Bike Fitting
Customers who have recently had a bike fit are welcome to share their data with us during the design and consultation phase. This information will be incorporated into our bike fitting expertise to enhance the accuracy of our fitting process. Our use of this data will be guided by the information you provide us, as well as our own experience and knowledge of fitting bikes.
Order
Upon approval of the design and mutual satisfaction with our compatibility, we will provide an order form for your signature, indicating your agreement to the terms and conditions of the sale. This order form will contain the specifics of your purchase, including the type of frame, the components you have selected, the chosen paint color, and an estimated delivery date.
Payment
A custom bike can be costly therefore we tend to break these payments down into roughly three equal parts. The first payment is a deposit at point of order. The second payment is once the frame is fabricated but before it is sent to paint. The final payment is on handover of the bike. This approach enables customers to budget their expenses effectively while still obtaining a unique and personalised bike.
Alterations / amendments
Once the order has been placed and the fabrication has commenced it is not possible to make amendments to the frame. It may be possible to alter the components, but this will depend on the original specification, and we reserve the right to decline amendments at this stage.
3D Titanium Printing
Our 3D printed frame components are all uniquely designed by Craft Bikes. The benefit of these 3D printed parts from a practical perspective allow us to get the tyre clearance we need for up to 50mm in gravel and 2.5 in MTB. The parts are both light and have an internal lattice to provide strength. These parts are also aesthetically pleasing and sculpted, allowing us to achieve lines that standard parts cannot deliver. Our 3D models are also parametric so we can create size specific parts for a truly customised bike.
We choose to have our 3D parts printed in New Zealand using RAM3D. RAM3D specialise in additive manufacturing and in particular selective laser melting in titanium for the cycling and sports industry. This experience means they not only understand the needs of independent frame builders like us, but they also understand the quality, accuracy and reliability expected in the custom frame market.
Fabrication
Fabrication has five distinct phases: cutting and mitering; cleaning; tacking and alignment; welding; and finishing. While this is going on we instruct our 3D printing supplier to print the 3D components.
-
The first stage is setting up the Cobra frame jig to the measurements produced by Bike CAD. This allows us to cut raw tubing to length and achieve precision mitered cuts. We achieve this precision using many tools that have been designed and fabricated in-house. Miter accuracy is of utmost importance to the long term durability and fatigue life of a TIG welded frame.
-
The cleaning process, particularly for titanium, is crucial and must be carried out with meticulous care. All of the tubes and 3D printed parts are cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner to remove any oils or grease that could contaminate the welds in the later stage. Once the parts are cleaned, hygiene is maintained, and gloves worn at all stages to avoid transfer of oils onto the frame.
-
Once the parts are cleaned it is back into the jig and we use TIG welding to tack the frame together. These are small fusion welds placed in specific orientation, imagine a seamstress using pins in clothing, holding it together just enough to take it out of the jig and onto the levelling table to quality check alignment.
-
If the bike passes the quality control checks then welding can commence. Firstly, the frame is filled with an inert gas as Argon. The purpose of this is to prevent contamination on the backside of the welds (inside the frame) and is critically important. A fusion pass is conducted. This involves taking the TIG welder and using electrical current a small amount of material from both parts fuse together without introducing a filler rod. This is where our miter accuracy comes into play. The frame is allowed to cool and then removed from the jig for one final alignment check. We then go back over these welds with a second pass using a filler rod. This results in a weld that is strong and aesthetically pleasing.
-
The final stage of fabrication is the finishing. This involves adding any bottle bosses, cable ports, reaming and threading the bottom bracket and head tube. Finally, before the complete frame is sent to paint it is hand finished using an abrasive to achieve a brushed finished. This is done by us, by hand. No machines involved.... just some porridge for breakfast.
Paint
Our bikes are sent to Paul at JMJ Designs in Cornwall for the application of Cerakote® paint. We have chosen Paul because of his attention to detail and exceptional finishing. He cares for our bikes as much as we do, which is important when partnering with external organisations.

THE FULL PROCESS...