HighGeaRacing in Sunshine Coast, Queensland | Sport & recreation

HighGeaRacing

Locality: Sunshine Coast, Queensland

Phone: +61 7 5372 9584

Address: 3/50 Lysaght St Coolum 4573 Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia

Website: http://HGRworkshop.com

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• Sport & recreation
• Bicycle shop

25.01.2022 Here is a good one. Fitting a 33 tooth carbon 104 BCB chainring to a MTB boost power metre, using a custom spacer system we machined up to correct the chain line, mounted to SRAM road cranks we shortened, together with a custom carbon chain guide we fabricated. This is one bike with numerous modifications and engineering solutions we provided. Good to see it all working together.

25.01.2022 So...... It turns out I'm the only one is south east Queensland that has the tooling to cut down the reservoir on the New Specialized Shiv Disc. After ringing every significant Specialized dealer between Noosa and Brisbane and finding no one had the capability I rang Specialized themselves. They explained that there was a specific tool but that not many (if any at all) bought the tool.... They would not sell or loan me the tool so I made my own. Height adjustable and powered of course. It didn't seem appealing to cut through such a big piece of carbon with a hack saw blade by hand. I won't show the entire tool but some of you clever types will definitely figure it out. Any way, it was one of those days where it pays to be a tool maker and persistent enough to deliver a perfect result for a customer. I wasn't going to post about this but Micheal Baker From Custom Bike Fit convinced me to as it is a good example of what we are willing and able to do to get the job done. I appreciate my business with Michael and the work he does as he is of the same mindset with his approach to fitting.

24.01.2022 Reynolds 10-11speed cassette body conversion. A fair bit of machining.....

23.01.2022 Finally going to offload these demo hubs. Got some brand new 240's coming to use the demo purposes. https://m.facebook.com//Bicycl/permalink/4146184012076562/

20.01.2022 Well, that is by far the longest steering tube extension I've done to date. Customer should be happy as they couldn't source a fork in time to have the bike ready to race at nationals. Given this is a first for this length of extension it is probably far stronger than it needs to be.... But, zero compromise has been taken in regards to strength and reliability. It is another one of those long jobs in regards to machine time. This had to be machined down from 40mm 6061 solid machine bar. The shoulder you see at the change in diameter is simply to increase the amount of material supporting the intersection of carbon to aluminium. The end of the carbon section was reinforced with an aluminium plug to eliminate the crushing force of the aluminium fitting pressed over it and create an anchor for the outer section to fasten to. We also made a replacement taper lock mechanism that consists of tighter tolerances and more support/interaction. This was made from Delrin and sits between the top bearing and the steering tube to inhibit the same problem of steering tube wear occuring again. Very happy with the outcome.

20.01.2022 Here is another little one from today. Couldn't find one, couldn't get one, only option left is to make one. Damn you SRAM! Who makes a 10*0.75 mm thread?... Why brass? Because I didn't intend to anodize it.

17.01.2022 Happy 2021 to you all. I thought I'd be doing a post by now showing off a finished workshop renovation..... Alas, like all renovations estimated time to complete is approximately double.... Anyway, here is a sneak peek of the progress so far. A lot of time, effort and meditation has gone into improving the Feng shui in the hopes that translates into improved efficiency and general happiness. This year we will be focusing on offering supervised workshop time for those who want to learn or simply complete jobs that require tooling too expensive to buy. We will have a couple of spacious work areas available with all the tooling and experience you need to get your own bike running like a dream. This might be a necessary direction for my business as it looks like I'll be going back for some more serious surgery and could be out of action for another two months. Fingers crossed this doesn't happen.

14.01.2022 I must say Sync Ergonomics are good for my engineering business. They make great parts to fit people to bikes. However, their parts don't fit all bar interfaces. These brackets weren't just to get the arm cups to fit the bar properly but also to widen the distance between the arm cups.... The bar is a Pro Missile Evo Bar system. I made two sets, each with slightly different shape/style. One set is spoken for but the second are available if anyone is in need of a pair.

13.01.2022 It is interesting, certain types of machining jobs you anticipate being relatively straightforward end up being more complex and time consuming than imaginable. I guess it is part and parcel of leaning. Despite the cost of my time on certain jobs being a loss, I'm still happy to have gained the experience in exercising certain skills.... This was one of those jobs. What seemed simpler than it was, ended up being extraordinarily time consuming with the amount of passes required to shape the profile necessary to make the part. The big issue I faced with these parts was depth of cut limitations of my tooling. I make similar but much shorter part normally, but once I get to 40mm and taller machining the y axis profile in single vertical cuts is impossible. To solve this I has to resort to using a tailstock on the mill table and rotating the part along the x axis and doing long horizontal cuts along the part. Not a process I have had much experience doing to date. I will never underestimate wing profiles again.

12.01.2022 I think it came together rather nice. This job came to us courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/CustomBikeFit/ Custom Bike Fit is a professional fitting service here on the Sunshine Coast.... We work closely with Michael providing all sorts of custom fitting solutions to help people achieve anything from comfort to performance. The bike from factory came with a steering tube too low to achieve the correct position for the gentleman who owns this bike. Extending head tubes this way is a strong and effective solution for those needing up to 30mm. Beyond 30mm we go about this in a very different way. We made up a custom Delrin spacer as we couldn't use the original spacers. They were shaped to match the stem and headset adjustment lock. It looked terrible and left a strange looking void at the rear of the spacers. We tapered the spacer to match the two different diameters of the alloy spacers and the headset original clamp. The orange highlight works in well with the colour scheme. Hope the customer is happy.

12.01.2022 Got back into a bit of manufacturing on Monday. So glad I made workholding tooling to do batches. Still a lot of work for such small parts but easier than doing them one by one. These are 15 degree angle brackets to suit Profile Design Aeria T2 Carbon and T4 Alloy.... These are by far my most popular part I have made to date. These three sets now make more than twenty sold! Also experimented with type 3 anodising on this batch. The surface is extremely hard wearing like Fox and Rock Shox stanchions. Very interesting differences in how the dye is taken up with the different crystal structure compared to type 2 anodising. Very slow.......

11.01.2022 Here is a finicky little devil. Mavic 851ssc derailleur part replication. Customer had two derailleurs but only one position plate to locate the derailleur in position when fastened to the bike.... Apparently they are impossible to source. That sounds like a job for HGRworkshop! It was a tricky one to complete as holding the piece to process it became increasingly difficult once the features for one side were completed. I made up a sacrificial arbor up to press the part into in order to complete the final side. I then machined the arbor away to free the part when finished. Unfortunately I got carried away with the process and forgot to take pictures to document the process.

10.01.2022 A very complicated process to make what is essentially a simple part. So much machining to make a wing profile......

10.01.2022 Check out this great video showcasing Carbon Steed's technical ability and quality of work. Local Brisbane company offering a benchmark of paint and carbon repair. Love working with and supporting this company!... https://youtu.be/TMgvvKt4RDk

10.01.2022 Here is another one that will go back together tomorrow after a steering tube extension. Didn't change the customer to make it orange, that was just for the sake of trying out the colour. We have done a fair few of these extensions, but this was s a first time for an oversized Canyon 31.8 steering tube.... Had to make a new tool just to correct the bad cut of the steerer from factory. It was only a little bit out, but it has to be a perfectly flush straight cut to work with the extension for maximum strength. It is a nice touch to integrate the threaded anchor into the fitting and save scratching it up to put a star nut in.

08.01.2022 Type lll anodising (hard anodising) It makes me wonder why Rock Shox and Fox don't use a colour other than black on their stanchions. Just imagine having a special edition fork in a deep dark colour.... I had to make some bearing press plates for a job today. It made sense to hard anodise them to make them as hard wearing as possible and because I'm playing around with type lll when ever the opportunity it there. So, a little experiment ensued with colour, purely because I'm resistant to making everything black. The hard anodised finish is very dark in comparison to type ll anodising, but it will still take colour. I think the finish is nice, even better in the flesh as it is hard to capture the colour the way the eye see's it.

07.01.2022 We are now selling our Premium Seal Driver / Installation Tools. These tool are designed to remedy all the shortcomings of the tools currently available. Seal is inserted perfectly straight and to the correct depth every time without fail.... We have already sold a few which is reducing the cost to produce them. Available in both Black and White and in any size to suit all seal standards. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/274731394962

07.01.2022 Recently there have been a few requests to fabricate through axles that are either hard to get or are not strong enough. Most through axles are hollow in the thinnest section (where the 12mm shank meets the threaded section) which also happens to be the area under the greatest load. It isn't common to break one, but those who have are looking for something more solid.... We are happy to fulfill the demand. This one is hexed at both ends and solid where it needs to be, and best of all it isn't boring old black. Hope the customer is happy

05.01.2022 Shimano m8000 96bcd non boost chain line adaptor. Isn't it annoying when you buy a boost crank or want to use a boost crank in a non boost bike? It all goes together but the chain line is just terrible.... Had a customer last week give us a Yeti to build from parts. Was quite the unfortunate journey for him, Frame ended being cracked and just out of warranty. Had to buy a new rear end and get it painted. Fork had a damaged damper and other little problems that made it feel awful. Had to get it serviced and repaired. The brakes he bought second hand were completely stuffed. Got the levers replaced under warranty. Then to top it all off and stall the finishing even further he had a boost crank for a non boost bike. So we machined up an offset adaptor to correct the chain line. Like many things we make we undercharged for what fabricating something like this from scratch is really worth. Originally I was just going to make longer bolts and some precision spacers, but it wasn't really ideal as far as strength goes. Besides making four bolts and precision spacers is almost as involved as making what we ended up machining. The first one was a little bit simpler without the extra material removal as it was a matter of urgency to complete it and get it out. With the second one I spent the extra time and scalloped out some material to make it lighter. Could have easily removed much more without compromising strength. The intention wasn't to make two at all. But the only material I had on hand that was big enough was 14mm thick 6061 plate. So, I cut a square, machined out a centre and plotted out the two asymmetric bolt patterns on the DRO. By the time it went to the lathe I thought it better to part the section into two parts to save on such significant material wastage. Decided to anodize this one blue, well.... Just because.......

05.01.2022 Just a reminder, HGRworkshop does Custom Anodising for DT hubs......

05.01.2022 Isn't it annoying when you almost finish a major job or piece of work only to encounter a problem that would otherwise render the rest of the work obsolete? This old Giant OCR headset almost did just that. The headset in these old bikes were unique to only a few models and haven't been supported in over a decade.... Instead of wasting the work already done we set about machining 45 degree adaptor plates to convert the headset to an integrated headset system.

05.01.2022 Had a bit of a mishap with a 3D printed plastic light/camera mount adaptor for a Focus integrated stem. The customer wanted the mount attached but the seperate Garmin mount was in the way. Initially I made up some double ended stainless bolts to replace the stem bolts and provide some extensions for the mount to attach beneath the Garmin mount.... Anyway, in an attempt to get everything to sit closer together I damaged the plastic mount when the cutter ripped it out of the vice and took a big chunk out of it in the process. In retrospect it was inevitable with it being plastic. This resulted in enough guilt that I very quickly went about fabricating a new (and better) one out of aluminium and anodised it black. At least it is always satisfying machining a piece of metal into a precise and functional part.

04.01.2022 What do you do when you cannot get a replacement seat post for a bike you love? This seat post had the aluminium fitting in the carbon post come loose (not a fantastic original design). The customer went to numerous shops expecting that surely the part must be available. Unfortunately Cannondale stopped producing the part many years ago and it really wasn't able to be sourced.... We had this job sent up from Brisbane's premier Carbon Steed repairer expecting we would go the extra mile to fabricate the part and engineer a solution that would prevent such a problem reoccurring. It was a long winded job with many processes we didn't document, but you can get the gist of what was done from the pictures below. Many hours spent on this one. The original post was just a round fitting in a round hole with no key way to locate it and stop any potential rotation. We cut a relief in the carbon and machined a part that included the key to locate in the relief. Pressed and bonded that side in place. Then machined a male part to fit it, pressed, bonded and cured it under load for good strength. Hope the customer is satisfied.

03.01.2022 Doing a lot of fork servicing lately. Have a couple of the commercially available seal setting tools. Very disappointed with every one I've got and seen available. A few weeks ago when I had a few sets of 36mm forks to do I decided to make the "perfect" tool.... The key difference with this prototype is the length of the shaft that inserts onto the bushings. This one runs between both bushings to maintain perfect alignment of the seal. It also has a slightly greater diameter than the seal so it bottoms out on the fork lower and stops flush with the lower. After doing 6, 36mm forks using this tool I'm extremely satisfied with it's performance in comparison to the tools I have and have seen available. You can see a FOX one in the images below for reference. As soon as I have a chance I'm going to make a 32mm, 34mm, 35mm, 38mm and 40mm. If anyone is interested, I'm happy to make more.

03.01.2022 This was one of those failure/successful type jobs that didn't go exactly to plan. The job was based on experimentation and assumption, derived from limited experience with different branded brake calipers. The assumption was that Shimano would make their calipers from a high quality aluminum material (like SRAM do), or at least from a composition that I'm more familiar with.... The original intention was to Anodize the calipers electric blue. After spending a great deal of time just preparing the surface giving it a nice consistent shine, (the surface was originally tarnished with marks that develop from aluminum being cast in a mould) I started the process with normal set up and conditions, it quickly became obvious the appropriate amount of current wasn't growing a crystalline surface structure. It was having virtually no affect at all. I had however, come too far to quit, as I now had a pair of calipers with no coating at all. Me not being a painter meant something still had to be done. I increased the current significantly up to the point I had to significantly lower the bath temperature. We were well and truly into type 3 anodizing territory now and starting to see some results. I settled on settings that produce some of the hardest and most durable surface finishes possible on aluminum. In this range coloring isn't really possible as the finish is too dark to show a color. For this reason I opted for the natural color of the anodizing finish itself. It is a nice color, similar to the painted finish on saint calipers, but about 1000 time more durable. Definitely not the desired outcome, but luckily the customer was understanding and possibly even happy. Not too sure about that yet..... Time will tell. Also, this all took place during the two days prior to delivering the bike back to bne. Too busy to take nice and more detailed images, but these definitely show the finish.