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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00:00So 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
00:23and since then I moved over to the road product team specifically managing Tarmac, Athos, Shiv and LA Sprint,
00:30so all the performance road families we have within the category of Specialized.
00:37So 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
01:10validating 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
01:27initial targets? So throughout that whole entire concept phase, we're really taking some older
01:32projects and learnings that we've had from those and maybe cutting them up, testing the wind tunnel,
01:37doing different things to really prototype and understand the different performance targets we set
01:41for. And throughout that whole process, an engineer or designer is also working on the CAD or the 3D
01:48for the new bike, which allows us to then 3D print those models or work on small manufacturing processes
01:55that we can as we're moving towards a phase where we're actually going to create the production CAD or
01:59what we're actually moving to create tools with and then test the overall frames structure. When we're
02:05actually through part of the concept phase and we have rough 3D planned out, we're able to 3D print
02:12or kind of make a rapid prototype. This one's machined out of ABS to allow us to then bring it to the wind
02:18tunnel and test some of the performance targets we have specifically with aerodynamics. Also by able to
02:22do this, we're able to hold onto a frame physically, which can tell you a lot about a project. And then at the
02:28same time too, with this one frame, if we said, hey, we're not really where we want to be aerodynamically,
02:32we can cut it up, we can 3D print other parts and then place on this frame to say what can we tweak
02:38a little bit to better meet those goals and really take the next steps in the project.
02:43So with this one, were there any specific learnings that you took that then went into the final product?
02:48Definitely. So this was a little bit further down the concept phase where it was actually one of the
02:52second prints that we did. And you can see here, there was an adjustment of the seat stay height.
02:57Yes. And that was done a little bit more to say, hey, can we get a little bit more out of the UCI
03:01box that we have within this frame? Can we make it a little bit faster aerodynamically by moving the
03:06location of these? At the same time too, this project was running in parallel with Tarmac SL7.
03:11So we're also learning things from each end of the project that would kind of change the next steps
03:16for the project as we move along. Okay. So we have got here one of the first fully built metal frames
03:22that came out of the Asian factory. What role would have this played? So when it comes to the first frames
03:28that we actually have welded together, there's a lot of different things that we do. We call them
03:32typically looking samples because you learn a lot from that first process. So whether it's
03:37weld alignment or specific aspects of the frame with cable routing or different things of actually
03:42building a bike with it, it allows us to run through those different steps and then also understand
03:47where we need to change the manufacturing process for some of the tubes or the actual welding
03:52alignment or different aspects of that. So like this frame, for example, you can see this was done
03:57very early on in the process. It was one of the larger frame sizes and there's a lot of aspects
04:01of the frame that are not in the production version because we learn things as we go and it's okay to
04:06be able to adjust and make the product better as you go. So your different cable ICR grommets are no
04:12longer 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?
04:22So 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 making
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 one of
04:52many samples that allows us to kind of tweak and fine-tune everything to ensure that we're creating
04:56the right product. So we're on to testing now. Talk to you about what you're doing and how you're doing
05:02it and what processes are involved in testing a frame. Right, so we spoke a little bit of FEA. FEA helps
05:09us to understand those rider-based stiffness metrics that we're aiming for based on the tube shapes,
05:14but now we get to the point where we can physically test a frame in the test lab to understand if we're
05:19meeting those stiffness targets. And those stiffness targets are different targets across the frame
05:24that we've developed over a number of years both in the lab but also with rear-world riders to
05:29understand where the stiffness makes the most sense for that experience that they're going for. And then
05:33additionally beyond that we also have a number of standards that relate to the frame's overall
05:39strength and how it will survive over a lifetime of a rider's inputs, whether it's you know those
05:44fatigue 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,
05:56what's the next step in that process? So typically after you get the first set of results both
06:00the stiffness results as well as the strength and fatigue results, on a carbon frame you're adjusting
06:05the layup to either try to meet one set of those targets or adjust something across the frame in order to
06:12to get to where you need to be. And with the aluminum frame we're changing the thickness of
06:17the materials across the frame in order to meet those targets. So that's where we go back and we
06:23basically manufacture other frames to manipulate the frame in a way that allows us to adjust based on
06:29the first set of results that we've received. So once you've got that final perfect recipe of tube
06:34thickness and you're happy with the geometry of the frame and kind of everything's come together,
06:38is it then just a case of pressing a big green button and kind of putting the whole thing into
06:42production? I wish it was that easy. So after we know we're meeting all the project's targets,
06:47so we hit all of our aerodynamic goals, we hit all the frame stiffness goals that we had and the ride
06:51quality, then we also need to make sure we're meeting all those strength and fatigue goals we had.
06:56So we're meeting all the standards that Specialized has to understand that this frame is going to be
07:01the best frame out there. And as we move into the next phase, we're going back to the spire and
07:06we're saying let's make a lot of these and understand that as you ramp up and you're creating
07:12more of these frames, ensuring that all those walls are consistent, ensuring that the frame
07:16dimensions are all consistent across a larger scale of production. And that's when you know you're really
07:21ready to go into production and ready to get to the next step of the project. What's that? That would be
07:25your full production approval. Yep. But there's a couple of things that were happening along that time to
07:31kind of button things up and some of that as well as ensuring that we're field testing these frames,
07:37making sure that not only in the lab we're meeting all the targets, we're also meeting them out on
07:40the road. So we're involving a lot of people within the building as well as some of our athletes to
07:44ensure that this bike meets the needs, not only on paper, but also out on the road, which is extremely
07:48important. I mean, that's pretty far down in the process. So how much change can the humans out on the road
07:54actually have? A lot actually. So it's usually we're field testing when we have a frame that's
08:01safe to ride. We know it's meeting all of our standards when it comes to the strength of fatigue.
08:05And at that point, if there's something that comes up that maybe speaks differently to what
08:10we're seeing in the lab, then we need to make sure we have an action for that. And that means we might
08:15have to take a change and do something to ensure that riders have the experience that they're expecting
08:19out on the road. Now, one of the most obvious things that everyone sees when they look at the bike
08:24is the color of it. And obviously you're going to end up with a whole range of colors for all the
08:29different bikes that you're going to be creating. How does that work? Yeah. So usually early on in
08:33the process when we have a 3D printed frame, so something physical that our colors and graphics
08:38team can actually take a look at, that's when we bring them in. So as a product manager, I'll help to
08:42set the stage for what this rider is and what the experience is for that rider. And with that,
08:49they'll take that information. They build out color palettes based on the year, what's trending in the
08:53industry, what's trending outside of the industry, kind of what that next set of colors will be,
08:57as well as specific graphics or paint techniques we're developing in order to meet the overall
09:04needs of what that experience might be. So we have a team upstairs that's almost worldwide in some ways,
09:08because they're really evaluating everything across the globe to ensure that we're meeting the needs of
09:13that rider. For Alley Sprint, for example, how many different options would have been created to
09:18then whittle it down to that, you know, the winning bunch? Yeah, we at the start kind of open it up
09:24and let them decide on what's going to be used with some graphics, what's going to be relatively clean
09:28across the entire frame. And with Alley Sprint, it's one of those families that we try to keep a little
09:34bit more lively because the frame set business is really important for a lot of those riders who want
09:38to build it up and really make it their own based on their own style and look. So there's a number of
09:43different colorways that are maybe a little bit more fun or use new techniques that we've developed over
09:48a year or two to make this frame shine, not only from the ways that it's been designed by our
09:52engineers, 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.