PROCESS
Our process combines advanced custom engineering, technology, material and craft, to achieve the ultimate in uncompromising performance.
TECHNOLOGY
3D Printing x Filament Winding
Precision Customisation. Made by Machine. Crafted by Hand.
Our lugs are formed out of aerospace grade Titanium alloy powder. A specialised laser then fuses the powder to your exact specifications in a hermetically sealed, inert gas environment. The result is mechanical properties that rival those of forged parts.
Our tube sections are wound layer by layer in carbon fibre over a mandrel in a computer controlled process called filament winding. This enables precise fibre orientation, continuous fibre paths, and higher fibre to resin ratios, giving you ultimate control of the performance characteristics of your bike.
Materials
Titanium Alloy x Carbon Fibre
The Rider’s Holy Grail. Comfort and Performance in the same frame.
By combining Titanium and Carbon Fibre, Bastion bike frame technology gives you the best of both worlds, to create the best frame in the world. Our engineers have fine-tuned the ideal combination of Titanium and Carbon Fibre to yield a frame with the optimum balance of performance and mass. It’s the rider’s holy grail – a frame that blends the torsional stiffness and performance of a Carbon Fibre frame with the ride comfort of a Titanium frame.
The frame’s tube sections, which are the areas of highest deflection, use Carbon Fibre because of its renowned damping properties. However, in areas such as the bottom bracket, carbon fibre creates an overly stiff joint that compromises ride comfort. Here we use Titanium. Only the finest grade Ti6Al4V Titanium Alloy is used and the latest 3D printing technology allows us to form it into previously impossible shapes to create Bastion’s breakthrough frame design. We utilise the lower stiffness of Titanium to better isolate the high frequency vibrations of rough roads, whilst maximising torsional stiffness through asymmetric structures, transforming both ride and performance.
Processes
Your Bike. Your Way. Our Craft.
Bastion’s bespoke design tool places our engineering know-how at your fingertips. It empowers you, the rider, to direct the design of your bespoke performance bicycle, allowing you to design, modify and then compare it against the world’s best. Next we validate your design, ask any questions and create a 3D model which is sent for your approval, together with a preliminary engineering report and the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) results.
Finally, on your go ahead, we begin manufacture. From 3D laser fusing to final painting requires over 130 hours of precision work by machine and 70 hours of meticulous hand crafting. We will provide progress updates and aim to deliver your frame with the final engineering report within four to six months of your order. If you are unsure about setting up your initial design simply contact us.
Testing
The measure of excellence.
We believe every rider should be certain their bike is safe and that every frame that leaves our workshop should last a lifetime. That’s why Bastion frames are certified to international standard ISO 4210. We are among the few custom builders in the world to do this, and we pride ourselves on our integrity. A Bastion bike is always delivered to the promised standard with the technical reports to prove it.
Every frame is measured using methods standardised by Tour Magazine and supplied with a customised engineering report. This details your design and the results of our simulation and non-destructive testing to ensure your requested performance characteristics are met. A final post-measurement quality inspection ensures perfection.
We are the only bicycle manufacturer in the world to proof load test 100 percent of the frames that leave our factory.
Reporting
YOUR BIKE. YOUR WAY. OUR CRAFT.
We believe you are the best person to design your bespoke custom bike. Our mission is to empower you to direct the design of your bike – tuning it to your specific needs. All you need is the right information.
To guide you, in your “Custom Engineering Report” which every customer receives you are able to compare each of these factors to the top products in the market, giving you a real world reference point.
With the following four simple factors you can adequately tune the performance of your bike:
1. Steering – How sensitive the steering is to rider inputs
2. Response – How sensitive the bike is to steering inputs
3. Torsional Stiffness – How stiff the bike is in cornering
4. Vertical Compliance – How compliant the bike is at the saddle
ENGINEERING IS AT OUR CORE.
Every Engineering Report also comes with detailed drawings and 3D files for you to visualise your new dream bike. Every bike we create has its own Computer Aided Design (CAD) file and every element is unique. No two lugs are the same. No tubes are common. Every frame is designed as a limited edition one of one. That “one” being “you”.
Tuning Factors
STEERING FACTOR
Combining the concepts of “Flop Factor” and “Steering Gain”,
a higher steering factor equates to a faster steering bike.
“Flop Factor” is the amount the front wheel “flops” as the handlebars are rotated. A higher Flop Factor is experienced as quicker or more sensitive steering, similar to power steering in a car. A lower head tube angle will amplify it, making the steering quicker.
“Steering Gain” is the amount of leverage in the steering system and is proportional to your stem and bar size. A longer stem, or wider bars will make the steering slower.
You may think the Head Tube Angle relationship should be the opposite. Race bikes have high head tube angles. Aren’t they fast steering? Not necessarily, as steering and response can be confused.
RESPONSE FACTOR
Once it has been steered the bike will respond by moving laterally in an arc. The “Response Factor” is our method of capturing this response, with a higher value being more agile or maneuverable. But overdo it and it will become too sensitive and require constant correction.
To calculate it we use established methods from motorcycle dynamics involving the front and rear normal trails and weight distribution.
It is sensitive to the front trail meaning the Head Tube Angle is the most important factor. A higher Head Tube Angle makes the bike more agile as is found in race bikes. Fine tuning is also possible by modifying the Chainstay Length, or Frame Reach.