New and Improved Headrest Clamp

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
Ok so the OEM headrest clamp is a little finicky for my taste and in my bikes case it makes it impossible to make minor adjustments to the headrest length without having to completely removing the seat pan to get inside the frame a fiddle with the clamp. If you've suffered from similar issues then suffer no more, I've got a solution. Introducing the new and improved headrest clamp developed by RojoRacing's aerospace engineering department. Some of you may have seen the rough prototypes from yesterday's post in the "what did you do to your CruzBike" thread, but this is the production ready product with SS thread inserts and material reduction for reduced weight. The following contains photos and instructions to modifying your seat pan and installing the new clamp. I've pitched the idea to the people at Cruzbike and I'm sending one clamp to Maria Parker for further testing, maybe you will find this new style clamp standard on future Cruzbikes.

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Installation:
In order to loosen the new style clamp and adjust your headrest length without removing the seat pan you'll need to be able to access the two two bolts that tighten the clamp. This first step will require you to drill two 1/2 holes in your seat pan. Don't be afraid, with the correct drill bit drilling through carbon or sensitively brittle plastics is easy. First remove your seat pan and locate the impressions or scratches your two existing headrest clamp bolts have left in the seat pan. Under normal use you should be able to make out where they are rubbing the pan. If you still can't locate where they touch then you can try stuffing the bolt head with something spongy like a small piece of cotton or paper towel then place a touch of paint, marker or nail polish on top and replace the seat. Give the seat a good solid patting in the area in question to transfer the paint to the pan. Now with the two point to be drilled located you'll need to drill two half inch holes dead center over those marks. I recommend using a step drill like this instead of a normal bit that tend to snag composite materials as the pierce through. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-1-1-8-in-1-2-in-x-1-32-in-Step-Drill-Bit-48-89-9201/204312636
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Now get the seat pan out of the way and remove your headrest from the bike completely, NOTE before removing mark some kind of reference point so you know were you had it set. Now completely remove the two two headrest clamp bolts and then remove the clamp itself be sliding it through one of the larger frame holes. Original clamp is pictured below on the right.
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Now take the new clamp and confirm the two pieces are parallel. They are pressed into the alloy tube but can be twisted with rough handling. Easiest way to fix any alignment issues is to place the part flat sides down and give it a solid press. They don't have to be perfect since they will fix themselves after you tighten them the first time. You just need them parallel enough as to not interfere with the headrest tubes as you slide them in.
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Now just slide the new clamp into the frame and thread in each of the original bolts a few turns each, just enough to get them started is all you need. Once that's done take a look inside and make sure the two pieces are sitting flat in the frame and as low as possible. You want max clearance from the tubes as you insert the headrest.
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Now slide your headrest in as far as you previously had it and tighten the bolts to 5nm or 44inch/lbs. It doesn't take much force to hold the headrest from sliding.
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After the headrest is all tight go ahead and completely reinstall the seat pan and seat pads and your done. Now all you have to do now to adjust your headrest length is peel back the seat pad, loosen the two rear seat pan bolts, loosen the two headrest clamp bolts and slide the headrest.
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As with all RojoRacing products they come with a 1 mph guarantee, that is we guarantee each of our products to make you faster by 1mph based on a 20mph avg speed :p
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jond

Zen MBB Master
nice very very nice jason. a simple solution and elegant. well made. congrats. i love the guarantee too :)

do you think you could do away with alloy rod on a simpler version???. the original clamps were separate i.e x2 and not held together with tape etc. when i got my v2 it came with both versions of the clamp(s). i did use the newer version but had no issue with fitting the old comparitively speaking.

although deleting the rod would possibly make locating the headrest through the clamps more difficult you would save material and extra weight. the rod serves no function other than as a handy location aid.

perhaps the leading edges of the actual clamp could be chamfered assisting locating the headrest tubes whilst additional thickness could be added to compensate for contact area lost.

your bike looks awesom by the way with the clean up of the cockpit. some good ideas there that i will copy. thanks for sharing.
 

super slim

Zen MBB Master
Jason, excellent design, AND documentation of the installation process!

The Aluminium rod, stops the Delrin clamps rotating, when tightening the bolts, so I would leave it in, but maybe Rick could come up with a Carbon Fibre rod that is lighter!

Do you get you money back if not 1 mph faster???

Could you remove the tape off the original clamp, and take a photo, and does the clamp push the two head rest tubes sideways?
 

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
@jond
Like Slim said the alloy tube is there to keep the pieces from spinning on their own because the whole idea of this design is functionality and if those pieces are floating around in there sideways and such they be no easier to use then the OEM clamps. The Alloy tube is hollow and thus weights almost nothing but it's easy enough to remove at any time so you have the choice of running the clamps with or without the tube. The blocks will junction fine without the tube but you'll need to be that much more careful when sliding the headrest in during initial install.

@slim
If a 1mph gain isn't achieved I'll send you a dozen free reflective speed dot to attach to your frame. Each one is proven to reduce air drag by 1 watt each.

A carbon tube wouldn't save much weight since the alloy is so thin to begin with but it would also need to be made with a slight curve because the frame isn't strait between the two points. It would look seriously cool to have some 3k weave in there though :)

The spacing of the two concave radius that test against the headrest tubes are spaced precisely wide enough to wedge the tubes against the side as you pull the block up. So they are basically held in the upper corners.
 

LarryOz

Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
Fantastic job Jason - sign me up for a set!
...
All the talk about using the "rod" or not between the 2 pieces reminded me that I lost total patience (have not got it back yet either!) trying to get both of those little "oem" clamps in when I built my V20 up.
I am only using one right now, and have never really had a problem with the tubes sliding around.
So, I might experiment with just one or your "clamps" (they need to have a cool name though - they kind of look like "wings" - maybe - "Jason's headrest wings", or "Vendetta headrest wings", something like that), and I would suspect that just one would be enough. For the weight wennies - think of all that weight savings! haha
Do you have a cad or 3-D file of this piece? It looks like it would lend itself to 3-D printing at some point!
Again - great job!
 

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
Larry I looked at just using one clamp but didn't like the idea of a single point. You'd have to use the single clamp on the rear position so it holds solid against the frame when sudden load is applied. I don't like that even though the single clamp will keep it from sliding just fine, if you pull up on the headrest the front half of the tube in the frame will flex down without the support of the front clamp. It's like running 3 rotor bolts instead of 6. Sure it'll work, and yeah it'll save a little weight, but it's not a great idea from a fail safe perspective.

When you receive your set try it both ways and let us know what you find. Maybe my clamp won't hold as tight as the original when only using one, you never know.
 

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
I don't have a cad file or anything that fancy at my shop. What I have is an old school retrofitted Bridgeport with a conversational CNC computer. So basically I sketch a picture on a piece of paper then do some trig in my head to figure out a rough idea of the dimensions then make a test cut and adjust from there if needed. Apparently I'm pretty good at how I do what I do because I've had real qualified machinist work with me in the past and can't wrap their head around how I store so much of the calculations and changes in my head as I move along making adjustments. Still a proper machine shop could make these much faster then me after spending the time setting it up. I did manage to cut out enough blocks for a half dozen sets for testing and sale.

I program each line individually by hand on a this display unit with buttons so hard to press they make your fingers hurt.
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VenRiderGuy

Well-Known Member
Jason, earlier you mentioned that you were "in discussions" with Maria about your innovative product. Are you considering taking orders for your idea, and if so I would like to get on the list, or are you looking for Cruzbike to market them? Regardless, you are one hell of an innovative member of the tribe. Thanks for joining and adding to the value found on this forum. :D:D
 

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
Jason, earlier you mentioned that you were "in discussions" with Maria about your innovative product. Are you considering taking orders for your idea, and if so I would like to get on the list, or are you looking for Cruzbike to market them? Regardless, you are one hell of an innovative member of the tribe. Thanks for joining and adding to the value found on this forum. :D:D

Simply put I'm lazy and not the greatest and being a storefront. I once had a guy who want to buy an old pair of Mtb forks from me. I wouldn't give him my paypal for like 2 months because I was to lazy to find where I stored the forks at. I've still got a guy sending me messages every month for the last year about buying my old Mtb but I've been to lazy to reassembled it.

CruzBike has done me a solid by letting me race their bike so I'm giving them the opportunity to incorporate my idea into thier product. If it doesn't end up part of their lineup then you guys will have to deal with me directly :eek:
 

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
Ok let's talk about $$ what is something like this worth to you guys? This could determine wether I commit to making several dozen of just a handful per request. I'd say now that I've got the jig setup it takes an average of 10-15 to make each one but that's assuming I'm making them in lots of 10 or more. From scratch to make only one it's more like a hour to setup the machines.
 

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
Ok so first batch is done and ready to ship. Two are going to CruzBike and one has been claimed by @LarryOz. The last is up for grabs for a introductory price of $30. Since it's still in the testing phase if you are not satisfied I'll refund your money so no risk. It looks like @VenRiderGuy was in line after Larry so if your still interested PM me and we'll go from there.
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super slim

Zen MBB Master
@jond
Like Slim said the alloy tube is there to keep the pieces from spinning on their own because the whole idea of this design is functionality and if those pieces are floating around in there sideways and such they be no easier to use then the OEM clamps. The Alloy tube is hollow and thus weights almost nothing but it's easy enough to remove at any time so you have the choice of running the clamps with or without the tube. The blocks will junction fine without the tube but you'll need to be that much more careful when sliding the headrest in during initial install.

@slim
If a 1mph gain isn't achieved I'll send you a dozen free reflective speed dot to attach to your frame. Each one is proven to reduce air drag by 1 watt each.

A carbon tube wouldn't save much weight since the alloy is so thin to begin with but it would also need to be made with a slight curve because the frame isn't strait between the two points. It would look seriously cool to have some 3k weave in there though :)

The spacing of the two concave radius that test against the headrest tubes are spaced precisely wide enough to wedge the tubes against the side as you pull the block up. So they are basically held in the upper corners.
@Slim
OEM clamp in the nude
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Now seeing the original clamp in the nude, your design is simpler, MUCH easier to install, more professional looking, and has the required clamping load to stop movement!!!

Can I choose the colours of the speed dots?
 

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
Ok sorry for the delay but I was out owning a mountain yesterday. So all 4 clamps have been spoken for with Maria P, Robert H, Larry and Venriderguy getting the first four. Based on the flood of PM's I've received these past 2 days I'm not the only one held a disdain for the original clamp and it seems I have interest in at least half a dozen more for my next production run. Give me a little time to get more raw material ordered and such and I'll let you guys know when they are ready.

By the way I tested the clamp Yesterday over 133 mile ride and everything remained tight the whole time. I even stopped mid ride after 20 miles to lengthen the headrest and it slid out nice and smooth like expected.
 

DavidCH

In thought; expanding the paradigm of traversity
Hey Jason, I will have one of those for sure! It's a no brainer
 

RojoRacing

Donut Powered Wise-guy
Ok so I thought I could ship these things for a couple dollars in an envelope but it seems like a $6 small flat rate box is cheapest on the usps website. I'm sure I'm missing something since their website sucks. So for those of you who ship small items what is the best method?

I was hoping keep it under $3 but maybe I'm still living in 1990.
 

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
I was hoping keep it under $3 but maybe I'm still living in 1990.

Under 2 lbs $6.80 is about the cheapest. USPS will pickup at your door and the will bring you the boxes for free so that control the cost.
 

Rick Youngblood

CarbonCraft Master
Under 13oz, bubble envelope Fist Class will be $2-$5 range. Otherwise what Ratz said, Flat Rate Box, Bubble envelope under 2lb's.
 
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