Smithers MINNEAPOLIS

By Super Rookie at 8:25 am on May 15, 2008 | Reply

I don’t know what monocoque is. Can you please explain it?

Seriously.

By hernando at 8:32 am on May 15, 2008 | Reply

choosing one hand?

By Steven at 8:59 am on May 15, 2008 | Reply

monocoque = one piece

By Bike Bubba at 10:36 am on May 15, 2008 | Reply

I was thinking “one rooster,” but that didn’t make ANY sense to me. Smithers, maybe a little primer on this would benefit bike dreamers like myself and others?

By pcomeau at 10:55 am on May 15, 2008 | Reply

more curious about who the competition is… (I know you probably can’t say. Just wondering if they are from Wisconsin or some other conuntry.)

Didn’t realize some makers aren’t doing true/full monocoque.

By Champs at 12:38 pm on May 15, 2008 | Reply

Lugs are the past and the future, and “entry level” is a bit vague.

With no disrespect to this unnamed French manufacturer and deliberate ignorance of build quality, it is worth noting that their entry frameset costs about the same as complete, full carbon bikes with 105/Ultegra builds from an unnamed Wisconsin company sourcing its lower end carbon from overseas (albeit different ones).

For my part, I’m method-agnostic. What’s good is good, even if my five year old lugs-and-tubes carbon is “quaint” by today’s measure.

By dj at 2:33 pm on May 15, 2008 | Reply

Isn’t that just a sleeve so the seatpost goes down more consistently. What’s the BB or headset look like?

By pcomeau at 2:54 pm on May 15, 2008 | Reply

Champs -
Yeah did some googling on the topic. Appears to be an ongoing debate with the only answer being to ride them side by side and see what feels better.

On the other hand I’d be more curious about how various unamed companies make sure quality is high. As I thought most outsourced the carbon layup to China and such.

By Super Rookie at 3:18 pm on May 15, 2008 | Reply

I think a tutorial would be nicer.

The unnamed French brand is much better looking.

Kind of like Puegot.

By Bike Bubba at 4:06 pm on May 15, 2008 | Reply

OK, looked it up on Wiki; it means “one shell,” and what our gracious host is referring to is very similar to the “unibody” construction used on cars and canoes and such. Here y’all go:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monocoque

More or less, the advantage of “one shell” construction is that you don’t have joints. Joints are the place where you have a discontinuity and you rely on the strength of the epoxy alone, instead of the strength of the carbon fiber or whatever else is in the matrix. You therefore can have a slightly lighter frame that holds up just as well as a bulkier frame. You can also build a longer lasting frame at the same weight.

You also eliminate thermal expansion zones and such. I am guessing that our host’s employer builds them around a foam core which is then dissolved with a solvent that hopefully doesn’t work on the epoxy!

One trick I’m sure Smithers won’t be able to discuss with us is exactly how his employer manages to have the graphite fabric go around those curves and maintain strength in lots of directions. But man, it’s a COOL engineering problem!

By jkruse at 9:09 am on May 16, 2008 | Reply

Sorry, trade secret!

Still, I’d think they would have told you. I mean, you came all that way…

By (dis) at 1:58 pm on May 16, 2008 | Reply

i have it on good athority that smithers doesn’t know what he’s talking about most of the time.

By Champs at 6:08 pm on May 17, 2008 | Reply

If you really want to know this “trade secret” I’ll guess that you can find out at your nearest art school or emergency room. They just use cotton and plaster, not carbon and epoxy.

By Bike Bubba at 10:35 am on May 19, 2008 | Reply

Thankfully, not too much cotton and plaster anymore. My last broken bone was wrapped with a fiberglass that you simply soak in water and wrap. Much more comfortable.

Not quite sure I’d have trusted that joint, though, to the kind of stresses of bike riding. Good enough to protect my wrist, but….