Developments by Cycle Design Group

Al-Tife is an entirely new approach for metal preparation joining.
Al-Tife provides a blanket concept of preparation for all metal products, equally providing grain receptivity in all aluminum, titanium and steels.
Al-Tife is the most comprehensive non-HCL metal cleaner available in the world today.
The combination of acids and catalysts fully remove hydrogen degradation in the metal surfaces allowing metal joining materials to join fully and not just simply fill.

A brief history of how this product came to be was obvious using common generic practices that even in best practice minute layers of grain degradation always occurred. That grain degradation is absent with the use of Al-Tife concentrates.

Al-Tife as a cleaner will remove surface oxidations by only applying minute amounts (ie cotton ball)

Al-Tife Pro will virtually permanently protect from oxidation and corrosion before and after joining.

Al-Tife Flux Extender allows the torch artist to spend extended periods of time providing delicate work without fear of degradation.

More than five years of research and beta testing by the Cycle Design Group members, of which use slightly different techniques, have now come to a consensus that this system, the system of Al-Tife and the companion fluxes and rods, provide the greatest latitude and have no kinship whatsoever to previously applied generic processes.

The combination of reformulated fluxes and filler rods derived from pre WWII Swiss rods with the addition of the non-HCL process have proven to be the most user friendly, strongest and most cost effective production articles ever presented for cycle construction.

A word about the developer
Long time building enthusiast and innovator Freddy Parr began the trend to thinner wall oversized tubes in the 1960's and of course in order to do so most were fillet brazed.  Although lighter than the European counterparts, the bulky appearance was ill accepted for more than a decade than as hallmark companies such as Masi began to adopt the potential, they were slowly accepted  and now are common practice.

As Freddy continued to build custom bicycles in the southern California area it became very apparent to him that the usability of available products began to diminish.  The finely made silvers and parts that were gleaned from the European market decades before were simply no longer available.

The challenge in 2003 finally became unbearable. After exploring the sources and the comments from friendly European builders, there was only one course to take. Spend the time and the money to recreate the now obscure silver formulas and with the addition of the non-HCL fluxes and metal preparatory concentrates, the fine work of previous decades could not only be replicated but advanced to an even higher level.
The market place and the production floors are slowly evolving again and we are happy to report that our successes are genuine and virtually without precedence.
These newly evolved processes and products are now available without peer.

Brazage silver brazing rods are exclusive to Cycle Design.  They are not available in stores.
Safe-T-Fluxes are exclusive to Cycle Design in formulation and not available in stores.
Al-Tife solutions are totally bicycle frame specific and not available in stores.

Contact Wade Barocsi      wade@CycleDesignUSA.com