Kydex - can anyone help?

the schwartz

the schwartz

Well-Known Member
Anyone have experience working with kydex?

Trying to make a skid plate for my eMTB and I guess I could benefit from some existing knowledge.

I bought two sheets so the one in the pictures here was just a shot I'm the dark attempt throw away. I probably need to cut some angles out of it before trying to form it to accommodate the bend in the frame. Following that I'm really not sure how I would attach it. I was thinking of using voile strap but there isn't a good spot for the lower section of the sheet...
 

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i would use 3m vhb tape to attach it. should be plenty strong enough.

I would imagine its similar to doing sheetmetal where you need to make relief cuts for certain bends, exactly what needs to be cut out/relieved is hard to say without seeing it in person, but those tabs are calling out for a relief cut.
 
Kayak people use marine goop or gorilla double stick tape for attaching keel guards. For a bike the tape should be fine.
 
rlb said:
Maybe mock it up with a flat piece of cardboard from a cereal box, then you’ll know where all of the relief cuts need to be. Might need a few mockup iterations to get it right before diving in to the final result.
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You are very wise. I tried starting that with loose leaf paper and it's not helpful lol
 
I made mine to attach to the bottom water bottle mounting points. Didn’t have a heat gun so my wife and I used a hair dryer and a towel and bent it around the downt tube. Shaved it to form using the front concrete steps as a file. Pretty good for my first try. It has served its purpose 10 fold.

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I decided not to have the kydex come half way up on the sides to avoid the issue you're are having. Used a heat gun directly on the kydex and slammed it into place. Some heat while it lay on the frame but I was hesitant to heat the frame so I would pull the piece off and mold it back down on the frame. I used my welding gloves lol. I believe I used 3m vht tape? Its been on for about 3 years and has done its job several times.
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Steve Vai said:
I would confirm that adding a guard won't void the Warranty if you haven't. I know Specialized will automatically reject a Claim if there's a guard.
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With that information, I'll pull it off if I put a claim in hahaha. That's crazy that a piece made to protect could void.
 
Davinchia1981 said:
With that information, I'll pull it off if I put a claim in hahaha. That's crazy that a piece made to protect could void.
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"Force was transmitted through the frame in a way that it was not designed for. Fail."

I won't personally do business with companies like that, and I pressure them to do the right thing if it's clearly their fault (professionally).
 
Well, people want their stocks to do well so companies are forced to make that happen 🤷
 
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