Fiberglass reinforcements on Quest wheelbox

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   Hi all,

This week I am going to do my first fiberglass job, to reinforce the wheel-box of my Quest, where the swing-arm connects. I damaged this part in a recent trip and following Velomobiel.nl's advice I will reinforce the part with 10 layers of 200g/m2 fiberglass.

It feels exciting but also a bit daunting since it's pretty important that I get it right! A tricky part is to get the velomobile in a heated workshop - I will have to get it through a window, via a ramp made out of scaffolding parts.

I hope to be able to take pictures of this adventure for you all to enjoy…

Wish me luck ^^

Antonin

Edited by antonin_d - 14 December 2020 at 11:21am

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antonin_d Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Visitor (new) Joined: 10 April 2017 Status: Offline Points: 63	Post Options Post Reply Quote antonin_d Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Fiberglass reinforcements on Quest wheelbox Posted: 14 December 2020 at 11:18am
	Hi all, This week I am going to do my first fiberglass job, to reinforce the wheel-box of my Quest, where the swing-arm connects. I damaged this part in a recent trip and following Velomobiel.nl's advice I will reinforce the part with 10 layers of 200g/m2 fiberglass. It feels exciting but also a bit daunting since it's pretty important that I get it right! A tricky part is to get the velomobile in a heated workshop - I will have to get it through a window, via a ramp made out of scaffolding parts. I hope to be able to take pictures of this adventure for you all to enjoy… Wish me luck ^^ Antonin Edited by antonin_d - 14 December 2020 at 11:21am

Yanto Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 11 July 2005 Status: Offline Points: 1521	Post Options Post Reply Quote Yanto Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 14 December 2020 at 9:55pm
	Good luck! Look forward to seeing your access ramp. Regarding the fibreglassing, it is very straightforward, prepare your cloth before mixing the resin, are you using epoxy? Mix the resin to the correct ratios, wet the area you are going to fibreglass (after roughing with abrasive cloth and cleaning with acetone), wet the first layer of cloth just enough resin to make it transparent and apply to the area previously wetted, do the same for each layer making sure all air is removed. a common mistake (and i still do it) is putting too much resin on the cloth, if you can once all layers are applied compress the area or ensure it has been rolled to remove excess resin. Ian

atlas_shrugged Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List BHPC Member Joined: 03 November 2014 Location: Cambs Status: Offline Points: 1025	Post Options Post Reply Quote atlas_shrugged Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 December 2020 at 12:41pm
	I am no expert on this but I have seen this being done. For the final layer you can put PeelPly material on and then use a small roller (approx. 5cm wide) to squeeze the excess resin through the PeelPly. Then later the PeelPly is removed. Lee may look at this thread later to add/correct anything I have said. Allez mon brave. Edited by atlas_shrugged - 16 December 2020 at 12:51pm

Yanto Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 11 July 2005 Status: Offline Points: 1521	Post Options Post Reply Quote Yanto Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 18 December 2020 at 7:40am
	Use of Peel ply provides either an aesthetically pleasant finish (matt) by covering inconstancies of resin thickness or as a key for further work, it's not vital. It can however make final rolling easier and absorb some excess resin. Edited by Yanto - 18 December 2020 at 7:41am

antonin_d Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Visitor (new) Joined: 10 April 2017 Status: Offline Points: 63	Post Options Post Reply Quote antonin_d Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 23 December 2020 at 8:59pm
	So, I gave it a go. I have ridden 200km with it and I am pleased with the stiffness! This is the original damage, seen from the wheel side: Even though Velomobiel.nl told me that it should be enough to reinforce the wheelbox on the wheel side only, I thought it would not hurt to add a few layers on the swingarm side, so that the damaged area is sandwiched between layers of new fibers. With two layers on that side it did not seem to move the swingarm mount point too much (the position can be adjusted on the other mount point anyway). It does mean that I should now paint it again, but that can wait a bit. I am pretty sure I fell in the trap of putting too much resin, but oh well, I'll optimize for weight another time… In the end, friends helped me get the velo in the workshop so we did not have to build any structure to get it through the window. The curing process was pretty interesting, it was a bit of a challenge to keep the temperature at 20°C for 24h but after some fiddling with various heating devices it worked (yes I was so desperate that I did consider lighting candles!)

atlas_shrugged Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List BHPC Member Joined: 03 November 2014 Location: Cambs Status: Offline Points: 1025	Post Options Post Reply Quote atlas_shrugged Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 23 December 2020 at 9:28pm
	Bien Fait. Any photos of getting this into the workshop or is this classified?

antonin_d Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Visitor (new) Joined: 10 April 2017 Status: Offline Points: 63	Post Options Post Reply Quote antonin_d Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Posted: 24 December 2020 at 7:18am
	Sadly we did not have enough hands for the velomobile and the camera! But this is how it looked in the workshop:

Yanto Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 11 July 2005 Status: Offline Points: 1521	Post Options Post Reply Quote Yanto Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 26 December 2020 at 6:03pm
	Well done, it's not as daunting as first it may seem, hopefully