Custom 3D-Printed & Carbon Bike Parts – DIY Inspiration and Free Designs!

[MichaelE89]

Hey!

After building model airplanes for 20+ years and a lot of other inspirations, I’ve picked up some skills in carbon fiber techniques and decided to bring those over to my cycling projects! Now, I'm using a mix of carbon and 3D printing to create custom bike parts for me, and I thought I’d share some of my experiences here to inspire anyone interested in DIY bike upgrades.

For those curious about carbon fiber: I’ve tested a lot (to failure sometimes!) and learned what works best for durability and weight. For molds, I use a resin 3D printer for precision on small parts and switch to a standard filament printer when I’m working on larger molds.

If anyone has questions or any other approaches about carbon fiber parts, printing techniques, mold making or equipment let’s chat!

Just a heads-up: I’m not taking on any custom requests or selling anything—just sharing my projects for fun and inspiration. Some of my designs are (or will be) free to download on MakerWorld and Thingiverse if you want to give them a go.

Looking forward to seeing others’ creations too!

A container full of molds, some old parts or testparts from the last years

[MichaelE89]

To begin with a pretty straight forward one - a custom GPS mount for my Tarmac SL8 and Roval Rapide cockpit.

The original mount just didn’t fit right for me—it was angled too far down, and the weight felt a bit excessive. So, I decided to design and make my own version

3D Scanning & Measurements:
I started by scanning the Tarmac SL8/Roval Rapide handlebar in this area to ensure the new mount would fit precisely. Accurate measurements were critical, especially to adjust the mounting angle. No scan will replace good measurements

CAD Design & Prototyping:
I designed the first prototype in CAD based on the scan data, tweaking the angle and shape. Then, I printed the prototype with an FDM printer and tested the fit on the bike. After a few iterations, I had the perfect angle and size.

Mold Creation & Resin Printing:
Once I was happy with the fit, I designed the mold for the mount, printed it using a resin printer for a smooth finish.The resin printer has a much better resolution than the FDM printer and reduces the workflow significantly. It is a 30min wet sanding with 400grid sandpaper. After sanding I usually apply 3 layers of mold release wax, a little bit of polishing and afterwards PVA mold release agent. When applied correctly it always works.
Following the 3 part Mold

Building:
For the surface and ease of applying I use carbon Spreadtow weave 100g/sqm. In my opinion it looks good, does not move when cutting. Only downside is its price
There are also 2 M3 brass thread inserts (the same as used for 3D printed parts). For not having too much carbon and resin in the part I use 3D printed inserts in some areas. It makes the mold design and workflow a lot easier. For the inner side and also my lazyness, forged carbon works fine.
It cures about 24hrs in a little heating chamber but would be ready for demolding within 12hrs
Surface could be better, but is OK for me. You could clearcoat the part or use gelcoat for a better finish.

Finished Result weighs in at 16grams and I am pretty happy with it

Further parts will follow if you are interested in. Please let me know if you want to learn more on certain process steps

[MrCurrieinahurry]

Great stuff! Defo share your designs and processes and of course weight savings!!!!

[Ferry]

Please share other parts aswell. Very nice mount for the Roval Rapide cockpit.

[bmrk]

Awesome! The computer mount is really good.

[wheelbuilder]

Super cool. Perhaps the next Berk or Lucendi.

[MichaelE89]

Thanks for all the kind feedback! Next is a design I put together almost a year ago for a Varia mount on the Tarmac SL8. It’s been through plenty of testing by now and has held up really well. It works on stock and my seatpost

The mount uses hidden screws to clamp onto the seatpost, so there’s no visible hardware for a cleaner look. I printed it in PETG and ABS, which both worked nicely.
Weight right out of the printer is 15g plus weight of the 2 screws and inserts. I think it was below 20g

Link to the Files:
https://makerworld.com/en/models/599359 ... eId-526361

[DrIoannis]

In my opinion 3D printing is the future and we may see a lot of things printed in house.

[MichaelE89]

I completely agree—3D printing really feels like the future of in-house production, and I’d take it even further! We’re already using a lot of 3D-printed parts, and this is only going to grow with the current tech. With the newest generation of printers, like the ones from BambuLab, the process is close to “plug and print.” They’ve made it so easy that you can download print settings directly from their platforms, load up the printer, and hit “print.” And it just works.

Downloading ready-made models is fantastic for quick projects, but the real magic is in designing your own parts. It might sound tricky, but it’s easier than ever with so many CAD programs offering tutorials on YouTube, in books, and across other platforms. Designing parts yourself opens up endless possibilities, and honestly, it’s a lot of fun once you get into it!

[MichaelE89]

The next project isn’t bike-specific, and yes, it’s absolutely 1000% over-engineered. It’s a carbon fiber hip belt buckle for my backpack.

What does this have to do with cycling? Well, I commute to work by bike every day. One day after work, I tossed my backpack into the hallway and, naturally, stepped right onto the buckle. Of course, it broke.

I managed to find a metal replacement buckle, and it worked fine—until the day I got on my bike without fastening the belt. Does anyone here know the sound of metal hitting carbon? That awful clink still haunts me. From that moment on, I knew I had to make a better solution.

So here it is: an over-engineered, custom-designed carbon fiber buckle. Because sometimes, you just have to fix a problem with "style".

The mold design wasn’t perfect, but for making just one or two parts, it worked fine. The first piece was functional but not very pretty. However, the second one turned out good. Naturally, the first buckle got to participate in a little stress test

Please don't judge my sewing...

Now, after two weeks of testing, I’m happy to report that it works perfectly. Even better, it puts a little smile on my face every morning when I put the backpack on.

[MichaelE89]

Back in 2020, I decided to step into the unknown and try something new—the dark side of cycling... Triathlon. I signed up for a 70.3 in 2021 without really knowing what I was getting into. The problem? I didn’t own a time trial bike or any aero gear, and I wasn’t about to buy a whole new bike just for one race.

I figured clip-on aero bars would be enough to give triathlon a try, but none of the bars I found fit my Orbea Orca. Still, I decided to order a cheap pair of aero bars anyway, just to see if I could make them work.

The solution? A little adapter that I designed, printed and molded myself.

This was one of my very first 3D-printed molds, using an FDM printer with a thin layer of molding resin. It worked fine, and the surface quality was good—but it took a lot of sanding. Adding an extra resin layer improved the finish but reduced accuracy slightly. Luckily, that didn’t matter for this part, and it held up well for some time.

This adapter worked fine for some time. The weak link turned out to be the screw-adapter interface. After hitting a railway track, it came a bit loose.
Not ideal...
Then Covid happened again, the race was postponed... giving me time to rethink and improve the design.

Inspiration came from a well known brand

If you're interested, there are 2 years of further improvements and changes in this design
Anyone else gone the DIY route for aero mods?

[BernieMoves]

I'd love to see pictures of it mounted to the bike and also would like to know which handlebar you are using on the Orca!

[MichaelE89]

For the pics mounted to the bike I had to search a while, but found some

The Orca was a second hand buy, where Frame and Handlebar were damaged. I have repaired the broken frame and also painted it new. The original Aluminum handlebar was bent and I have replaced it with a cheap AliX one and painted it like the bike

Had no issues with this, but is definetly not the stiffest
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007 ... ry_from%3A


If you’ve ever wondered how to get the exact shape of your handlebar for a custom part, here’s a trick I used before I got a 3D scanner. It’s a simple, low-tech method that works surprisingly well:

- Mark the spot where the part will be mounted on the handlebar.
- Press a test part or a piece of Plastilin (modeling clay) onto the bar, shaping it to the surface.
- Carefully remove the clay and trace the shape onto paper.
- Scan the paper outline and load it into your CAD software to design the part.

it looks better fresh off the bar, this was in the mold box under a lot of parts...

This method served me well until last year when I upgraded to a 3D scanner. It’s a great way to get started with custom projects without needing fancy tools! If you use the 3d scanner just 5 times a year like me, the analog way is much faster

[Komarov]

Great job!
Big things ahead!

[MichaelE89]

Thank you for your kind words; they are very motivating. I might have some questions for you later.