The Moorhuhn is an Additive Manufactured Frame Hoping To ‘Make Steel Sexy Again’
Can steel ever be sexy again? In this world of swoopy carbon exotica, sometimes the simple elegance of the straight tubes on a ferrous frame can be lost to all those who aren't seasoned shed dwellers, but German frame builder Ralf Holleis is hoping to change all that with his latest project.
An industrial designer by day, Ralf has been building bikes since 2011, starting with his VRZ 1 track bike that used the titanium lugs and carbon tubes recipe we're used to seeing from the likes of Robot Bikes. This time, he's using the same technique but there's no plastic in sight. Instead, he's opted for a fully steel frame - lugs, tube and all.
He calls this bike the Moorhuhn, coming from the German for Moorhen. Yes, it seems like a strange name but Ralf explains it by saying, "Getting dirty is fun, chickens live in the dirt, yet they look very elegant! Chickens walk forward with their heads up high, while doing so they never lose focus. Last but not least chickens have the skill to fly for short distances, mountain bikes do the same"
Moorhuhn Details
Rear Travel: 129mm
Front travel: 140mm fork recommended
Head angle: 67°
Seat tube angle: 76°
Reach: 469.6mm
Chainstays: 434mm
Rear Travel: 129mm
Front travel: 140mm fork recommended
Head angle: 67°
Seat tube angle: 76°
Reach: 469.6mm
Chainstays: 434mm
This time Ralf is using Reynolds 953 tubes for the front triangle and Columbus Zona for the rear triangle, while the lugs are made from either 17/4 PH or 316 L stainless steel. He has a friend who gave him access to a 3-D printer for the lugs and the rest of the bike has been brought together with the sweat of his brow.
The 3-D printed lugs use a honeycomb structure that can be altered for strength where it's needed, for example around the Pivot/BB area.
Probably some of the cleanest cable routing you're ever likely to see.
The Moorhuhn front triangle in the jig and ready for fabrication. Ralf used a mix of welding and brazing to bring the bike together.
The Moorhuhn is a 129mm travel 29er designed to be agile, playful, and "cut corners like a chicken does." Ralf opted for 129mm of travel "because everybody does 130mm and the Huhn wants to be different." It's a project that has taken three years to come to life and Ralf played a lot with linkage on a traditionally built geometry mule to get the feeling he needed before moving on to the additive manufacturing version.
With the construction complete, Ralf painstakingly sanded and polished the frame to a near-mirror finish before sending it away for a chrome coating. Ralf is yet to decide on a full spec for the bike so has only sent us pictures of the frame for now, but he should have a fully built version in around two weeks.
Ralf's frame was polished to a mirror finish before being sent away for chrome coating.
These brake mounts are also additive manufactured then brazed onto the seatstays.
Ralf is planning to sell these frames, but don't expect them to become a regular sight on your trails. He's limiting numbers to 12 per year and they start at €6000 with options to slightly adjust the geometry. Next on his list is a titanium frame that will bring down the weight without a shock from 3.9kg (8.6 lb) to 2.8kg (6.2 lb) and start from €6500, and after that a more agressive enduro version.
More info, here.
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(Except I know they are not as I am about to buy my second Stanton!!)
With a history at Dirt magazine, I wouldn't have expected @jamessmurthwaite to suggest that steel has ever not been sexy. Have you discussed this with Ed Haythorntwaite (currently at Robotbike/Atherton) and Billy Thackray (currently lost in the woods)?
As for Robotbike/Atherton, at least I like that these lugs have double shear lap joints to avoid delamination at the otherwise free edges of the carbon tubes. And they've automated the detailed design (dimensioning) of the lugs based on preferred geometry and loading, which I think is cool.
To end on a positive note, the overall shape looks cool. It may not look like a Session, but it does look like an Alutech ICB2.0 (or Portus, as it is steel).
Carbon can also be produced with Co2, which in turn would lower your global footprint. While expensive, its possible.
Your alloy bike made in Taiwan was flown or shipped on a container ship burning massive amounts of fossil fuel, and increasing total carbon emissions.
The introduction of thermoresin, as I stated will allow for recyclable carbon. And again it would allow for manufacturers to manufacture bikes with sections, which can be assembled anytime as the resin can be reheated and reformed. This once again allows for larger bulk products, and essentially lower costs to consumers. Given that this could essentially be a sustainable business practice, now you add in your blue collar folk that want and need jobs. Eliminate the overseas shipping, and bring about a north American (or whatever continent your on) built carbon bikes.
When it comes down to it, every single idea has its drawbacks. Just as they all have their upsides. While again, I agree that steel is great in certain applications, i can't agree that carbon (when speaking of most frame styles) can be inherently better. I say "Can be" because I've also ridden some really terrible carbon bikes too. Thing is, not one material will take over. They all have their applications.
In fact to be very clear, I'm not anti anything but carbon. My statement simply outlined a place for all types of materials for specific applications, as well as differant possibilities for one type of application. My opinions are purely objective.
as opposed to inherent subjective cognition ?
"The line of 'Make Steel Great Again,' the phrase, that was mine, I came up with it about a year ago, and I kept using it, and everybody's using it, they are all loving it. I don't know, I guess I should copyright it, maybe I have copyrighted it."
On Crooked Carbon
"If Crooked Carbon can't satisfy her roadie husband what makes her think she can satisfy America?"
On Why He's The Material
"I'm the most successful material ever to run a bicycle, by far. Nobody's ever been more successful than me. I'm the most successful material ever run. Crooked Carbon isn't successful like me. Aluminum - I have a Gucci store that's worth more than Aluminum."
sounds like something SRAM would say
Elon Musk: “Well because its badass.”
Not only does it look good but makes all the connections much stronger, and the fact he put honeycomb pattern in the lug for a STEEL FRAME? Cock'a-doodle-do!!!
This project seems like bag full of opposites...
But my bad. Pardon me.
https://allcitycycles.com/bikes/big_block
I don't think galvanic corrosion is a huge deal between steel alloys, at least for bicycles. All the elements used to make the alloys have fairly similar electropotentials. Even with exotic stuff, iron is still the main ingredient, which should keep their electropotentials in the same general ballpark.
You are way more likely to see your alloy bike components begin to corrode, such as an inadequately greased aluminum seat post in a steel frame, or an aluminum BB shell improperly bonded to a carbon frame. (This is the real reason the bike industry has moved to press fit BBs and integrated head sets.)
Yeah, I'm not claiming galvanic corrosion between steels never happens.
What I'm saying, is that stainless dropouts or lugs built into a non-stainless bicycle frame is not inherently problematic. If it were a serious problem, the thousands (if not millions) of bicycles with that construction technique would have serious rust issues, and they do not.
Your picture shows clear galvanic corrosion, but don't forget mild steel has basically no application on a bicycle. Even the cheapest bike frames will be hi-tensile steel, which contains more alloying elements.
Also your example of the steel washers and stainless bolts is very anecdotal, and probably not galvanic corrosion. Your typical plated steel washers/fasteners will flash with surface rust extremely easily when exposed to moisture. Combine this with the fact that most bikes and parts ship with the fasteners completely dry, and receive a dab of grease on the threads (at most) during assembly, and it's no surprise to see surface rust. Brand new bikes will develop surface rust on the bolts in a few hours if you leave them in the rain. Galvanic corrosion between similar metals does not work that fast. Well-greased threads, and periodically covering the bolt with a few drops of light oil will stop the surface rust.
Edit...tried to make an arrow point back to username but PB is censoring arrows haha
What is blowing my mind is how did he make the honeycomb filler inside the lug? I'm guessing it has been pressed in?
I just went to their site: huhncycles.com/MOORHUHN-129
Absolutely, totally, for sure no one:
Guy making this bike: “Hey guys I made you an 8.6 lb (no shock!) steel full suspension frame. It’s SUPER PRETTY!!! Did I mention I’m making 12 a year, max, and that each of them costs €6000 or $9200 CAD??!? YEAH BOI YA HEARD?!?”
It’s a good looking frame. And if I needed a frame to hang on my wall this would be a top contender. But to ride? As a bike? No one is asking for this. Come on. Plus production is going to be a nightmare.
Yes, 3D printers absolutely have their place in the industry, mainly for custom parts, prototypes and very small production runs, but you will never get products that are competitive price wise, let alone large quantities of them. 3D printing takes very long, is very expensive (especially when printing steel) and very maintenance heavy. I don't see this taking of anytime soon, as the production capacity alone restricts this to a very small niche product.
I hope for the best for the manufacturer tho, good luck with that
Its heavy, really heavy. 3d printing metal isn't cheap or efficient. The swing arm is made of ZONA??? And its a 6000ero bike and you made it with ZONA? What engineering problem was solved? Which part of this bike frame actually justifies the outrageous price tag? What does this frame offer that a frame 1/3 of the cost doesn't? SRAM level Marketing BS exists even in the world of "hand made" bicycles.
The frame is pretty but I think if I were to get a steel frame I'd go for a classic look. Functionally, this thing isn't really better than any 'common' frame for a third of the price so I'll have to give it to @Insectoid that he's got a point about the whole business model.
Basically aluminium buzzes whilst steel hums octaves lower, and that buzz is much more unpleasant. Annoyingly my alloy hardtail is too good for me to bother getting a similar steel frame to solve that problem!
As a value proposition for riders, an 8.6lb frame for 6000 euros is utter bunk.
As a way of earning money, it is very smart, and sadly probably will work, although the dupes are going to be rich people, which makes it less reprehensible in my view.
First, his risk is low. Even if he sells nothing, he's only using a printer he borrowed from his friend and the welding equipment he's probably got laying around.
Second, supply of similar products is low- almost no one uses steel to build FS bikes. In other words, his product is rare. He further reduces supply by arbitrarily refusing to make more than a dozen frames in a year (although- I think he's lying- would you refuse 6000 euros to make a 13th frame for around 25 hours of labor?). Then he jacks the price up to 6000 euros, which also is a marketing ploy to heighten the feeling of exclusivity.
If he succeeds in finding just two rich morons to buy this, then he has enough money to survive. If he finds a dozen rich morons, then he will have a solid income of 72,000 euros in a year for working, what, 25 hours a month? That's like Tim Ferriss's 4-hour work week. Even if he gets only half the amount of customers he's looking for, he will still have a solid annual income of 36,000 euros. Basically, this guy can't lose- even if no one buys a single bike, he'll still not have risked anything.
Torsional stiffness: questionable at best. Only one main pivot holding the two triangles together + soft round-shaped tubing... 29 wheels... Can anyone explain how this thing is not going to rub the clevice against its seat tube under a slightest side load?
Im not a fan of this bike. Mostly down to the cost versus whats being offered (a heavy bike with no apparent engineering solution to justify the cost). But this obsession of "stiffness" that the cycling consumers have is point proven that marketing works even when its lies just to get you to buy the latest stuff. The cycling community is full of mindless consumers.
Complexity of the design has to be taken into account depending on the machines you're working with. Printing, the design engineer doesn't really have to think about limiting their creativity. Once it's designed, other than pushing the go button (maybe setup the printing machine for the job) it's hands off until the end. Printing times vary a lot depending on design.
In the industry I work in, a lot of times the limiting factor is the supplier of the material...ie castings, forgings etc. If your supplier can't get you what you need, you're out of luck. Lead times are long, demands are high. Printing, well, if it's in-house, you eliminate the chain, other than your powder supplier. Printing is going to be where it's at in the future. There's some incredible materials right now that are being printed and laser welded that everything science and physics disagree with. It's so early in that stage of technology and material properties of printed are starting to become equal or surpass their wrought/billet counterparts. All cool stuff!
Seems like a good fit for a @dangerholm build though!
But is she also delicious drenched in buffalo and bleu cheese?
This bike is such a stunner!
Excited for the Enduro version!
By the way, where the F?#k is the Grim Donut????
singletrackworld.com/2019/05/10-more-stunning-steel-full-suspension-bikes-you-cannot-ignore