So that's where we go back and we basically manufacture other
06:24frames to manipulate the frame in a way that allows us to adjust based on the first set of results
06:30that
06:30we've received. So once you've got that final perfect recipe of tube thickness and you're happy with the
06:35geometry of the frame and kind of everything's come together, is it then just a case of pressing a big
06:41green button and kind of putting the whole thing into production? I wish it was that easy. So after we
06:45know we're meeting all the project's targets, so we hit all of our aerodynamic goals, we hit all the
06:49frame stiffness goals that we had and the ride quality, then we also need to make sure we're meeting
06:54all those strength and fatigue goals that we had. So we're meeting all the standards that Specialized has
06:58to understand that this frame is going to be the best frame out there. And as we move into the
07:04next phase,
07:04we're going back to the supplier and we're saying let's make a lot of these and understand that as
07:11you ramp up and you're creating more of these frames, ensuring that all those walls are consistent,
07:15ensuring that the frame dimensions are all consistent across a larger scale of production,
07:20and that's when you know you're really ready to go into production and ready to get to the next
07:23step of the project. What's that? That would be your full production approval. Yep. But there's a couple of
07:28things that were happening along that time to kind of button things up and some of that as well as
07:34ensuring that we're field testing these frames, making sure that not only in the lab we're meeting
07:38all the targets, we're also meeting them out on the road. So we're involving a lot of people within
07:42the building as well as some of our athletes to ensure that this bike meets the needs not only on
07:46paper but also out on the road, which is extremely important. I mean that's pretty far down in the
07:50process, so how much change can the humans out on the road actually have? A lot actually, so it's
07:58usually we're field testing when we have a frame that's safe to ride, we know it's meeting all of our
08:03standards when it comes to the strength of fatigue and at that point if there's something that comes
08:07up that maybe speaks differently to what we're seeing in the lab then we need to make sure we
08:12have an action for that and that means we might not take a change and do something to ensure that
08:18riders have the experience that they're expecting out on the road. Now one of the most obvious things
08:22that everyone sees when they look at the bike is the colour of it and obviously you're going to end
08:27up
08:27the whole range of colours for all the different bikes that you're going to be creating, how does
08:31that work? Yeah, so usually early on in the process when we have a 3D printed frame, so something
08:36physical that our colours and graphics team can actually take a look at, that's when we bring them
08:40in. So as a product manager I'll help to set the stage for what this rider is and what the
08:45experience
08:46is for that rider and with that they'll take that information, they build out colour palettes based on
08:52the year, what's trending in the industry, what's trending outside of the industry, kind of what that next
08:56set up colours will be, as well as specific graphics or paint techniques we're developing in order to
09:02meet the overall needs of what that experience might be. So we have a team upstairs that's almost
09:07worldwide in some ways because they're really evaluating everything across the globe to ensure
09:12that we're meeting the needs of that rider. For Alley Sprint for example, how many different options
09:17would have been created to then whittle it down to that, you know, the winning bunch? Yeah, we at the
09:22start
09:23kind of open it up and let them decide on what's going to be used with some graphics, what's going
09:27to be relatively clean across the entire frame and with Alley Sprint it's one of those families that
09:33we try to keep a little bit more lively because the frame set business is really important for a lot
09:37of those riders who want to build it up and and really make it their own based on their own
09:41style
09:41and look. So there's a number of different colourways that are maybe a little bit more fun or using new
09:46techniques that we've developed over a year or two to make this frame shine, not only from the ways that
09:52it's been
09:52designed by our engineers but also for the rider who's looking at it to show their expression.
10:00So there we have it, hopefully you found that really interesting and insightful. If you've got
10:04any questions do drop them down in the comments below. If you enjoyed the video drop a like,
10:07subscribe to the channel for more content and I'll see you again very soon!
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