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FAQ

What's the idea behind Raamwerk

We prefer to ride aluminium bikes, for which we pick the parts ourselves, and build the bikes ourselves.We had a hard time finding the frame that suited our needs, so we figured; we can’t be alone on that. And here we are!

Why do you solely make aluminium framesets?

That’s right. Aluminium only. In our opinion, it is the ideal material for bicycle frames.It is possible to make a light and stiff frame with the right aluminium alloy. It is relatively easy the work on, and is durable in use. What is not to like?

And when your frame finally is ready to go, we can recycle the aluminium.

Do you have a physical store I can visit?

We don't have a flagship store, however we are working together with our beloved partners/dealers. You can find them in the dealer sections.

How to order a complete bike

We produce framesets. They should be built into bikes. 

You can do this yourself, your local bike shop might be able to help out, or we can build the bike the way you prefer. 

We also offer complete bikes, see the overview in our store of complete bikes. See here on how the online order process is working.

How about that ISP (integrated seatpost)?

We do like our frame to be out of the ordinary and we like the stiffness it gives to have that little bit of extra control over your bike, especially while cornering.

You can read more on the ISP here.

If you don't like the aesthetics of it, we can remove the ISP for you and you can assemble a traditional seatpost. This is possible before or after purchase, you might consider transportation costs, further the ISP removal is free of charge.

You can read more on ISP removal here.

What will be the lead time for a frameset?

This depends, obviously we guess. If a frame is on stock it will be with you in about a week to 10 days. 

We make use of a transporting company that specialises in transporting fragile goods. Not that we don’t package it sturdy, but we’d find it a shame if parts get broken in transit. Downside is that it will take a little longer. 

We try to have all options on stock, but this is not always possible. Reach out to us by email, to find out if we have your desired framesize and color on stock, or needs to be coated for you.

How will the frameset / bike be packed and shipped?

We find it a shame to just pack the frame/bike from our facility to you in a fancy carton, to be throw away immediately after unboxing.

So we use the packaging that is used in the whole journey of the frame/bike. It is shipped from the welding factory to us in a cardboard box, from us in the same box to the coating facility and back to us, as this is within the Netherlands we keep the journey to a minimum.

And from the our stock it is packed within that same box, with all information collected on the box before it becomes your bike.

Call us a little emotional but for us it adds to the unboxing; knowing the journey the frame already travelled.

Where does the name Raamwerk come from?

We are Dutch, and try to keep the product close to home. So that is why it is a dutch word. 

In Belgium, a bicycle frame is called ‘kader’, which (loosely translated) means Framework, which also can be translated to raamwerk, in Dutch. In German, a frame is called ‘rahmen’. you see the resemblance, right?

Also, a ‘raamwerk’ can be the base of a structure. That ios how we like to see you bicycle frame as well.

How do you make sure your frame are secure and strong enough?

As two mechanical engineers, with a load of experience with aluminium and in the bicycle industry, we had a good bit of a head start. And yet, it took us well over 2 years to go from an idea to the first rideable bike. 

In the design we took all the knowledge we have about ride characteristics, material strength, tube manufacturing, bike geometry, industry standards and wall thicknesses and lots more, and got to a design. This design has been through some rigorous computer testing, called FEM, Finite Element Method. We did some of it ourselves, changed the design a little, and sent the files to an expert. 

After this, we felt confident to invest in tooling, to make all the tubes exactly as we feel is the best way to get to our dream frame. 

These tubes got welded, heat treated and shot peened, after which multiple frames get tested according to the ISO 4210 standard. This is an international standard, detailing what a frame needs to comply with, to be considered safe. There is a specific section in this standard for road bikes, we passed these tests with flying colors. 

On testing the frames harder (with a higher force) and longer than the standard specifies, it is inevitable a frame fails at some point. the question is; will it fail in a crucial location. The cracks that finally appeared, are in locations that are not crucial structurally. 

All this, leads us to confidently say; our frame’s are safe to use what they are intended for.

What size frame do I need?

The exact setup depends on a lot of factors. First and foremost; your bodies dimensions. but also; your riding style, goals and flexibility. 

If you have an idea of how you prefer your geometry to be; check the geometry stats of our frames, or compare the raamwerk frames with other bikes you have ridden on geometrygeeks.bike

if you don’t have a clue how a bike should fit, doubt about your current bikes setup or have physical challenges on your current bike, like sore hands or knee issues, go see a bike fitter. 

Bikefitters have different backgrounds. Some have an education in physiotherapy or exercise physiology. This might help you a lot. There is no official titel for bikefitters. Closest thing is the education by IBFI, the international Bike Fitters Institure. You can locate their members here

If you would like our advice on fit, or setup, you are very welcome to send us an email.

Why are the frames welded in Taiwan?

In our journey to produce the frames in Europe, start to finish, we came across two big blockers. As it turns out, we don’t have the knowledge and technology in Europe. We didn’t expect that, did you?

A little bit of history on bicycle frames. In the 90’s, aluminium was getting popular as a bicycle frame material rapidly. At the same time, Asia was developing it’s capacity to produce for the world. Nearly all bicycle companies invested in production in Asia for their aluminium frames. 

This has resulted in well developed methods to produce a bicycle frame, which have not spread across the world, for a lack of reason to. Some examples;

Butted tubing
Our tubes have a consistent outer diameter. The inner diameter changes. At the ends of the tubes, we need wallthickness to have enough surface to weld on. in the middle of the tube, we can have a smaller wallthickness to reduce weight. In Taiwan machines and tooling to make these tubes are fairly common. In Europe, we havn’t found a producer of either these tubes or the machine to produce the tubes. 

Heat treatment
Is crucial to a lightweight frame of 7005 Aluminium. However, ovens that are designed for these heat treatments (up to nearly 500 degrees celsius), on the size and scale of bicycle frames, are rare. 

to conclude; we keep on working on producing in Europe. If you have tips let us know. But for now; we are happy to have a very skilled partner in Taiwan to produce the raw frames for us.