Quote:
Originally Posted by rice rocket
Your hate might be misplaced; it sounds like the technology being described here is using a braiding machine to weave onto wax mold, which is different from utilizing an off the shelf woven sleeve.
Perhaps you can make the argument that there isn't much to gain from a custom weave for something that sees fairly uniform forces, but it's not really the same.
Found this screenshot from the press release:
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No hate from me. I was just pointing out that the article said “first” and as Nic confirmed, it is a tech that has been used for some time.
I am not an engineer, just been using stuff (in bikes and boats) with various forms of braided fiber and resins/agents made in varous methods of manufacturing over the last half century or so.
I think you are putting the accent on the wrong syllable.
The key is that one engineers the fibers to be laid in a certain way for the purpose and then a resin/hardening/ etc agents are added along with pressure to “set” those fibers and the associated stiffening agent in a way so that they are structurally manufactured so that the end result is a product as engineered.
The syllable that is important is the wax and removal of it combined with the fiber methodology.
Simplistically, this allows the rim to be manufactured in a way that delivers a finished product which is closer and more probably exact to what was engineered.
The other methods used by the other “name” carbon wheel (and spar in sailing) manufacturers that don’t used the wax/RTM method results in a more uneven resin application which leaves more/less weight in some areas and/or differing structural integrity in spots than was originally intended.
For a wheel which travels in circles, the goal is consistency (if that is the right word in trying to explain it) around the whole structure.
That’s a simplistic explanation of the method differentiation.
And, as I said, no hate. I love the methodology. That’s why I bought wheels made that way a few years ago and have put my butt on boats 100 miles out in the ocean with critical parts built this way. And we have all probably flown on planes that have used the tech in some way. My issue was with a statement in the article not with Boyd. I own Boyd wheels (from the OG methods) and love them.