Closer Look - Where your bike comes from!

A closer look at what goes into the frames and parts we ride with.

After the Taipei Bike Show and Sea Otter I decided that it was time to build up a new bike for the summer. I had a chance to get a close look at a lot of products in Taipei and I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to use on my bike. Also being in Taiwan and working out of the factory where Banshee Bikes are made I had a unique opportunity to take pictures of my bike during production. I had also lined up a couple of factory visits that fell through at the last minute. Lots of companies do not want pictures taken of their facilities or manufacturing processes. Thankfully I was lucky enough to be invited to the factory where Funn Brakes are made in Taichung, Taiwan. And I made the trip to Vancouver Island to hang out with Greg at the Straitline factory.

Check out my bike being built up from Taiwan to British Columbia,Banshee Scythe:

All of Banshee's bikes are made by Pacific Cycles in the north of Taiwan. They currently run three to four productions a year. They run larger production runs in the off season and then a sample or show bike production during the summer. Pacific also makes frames for several other high end brands. Tight scheduling is important to meet orders and get bikes out of the factory. Building a frame does not happen over night and building fifty or more can take some time. There are no robots at Pacific, everything is done by hand.

*I did not get pictures of everything, some things I am not able to share and some are just boring.*

- Raw materials arrive, they are cleaned, cut to size and cleaned again.
- Raw material is set up in a jig and tack welded.
- Tack welded frames are measured and checked before welding.


- Welded frames are checked and cleaned before being placed in T4 and T6 head treating.



- Frames come out of heat treating and are checked again before having the head tube and bottom brackets reamed, chased or faced.




- Anodizing and polishing are done off site. These frames are shipped out to get finished.
- Painting and Powder coating are done in house.


- Frames are checked again before the painting process, frames are painted, decals are applied and then clear coat is applied before going through a giant oven to cure the paint and clear coat.



- Painted frames are taken to assembly. During assembly bottom brackets are chased again, seat tubes are installed, head tubes and bottom brackets faced, linkage inspected ...



- Assembled frames are then checked again before being boxed up.

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FUNN Brakes:

The Monday before leaving Taiwan for Canada I met Lynn Miles at their facility in Taichung. I was lucky enough to have met Lynn and Ollie from FUNN brakes at the Taipei show. After talking to them I was interested in being able to test their brakes on my dirt jump bike. When I started working on this project I contacted them and asked if I would be able to get a set of brakes for a freeride bike ... and if I would be able to take pictures of their manufacturing facility.


All of FUNN Brakes are manufactured in house. The factory, assembling and testing are all done in one location. FUNN is in complete control of their product from design to shipping. To maximize productivity and meet a thirty day turn around they work in cells. While machining is going on, there is minimal assembly, when machining is done assembly starts, when assembly is finished brakes are tested and then boxed up to be shipped out. Even assembly is broken up into cells to be more time efficient.

Of the process R&D is the most time consuming, taking anywhere from six months to two years. (They have been working on their carbon brakes for the past two years)

Production:

- Down a little alley I would never have guessed it housed so many CNC machines.



Assembly:




Testing:

- Measurements are taken of all parts to ensure that they meet requirements.


- For small parts a microscope and computer are used to ensure that nothing is over or undersized.


- Brakes are tested to make sure that they will withstand the abuse that bikers put them through. I did not get to see anything explode, but I wanted to.

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Straitline:

Greg from Straitline has pretty much posted pictures or video online of how everything works at their factory. It is pretty impressive to see it first hand.

Chain Guide:

- The slider of the Straitline Silent Guide start out looking like this. This machine then turns them into sliders, how it works I am not sure, but it works.



-The machine they use to make the chain guide actually makes the pieces they need to machine the guide.



Pedals:

- Straitline has pedals down to a science, the machine that makes the axles is self feeding. Raw material is constantly going in and being machined, then axles are getting dropped out the other side.




- In one night this machine will make enough polymer washers to last a year's worth of pedals.



Cool Stuff:

Under the microscope is a penny, on the penny is a human hair, on the human hair are parts machined by Straitline for watch internals. Check it out, it is pretty amazing what these guys can do.

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My 2010 Banshee Scythe:

Frame: Large Banshee Scythe
Fork: Manitou Dorado
Shock: Fox DHX Coil
Headset: Cane Creek Flush
Stem: Spank Spike Direct Mount
Bars: Spank Spike 777 Evo
Grips: ODI Ruffian with Blue Camp of Champions Locks
Brakes: FUNN
Rims: Spank Spike Evo
Hubs: Hope Pro II
Seat: Spank Subrosa
Cranks: Race Face Atlas FR
Chain Guide: Straitline Silent Guide
Pedals: Straitline
Shifter: SRAM X.O
Derailleur: SRAM X.O Short Cage
Chain: SRAM Hollow Pin




I have to give a special thanks to everyone at Pacific Cycles, Derek and Julian at Race Face, Ollie and Lynn at FUNN Brakes, Greg at Straitline, Jay and Keith at Banshee, Mike and Gavin at Spank and Rich and Sean at Manitou. If I missed anyone I am sorry, but I just want to get this done so I can go ride my bike.

Keep Riding,

Rob Dunnet