SPecial interest projects

Collection of products in various stages of completion. The goal of this page is to catalogue my journey in product development and manufacturing.

Gravel bike external dropper post cable routing system

  • 90* pulley clamp v11

    Allows low friction redirection of a cable.

  • Cable housing stop v2

    Provides end point for cable housing to provide adequate cable tension and reduce weight.

  • Drop bar end cable lever [cutaway]

  • embossed seat collar

    Manufactured in Polymaker PLA+ with two M6 socket head bolts and captive nuts.

  • REf #1

    Pulley clamp and seat clamp installed on frame.

  • REf #2

    Cable housing stop installed on frame.

The goal of this project was to create a fully integrated ecosystem of 3D printed parts for use in a mountain bike-style dropper seat post system. The need for such a thing appeared after I panic bought a highly discounted externally routed dropper post that I did not particularly need at the time. However, the deal was too good to pass up. Externally routed dropper posts are known to pose a major threat to cable routing aesthetics— a concept very important to some. I saw this as a good opportunity to try my hand in designing various components to route the cable and cable housing throughout the bike.

Still under construction.

Shimano BL-m8100 brake lever replacement

  • Lever v4

    Provided valid starting point for reproducing existing lever by copying geometry. Proved far too weak and required improvements both ergonomically and structurally.

  • lever v8

    Major improvements in comfort and strength.

  • v6 rendering

The goal of this project was to design and manufacture a replacement for a broken Shimano hydraulic brake lever on my mountain bike. Replacement levers are widely available and economical, however this is nowhere near as fun. Major difficulties throughout this experience included complex part interface dimensions and geometries, the need for an ergonomic and organic design language, and strength of end product.

Throughout eight prototyping and redesign phases, a lever was finally produced that satisfied needs in terms of comfort, adjustability, and durability (so far). So much so that I ended up replacing both levers on my bike.

We are going on 8 months of use at this point and the levers are showing no notable signs of failure.

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