The magic of Carbon Fibre (the black stuff)

Hi, I’m Bryce, I’m a longtime bike lover and professional Boat Builder who has been working with Carbon Fibre materials since the early 1990s.

The pic is of my own personal mtb. It’s a Trek Fuel 9.8. Everything from the frame, handle bars, wheels are built from Carbon Fibre, it’s lightweight and climbs/descends smoothly. 

The first time I discovered carbon fibre was when I was 19 years old, embarking on a 4 year Boat Building Apprenticeship at Dickson Marine in Nelson, New Zealand. At the time we were building bullet-proof assault boats for the NZ Army. We were using kevlar and fibreglass, and there were always offcuts, which I would modify and it gave me ideas that captured my imagination. 

Wakeboards, waterskis, bike parts and hi-aspect (blade like) windsurfing fins were hand-shaped to perfection. Some snapped, some were too heavy, and it wasn’t until I started using this ‘black stuff’, that something clicked and I could build longer, thinner fins which meant more speed and less drag.

I don’t think there was a weekend where I wasn’t building a mould, shaping a fin or building a board of some sort. It’s incredible what you can engineer with it. The Boat Building Industry uses the same high tech products which are also used in the Space Industry. “

The reason why carbon fibre is related to speed is the fact that when you bend a strand of carbon fibre and release it, it returns to its original position 8 times faster than the equivalent in fibreglass. This is why we get a responsive and lively feel. Carbon Fibre has very similar strength characteristics to Steel at a fraction of the weight. It has that ‘pop’ factor and not a sluggish vibe we observe in plastic or standard fibreglass products.

Carbon Fibre is by nature very stiff, however, when you engineer the strands to lay in a different direction you can control how the bike frame responds under loads. Not every part of the frame experiences the same load direction. By aligning the fibres with the load we have an opportunity to make certain parts thinner and lighter than others. This is too difficult to do with Steel or Alloy. 

A light and comfortable bike will give you more energy and enjoyment. It’s this simple benefit that’s what makes these bikes stand out. 

Get in touch today if you have any questions.