Bicycle Frame Fixture aka Your New #BFF
The FARR Frameworks Bicycle Frame Fixture (or BFF for short) has been a multi-year endeavor as I continued to hone the design and pull together learnings & ideas from my smaller tool runs. The latest revision is currently being manufactured and is available for pre-order only. Please reach out directly if you’d like to grab a spot.
The FARR Frameworks Bicycle Frame Fixture (or BFF for short) has been a multi-year endeavor as I continued to hone the design and pull together learnings & ideas from my smaller tool runs. The latest revision is currently being manufactured and is available for pre-order only. Please reach out directly if you’d like to grab a spot.
The FARR Frameworks Bicycle Frame Fixture (or BFF for short) has been a multi-year endeavor as I continued to hone the design and pull together learnings & ideas from my smaller tool runs. The latest revision is currently being manufactured and is available for pre-order only. Please reach out directly if you’d like to grab a spot.
At FARR Frameworks we believe in creating complete solutions for frame builders. That’s why the #BFF ship standard as a complete kit with all the add-ons and attachments we feel are required to build modern framesets. We also believe that cost savings using extrusions should be passed on to the customer (they make it easier for us to manufacture and cheaper for you to buy) that’s why we don’t think you’ll find another fixture in the world (maybe even the universe - depending on alien currency exchange rates) with this many features for this price.
Back Purge as a standard - It doesn’t cost us much more to include this ($50.00 to be exact) so if you don’t want it we will give you a credit rather than up-charge people that do. TIG is a great way to build frames quickly and back purging even on steel has amazing results that’s worth the extra Argon. The back purge feels like it was designed into the fixture because it was - seamlessly flowing with the tool and all argon lines are tucked out of the way.
Offset Head Tube supports - The head tube supports on the #BFF are offset from the vertical extrusion giving builders maximum space to work around the head tube joints. So wether you tack or run longer beads in the fixture you can count on have the right access to get where you need to go.
Head Tube Lower Datum Hardstop - The bottom head tube support moves downward just enough that the entire frame can be removed from the fixture without loosing critical dimensions during alignment checks. Simply put the frame back in and slide the bottom support back up to the hardstop and away you go.
Top Tube Supports - If you’ve ever tried to hold a top tube in place while trying to tack it in place it’s not the easiest thing. Especially on frames where the geometry of these miters are not opposing. That’s why we’ve included top tube support arms as a standard part to give you and extra hand. They also have bungie cords (if needed) that allow you to really hold the tube in place in the v-groove so it’s rock solid if you are taking the frame fixture for a spin.
Seat Tube Offset - If you are building modern MTB frames you’re probably bending the ST. The #BFF ships standard with 80mm of forward aft to support these bends keeping the ST geometry in check. PVD has a great blog post about this and I have to give credit where credit is due. His writing was a big influence in including this as a standard feature.
Seat Tube & Down Tube Center-er - A device to hold your ST and DT on center when you are tack them to the BB. It features a spring loaded finger that you can rotate 90 degrees to hold or remove the tube. It’s quick and easy and gives peace of mind your bike is firmly centered on the BB shell.
CAM Lock BB Adjustment - Look Ma, No Shims! You won’t find shims on this fixture because our Bottom Bracket Adjusts through the fixture to any center offset you need. 1/2 millimeter scales are CNC engraved into the shaft and a quick CAM lock mechanism capable of holding 4000lbs of thrust secures the post in place once the dimensions are set. As an added bonus, because the adjustment moves passes through the fixture, it’s also a nice place to ground your TIG rig.
Metal Custom Engraved Scales - All scales on the #BFF are engraved so no more wearing down rulers or accidently burning numbers off with the torch.
Sliding Rear End - Probably the most unique feature of the #BFF is the entire rear end slides as one piece. Have you ever looked at a geometry chart and realized for a particular model BB drop and CS length almost always stay the same over the various sizes? We took that to heart building a back end that adjusts and slides with the entire BB & ST assembly. Not only does this simplify the rear end portion of the build it allows complete 360 degree access to your dropout joints it allows us to provide our various attachments to support and hold chainstays stays in place. In addition it eventually allows us to offer a Fork Fixture Attachment in the future. Giving you a frameset fixture instead of just a frame fixture.
Chainstay Supports - Because the fixture has the rear center span under the chainstays we can support them both at the dropouts and the bottom bracket with one attachment. Delrin bushings slide on precision ground rods to allow you to capture these positions perfectly and adjust them accordingly. Once everything is locked in with the brass knobs chainstays are held firm for tacking or welding.
Magnetic Chain Ring Checker - We build our fixture drive side out. There’s been a lot of debate about this and seems to be a pretty heated topic, but we are a small company and have to make firm decisions sometimes to avoid overhead related to preference. Drive side out is how a bicycle is presented in BikeCAD, but it also allows us to have a magnetic chainring checker with full access to this area for critical checks. This tool is included standard with the #BFF and magnetically attaches to the Nickel-plated washer inside the BB cup. It allows you to quickly simulate any chainring to ensure the frame with clear this HW.
The Seatstay Sandwich - Holds seat stays in place like ham & provolone between sliced French bread.
If you have additional questions about the #BFF, please reach out via the CONNECT page.