Builder Uses Aviation Technology to Help Bicycles Fly : Engineering: George Banke’s custom-made, lightweight frames are on the cutting edge and a favorite with top cyclists.

George Banke went from machine-tool planner on a mile-long fighter jet assembly line to owner of a 90-foot shop that builds bicycle frames. But he’s still making his creations fly.

Aviation engineering technology--from the use of space-age metals to wind tunnel testing--has made his custom-made, lightweight frames a favorite with top cyclists.

“It’s hard to walk out of a place like (General Dynamics Corp.) and walk into a small building and imagine that you could still use almost all the processes that they used,” said Banke, a 47-year-old Fort Worth native.

“But we use the basic technology . . . that they use in the aircraft industry,” said Banke, whose goal is to furnish members of the U.S. national team with bike frames.

John C. Kennedy, president of Nova Cycle Supply Inc., based in Rocklin, Calif., says Banke Racing Works is on the cutting edge of frame-building through its use of high-strength aluminum alloys and ability to quickly introduce new techniques and designs.

Kennedy, a leading supplier of materials for frames, said there are trade-offs with Banke’s style of building, but his clients are willing to accept them.

“George builds a little bit different than other builders. He is absolutely into the performance-type bike. He is willing to forfeit some longevity for performance,” said Kennedy in explaining that the frames don’t last as long as a heavier frame might.

From a white stucco shop in a west Fort Worth business park, Banke has been custom-fitting cyclists to 3 1/2-pound frames since 1990.

That’s when Banke took a voluntary layoff from his job at the General Dynamics Fort Worth F-16 fighter jet plant, where hundreds of jobs were cut as part of the post-Cold War restructuring of the defense industry. The plant is now owned by Lockheed Fort Worth Co. but still produces F-16 fighter jets.

Even before quitting the job, Banke had been experimenting with building bicycle frames for friends and for his 16-year-old daughter, Natalie, an amateur racer. Before that, he had built drilling rigs in the 1970s, as well as go-cart frames.

Banke said metal fabricating experience, which he gained at the old General Dynamics plant and elsewhere, enables him to build better frames.

“I haven’t been slowed by any old-time methods like lug frame construction,” said Banke. Many mass-produced frames are stamped or welded together using metal attachments called lugs.

Composites of carbon, graphite, titanium and beryllium are used, as well as steel and aluminum products Banke used in aviation, to obtain the right balance of weight, rigidity and strength.

A knowledge of aircraft dynamics has also been useful, he said. Banke puts his bike frame designs in a wind tunnel at Texas A&M; University to test them.

His frames, which cost $1,700 to $4,000, take 20 to 25 hours to make. His shop produces about 300 frames a year.

Frames are custom fitted to the client’s body using techniques developed by French coach Cyrille Guimard and other world-class racing experts, says Banke, who says a good fit means the difference between a good rider and a great one.

Resident mechanic Joe Young, who does performance tuning and builds bikes at the shop, said the company has modified a fitting technique used by Italians who prefer a lower saddle than some French riders.

Following construction, Banke’s wife Betty spends eight to 10 hours per frame to put on high-gloss paint, followed by a base coat-clear coat. Some customers, including master riders and major racers, can also order custom hues.

The custom frame shop is not as common in this country as in Europe, where clubs sponsor frequent races and bicycling is a bigger industry. But the idea is catching on, and about 800 such shops currently exist in this country.

“We like to think we’ve improved on the idea here,” Mrs. Banke said. “We took what others have done and researched what does and doesn’t work and rejected what doesn’t.”

Banke bicycle riders, including Natalie, would agree.