Experimental Analysis of a Bicycle Frame

Background & Motivation

  • Some of the best bike frames are custom made.

  • Smaller custom frame builders may not have the equipment to properly test their frames.

  • The mission: test the durability of a custom bike frame using ISO standards.

  • The frame tested belongs to professor Steve McGuire — a titanium adventure fat tire bike.

Experimental Methods

  • Testing followed ISO 4210 Impact Test Standard to measure stress and strain in key locations.

  • Instruments used:

    • 4x strain gauges

    • 4x AD 620 voltage amplifiers

    • STC 500 lb. load cell

    • LCA - RTC load cell amplifier

    • NI USB-6008 DAQ card

  • Testing rig assembled from 20x40 aluminum extrusions

  • Drop height: 200mm

  • Full load test mass: 95.8kg

Experimental Setup

Rear Hinge Mount

Load Cell Mount & Roller

Bracket to Elevate Bike

Running the Test

Weight Mounting

Strain Gauge Amplifier Circuit & DAQ System

Results and Conclusions

  • Static strain and force of a loaded bike frame. Compared to FEA (computer generated) results.

  • Fully loaded mass = 95.8kg

  • The most strain and elongation was observed on the downtube.

  • The highest observed strain was 120.1µε — within the elastic region of 3A-2.5V titanium.

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