Belite has the tube and is selling it for $380. My budget has taken a serious hit thanks to an unexpectedly high tax bill this year so I am trying to get creative with options. James Wiebe tells me this is commercial grade CF tubing, 2.5 inch OD and .065 wall thickness.

I prefer to buy a professionally made tube rather than take chances on making my own. I figure if I can find a supplier I can save myself 1/2 of the shipping costs (save shipping to Belite) and save the additional mark up from Belite.

Quote Originally Posted by crusty old aviator View Post
Jim:

As Bill says, "not all carbon fiber tubes are equal." If you can't get one from Belite, as Marty suggests, can you at least get the specs for it? You'll need the ply schedule that specifies what fabric and uni are used, warp orientations, and what resin is used, as well as how much resin (usually a weight percentage).

If you can't get the specs, you could reverse engineer the tube by peeling it apart, but only if you can identify each ply of carbon fiber and uni by visual inspection. You could calculate all the loads the tube will be exposed to and design your own: that would be a learning experience!