Titanium Cage Production: How SILCA makes a bottle cage
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- Опубліковано 21 жов 2024
- BIKERUMOR! spent the day with Josh Poertner to check out the precise production process of titanium bottle cages and how QC plays a huge role in the each cage sold. Lots of fun machines and technology streamline the process.
This is why i love titanium stuff, tools, buke parts etc. Lots of engineering and science! wonderful!
I have a pair of Chris King Ti cages that I got to match my Ti Baum over 10yrs ago. The frame might be a trophy item now, but the cages still put in work on my current bike.
Great to see a clean and tidy workshop. I’m an aerospace welder (Tig ) Rolls Royce Aero Engines, I specialise in Nimonic and Titanium alloys. Very interesting machine using the laser. In welding terminology that type of weld is called an Autogenous weld, basically a weld using no filler wire just patent material.
I’ve just bought two of your cages for my Van Nicholas as the weight was comparable to carbon.
Nick ( UK )
Do you weld frames?
@@federext no sorry.
They're beautiful bottle cages, the nicest I've ever seen in 50 years of riding and being around bicycles. You can't believe how light they feel. The finish is flawless.
I had no idea how much work went into these cages. Will be ordering a pair from my LBS!
The good and the bad (in my experience): The finish matches my Lynskey titanium road and gravel bikes perfectly. These days, titanium is a boutique material, but I preferred the aesthetic of matching metal, over a plastic or carbon look on my bikes. I'm glad these are out there in the market. The bad: pliability/durability. I have had these break at the plate that affixes the cage to the the bottle bosses. Actually, the welds would fail; the tubing didn't break. I use normal diameter bottles. I can afford them, but for the premium price, I have been frustrated with the lack of longevity.
Makes me really happy i got two of this cages and it makes me appreciate how much detail gos into them🙏
i had no idea these were hand made. i have a little experience working with metal tubing in industrial applications (instrumentation work for process control systems) so i know that this level of work is true art.
Thanks for posting, I own a pair of the rainbow ones. I didn't really have a problem with the price I think they are functional art, but this video definitely explains the cost to the skeptics.
Josh you are brilliant ! Quality personified!
You are very kind! - Josh
Wow! This is one of the best cycling videos I've ever seen. I just got the delivery of a pair of titanium bottle cages from Stelbel, for my Antenore, and I was wondering how they were made. Congrats to Silca and I'm lookin to get your tool box! Cheers from México.
Thanks Hector! - Josh
Fascinating look at what makes SILCA, Thanks.
I love my Silca water bottle cages, the look great with my Silca pump mounted next to it.
WOW! Who knew that this much tech and OCD precision went into something as simple as a bottle cage?!? 👍
I guess that argon 'environment' must be maintained with any/all titanium welding, even if it is a laser process with no fillers/rods being used.
I may now buy a set from you for my Merlin Road, instead of the crunchy carbon varieties I was considering.
One quick question; Do your Cerakote coating options lessen the markings left on the bottles any at all (especially the satin/'Glacier' black coating)???
My car's 304 stainless exhaust system is coated with that exact stuff and it is nothing short of miraculous!
I ask because even the old, stainless Elite Ciussi cages I've used always marked up my fave bottles badly. ☹
In a clean environment, the Ti and Cerakote are both exceptional at keeping your bottles looking great... the problem comes from road grime or trail dust getting in between the 2 and acting as a grinding paste on the bottles, but if everything is clean, the bottles will remain nearly new.
Beautiful.
Masterful.
Wow! Will the cage/plate scratches the frame when mounted?
Not if you're careful!
@@SILCAVelo 👍
Wow
I bought one of these cages, and one of the four plate welds was awful. Rough, uneven, nothing like the welds in this video or the other three welds. Silca clearly need to work on their quality control, especially when charging $70 for a bottle cage. Very impressed with this process, not at all impressed with the finished product.
We apologize for your experience. Please contact sales@silca.cc and we will take care of you.
@@SILCAVelo
Well, I sent an email to Silca about the faulty weld on the cage I purchased, and was told that it’s perfectly normal to have “variations”. Variations like big globs of Ti running along the weld.
So, I guess that Silca’s state of the art precision welding process is precision, until it isn’t.
I’m returning both cages and looking elsewhere for Ti cages.
Seems over complicated, expensive and too heavy. Carbon would be half the weight or less.
They are actually lighter than most carbon cages and hold bottles better over gravel, cobbles, etc..
@@SILCAVelo not to mention good for 3 lifetimes and support the economy in our backyards
Complicated?
Except for the final weld on the cage, the entire bending process is done manually, on custom jigs.
If you want overly complicated, look into how any carbon fiber part is made.
As for durability, I’ll take Ti any day over a cage made from thread and glue.
Dantuber is the definition of a kook.